I told a big fat lie...

When I said I didn't see any lace in my future I lied, Once my Sandshore was finished I was given the opportunity to test one of Atelier Alfa's patterns in a fingering weight yarn but as the rows were very long and it was a long cardigan, I tucked my tail between my legs and hid in a corner. I promised I would test the DK version, I look back at the fingering weight version and everyone's lovely tests and kick myself for it. After that decision I thought I need to knit something and i want to try something new, nevermind my Funky Grandpa yarn finally being picked out and languishing in a corner. Ooooh look at this lovely jumper, test knit? why not? I have so much 3ply stash it'll be perfect.....

My finished Sandshore

Wait WHAT? You don't want to knit a 4ply cardigan because you've never knit that thin before and aren't sure you'll be able to knit it fast enough, and you've decided to knit a thinner 3ply jumper in less than the time allotted for the 4ply?  I'm definitely a little crazy. Anyway this past month (April) i've been having my first experience with  3ply knitting.

PROS:

• Creates a light fabric
• Requires less balls of yarn
• Can destash some of my (rather large?) lace/3ply stash
• I'll be less gunshy of 4ply for funky grandpa

CONS:

• It takes a very long time
• I want to burn my project because it takes so long even though I love the way it looks....

I'm finally working on the sleeves of my Jumper which i'm managing because even though i'm ready to chuck it out of the window in frustration I dyed some pretty yarn for it, and it's a pleasure to watch it grow in those colours. My only issue is it's not growing fast enough.

My sleeves are being knit in these lovelies!

As I worked through the body part of the pattern I went with bad jumper practice for me and whilst I added some shaping to better fit my shape I refused to do short rows for my bust. Massive mistake, I have a bust and I need to accommodate it. Now even though the jumper body is pretty lovely in most ways, it rides up in the centre front. *face palm* Still i'm not changing it, I don't have the time or inclination to rip out the 10+ inches I knit afterwards. I did however add in lifelines near the waist area where a I joined a new ball of yarn thinking I might go back and change the shape a bit with a contrast colour and rib stitch band at the waist. That part won't happen but I might go back there and add an extra inch overall.  Experimental edits for the win. I've added in two lifelines and hope I can rip out the centre, Knit and extra inch and graft like my life depends on it.

To compound the insanity because I love the shape so much i'm considering knitting another one without sleeves in a summer weight with stripes, short rows and other joyful stuff. This project has seriously driven me insane. This time however it will be a project much tempered by my other lovely projects. As soon as this baby (it's been a punishing labour) is done I'll be casting on for Funky Grandpa and Blue sand cardigan both by La Maison Rililie. Maybe I'll also cast on the summer version of this jumper but I doubt it'll be ready by this summer. In the meantime if you aren't a 3ply scaredy cat then check out the wonderful pattern by Ela Torrente of Modish Knits

It is very well laid out and clearly written, it even got me trying out a few new techniques which really work for the pattern.

If all that excitement wasn't enough I wrote up the pattern for my Jumper and it's currently being tested. So hopefully my next post will be about the Jumper pattern being released! The pattern is one size, but that one size is your size, i'm hoping to integrate the pattern with my blog so that you guys can get the pattern customised for you at no extra cost.

In the meantime though i need a name! So i'm going to scamper off back to my rabbit hole and have a think, if you have any ideas for the jumper let me know :)

My Knitting year ahead

I realised I only slipped in a very brief mention about the Ultimate KAL by the Plum Dandi Ravelry group in my last post, even though i've been knitting for it fiercely since the 20th of January umming, and aahing and planning since before it started on the 9th. I chose to make Ease by Alicia Plummer because I look at that jumper and every time I see it, it screams relaxed comfort to me. I want a jumper that does that. So I swatched, don't get me wrong I hate swatching and I do the bare minimum if I can get away with it. Massive slap on the wrist there. If you haven't knit with a yarn before, quite possibly on those needles (even if you have done it with others to a different gauge) SWATCH because it could and likely will come back to bite you in the ass. I think the people who can get away without swatching are really confident but above all tend to know how they knit with a good base range of yarns and needles, but also they maybe knitting things they don't care about the fit of.

