A Homecoming Dress

In the midst of all the scarves, I have started another project. I got busy on the dress for our daughter. I figure if I start early it will be finished by September. The pattern had me a little confused at first. It doesn't specify which is the right side (RS) or wrong side (WS). The way it is written would have had it switching back and forth. I think there are some errors in the row numbers, however, the errata link no longer works. So, I decided which is RS and WS and worked it accordingly and based on the instructions, I adjusted row numbers for some of the changes because I think they are just miscalculated. This is what I ended up with for the top half of the dress (the bodice). Now I just have to pick up the stitches and start the skirt. I have another scarf to finish in the meantime. I do think the yarn I got looks very nice!

Bodice (front)

Bodice (back)

The Traveling Scarf: How Does Your Garden Grow?

The "How Does Your Garden Grow" scarf is the next scarf in the chain. I love this theme! Of course I looked for a flower knit stitch. I wanted to be different, so I also looked for a butterfly stitch. My original thought was to alternate flowers and butterflies, knitting pink flowers and purple butterflies. As it turned out, however, the butterfly stitch pattern required too many stitches and wouldn't work with the scarf width or the flower pattern. I started knitting the Flowers in a Row stitch that I found doing a Google search for "flower knit stitch patterns."

The yarn I chose to use is Plymouth Encore Colorspun worsted color #7733. It is pink with grey spun into it.  The first row of flowers looked great! It looks like little daisies in a row. So, I continued the pattern...

However, to my dismay, the subsequent rows didn't come out as flowery. They look a bit blobby. I love this yarn, though, so I don't really want to rip it all out. I think it is the texture of the grey yarn intertwined with the pink making the flowers look sloppy in the pink yarn. The purple yarn, which is also Plymouth Encore Colorspun, is a little bit softer than the pink/grey yarn. I've decided to add on three more rows of flowers in the purple and see if that helps the look of the pink flowers. One row of purple flowers already improved the look  of the pink flowers. There is hope!

I also noticed that the purple yarn is striping on its own. This is a nice look for the "flowers in a row" stitch. I decided to keep going and see how it turns out. If I go ahead and make it half pink and half purple, I think it will look alright and I will have the best of both worlds in this scarf!

Here is how it turned out with three rows each of pink and purple. I didn't get a very good picture, but it is late at night and I am finally feeling sleepy. These scarves have been great for my insomnia!
My section is a little bit longer than the 6" length preferred for these scarves, but I am okay with that. I love both of these yarn colors and really wanted to use both for this theme. It's only an inch too long. Overall, I am happy with the end result and it looks good with the rest of the scarf!

The Traveling Scarf: Moving Along

In the midst of the post office drama and the lost scarf, I had received the next scarf in line on time. I had started one stitch pattern that wasn't turning out so well so I decided to scrap it and find something different. I opted for this Slip Stitch Lace pattern. This is a fun pattern!

Insomnia has been hitting me hard lately, so I've been doing a lot of knitting in the middle of the night. I think it is due to this, that I actually knitted this pattern incorrectly. I have an extra purl stitch in there in between each repeat. It doesn't look bad and it didn't compromise the appearance of the pattern so I left it as is.

While working on this pattern, I decided to create my own little "stitchionary" book. What's a "stitchionary?" It's quite simple. It's just a book where notes and stitch patterns are kept in one place. Mine is simply a notebook for now, but I am thinking of getting something a little sturdier like a journal to keep them all written in. This way, I won't have to keep doing internet searches to find these patterns again and again. I'll have them written down in my little book.

Here is how my finished section looks with the rest of the scarf. It appears to me that not everyone took heed of the "DK weight" instruction. The section I attached mine to is definitely worsted weight. I can see other fluctuations in yarn weights, so hopefully, the finished project will balance itself out.

Magnum Opus

It has been some time, but I actually did finish the Fisherman's Sweater for my husband! I began this project back at the end of June, 2014. My goal had been to finish it in time for cold weather in November. Due to two moves and a lot of non-knitting snags, it took me longer than I'd hoped. I had hoped to finish it in time for Christmas, but I missed by a month. I was finished by early February, 2015. Just in time for Valentine's Day. It took me about 7 months to complete!

This has been one of my favorite projects (of course)! I love cables and this pattern has plenty of cable patterns. It actually combines about 5 different cable patterns into one sweater. My biggest fear throughout the entire  process was that it would end up too short and the sleeves wouldn't be the right length. Well, the sleeves were just fine. It did come out slightly short at the bottom. It is amazing what blocking can do!



I was also concerned with my ability to sew all the seams together. A seamstress, after all, I am not. Surprisingly, sewing the sleeves on and figuring out mattress stitch for the sides was not nearly as difficult as I'd feared. It also didn't take me as long to sew up as I had expected it would. I am fascinated with mattress stitch. It just disappears and the seam is invisible! Amazing!

So, on February 8, 2015, I completed my first winter sweater. It was knit with love for my husband, who is always hot, so I'm not sure if/when he'll even wear it! In any case, he has tried it on and to my utter amazement, it fits! I was most worried about the sleeves, but they turned out just fine. The bottom is a little short, but I was able to block it pretty easily and it "grew" another 4 inches. He was patient enough to pose for a picture while sweating to death in his sweater. He is a true fisherman, however, and it will likely come in handy on his November walleye fishing trips.

The question now is, what do I knit next?

A Labor of Love

For at least two years now, my husband has been begging asking me to knit him a fisherman's sweater. I finally started it. It has kept me busy; so busy, in fact that I have put off the blogging! My original plan to write something at least monthly has gone down the drain, but I'm back for the time being!

So, back to the sweater. My husband is a huge fan of Jaws (and, okay, so am I). He decided he wanted a sweater like Captain Quint's in the movie. While that's a nice fisherman's sweater; the pattern looks a little boring, so I had to find something more interesting. I found this gem on Craftsy. I have this thing for cable knits so it's perfect!

The kit was on sale on Craftsy and it just happened to be my husband's birthday that June day, so I ordered the kit. I set my project goal to have it finished by November so he can wear it this fall on his fishing trips. I'm a little shocked he wanted a sweater at all. The man is *never* cold. When I say he is never cold I mean he wears *shorts* in the snow!

Once gain, I digress...The kit arrived in late June and I got started promptly. I've been doing most of the knitting in the middle of the night after our two year old is finally asleep. Since he never rests, I am often not starting my knitting until 11:00 pm or later. My goal was to have the front panel finished by the end of July, the back panel finished by the end of September, and to have the sleeves done by the end of October so all I'm doing then is blocking and sewing.

I am excited to report that I am ON SCHEDULE! It is October 12, and I am working on the first sleeve. I'm hoping to have it finished by next weekend and have the second sleeve done by the end of the month. Then I just have to block it, seam the shoulders together, knit the neck, and sew everything else together. I hope I can do that within a month.

While I love what this sweater looks like, and it's a fun pattern to make; I am concerned it's not going to fit properly. The back panel was completed first. It looks great to me! The measurements are adding up (I even gauged this thing! I never knit a gauge swatch, and yet I'm getting better about doing that); but when I did the front panel it doesn't look right. The front and back are supposed to be the same length. When I measured them, they measure up, but looking at them side by side, they don't look the same. My hope is that once I've blocked it they will line up right. My biggest worry is that it's going to be too small. My husband is a big guy. I'm knitting the XXL, which is the largest size the pattern is written for. I will be sad if I've done something wrong and it doesn't fit. The only other thing I can think of is maybe I'm not taking into consideration the sleeves.

This sweater is kind of a big deal to me for a few reasons. The biggest reason is that it's a gift for the love of my life. Aside from that, though, it is my first sweater and my first project that has to be sewn together. So far it's been a fun project; even though I'm nervous about how it will ultimately turn out!

Potato Chip Scarf

I'm up in the middle of the night mindlessly knitting. I found a great pattern for mindless night knitting. It's the Potato Chip Scarf. I like the look of the scarf, but unfortunately, I'm using Vanna's Choice yarn. It's not my favorite yarn by far. I'm just feeling under the weather tonight and needed something to work on that doesn't require too much brainpower so I decided to give this scarf a shot. Besides being simple, it's good practice in short rows. A technique I have not yet attempted. Now that I seem to be getting the hang of it I will soon be able to get started on the Dead Fish Hat for my hubby. Of course, I have a couple other projects that have to come first. Maybe he'll have his fish hat by June...