So, if you're knitting a scarf or a rectangle or something without shape, you don't need to swatch, if you want a garment that fits that works with your body, you swatch, you calculate you do the hard stuff that knitting asks of you, so at the end of you however many hours, you have a piece that you don't hate because it doesn't fit right, you might hate it for other reasons, you picked the wrong colour, the pattern wouldn't have flattered the person you are anyway, etc.  It won't however be because it doesn't fit!

Swatching in the round - on top of my revision :P

Yes if the pattern requires you to knit in the round SWATCH IN THE ROUND. There are some helpful links to tutorials for doing this from Techknitter to Ysolda both invaluable resources that definitely know their shit! What it all boils down to is, knit to one end of your row and instead of turning your knitting take it to the other end of your needle (DPNS or CIRCS required) take the working yarn from the other side of your swatch, loop it round your hand loosely and knit back across from the end where the yarn wasn't, repeat.

I've digressed a bit from the point of this post though, which is to tell you a little about what i've planned for my knitting year, and the end of the Ultimate KAL. I finished my Ease! I love it, I played with colour, I played with the fit and I made it me. Obligatory bathroom mirror selfie (vom at that word!) below

I added Horizontal Bust Darts (through short rows), I added an invisible/ inseam pocket i changed up the sleeves using a chart from a different pattern, I switched up the shoulders with another similar pattern. I was unafraid to make it different and mine. Never be afraid to do that with your knitting, just as you shouldn't be afraid to ask for help, I was all over the internet  looking for links, I deliberated on a million things asked my Stitch 'n' Bitch group for their opinions and forged on, with a fair amount of swearing and frustration. I got so frustrated with the sleeves I jumped onto several different projects mid knitalong! I do however love it now, it's very me and very fun, whilst also being slightly outside my comfort zone. Plus it's finished before the end of the Ultimate KAL that is due on the 9th of March 'happy dance'. I did actually start another that was also for the KAL whilst i knit Ease, but I didn't expect that to be finished. However it is a perfect start to my summer knitting. I decided a while back, summer knitting got started in the winter/late winter so i could finish it and actually wear it in the summer and not have to wait a year for appropriateness.

I'm knitting Sandshore now, by Alicia Plummer again, but I do love her patterns I have A LOT of them. As others have said, it is a pretty quick knit relatively it is flying off the needles (that could be more to do with the size of the needles and the different gauge, I knit my Ease way tight on 4.5mm needles instead of 6 or 6.5mm). Large gauge things which make a holey fabric are a little hard for me, but in this case i'm going with the flow because it looks good, it works in the pattern and everyone's pictures and i've not worked with the yarn before so i'm developing a preference for working with it in a certain way as I go. If I was to show this to a certain bulletproof knitter I know and love, she might have an apoplexy. 

For the rest of my year it's going to be garments galore, mostly for me, depending on how I feel I might throw a gift into the mix, but I am a selfish knitter. Why so many garments?

I've only gone and joined another KAL the Tin Can Knits KAL on ravelry. 12, yes 12 garments in 2015, AAAAAAAARGH, am I setting myself up to fail? after all I graduate this year and hopefully get a job so will be quite probably busier, much busier than i am now. Where will my knitting time come from? It is however a goal, a challenge but a goal and hey i'm 3 jumpers in, 2 down 1 finishing off and 9 left to go. I don't see laceweight in my future this year, but one or two fingering, most definitely my funky grandpa, I have wanted it for ages and it has been earmarked since last year. Now it is a very real possibility because i've 100% decided on yarn 

2 Kingcraig lambswools, and 2 drops delight

The other jumpers in my list include some summer weights and some winter knitting, it's all gravy, maybe. So I shall keep you guys updated as I go and post pictures of them all together at the halfway mark. Next post though will be about finishing number 3, cardigan for the summer and the ribbing technique that I plan to try and try and share my process. Stick around you won't be disappointing and do not be afraid to join in!

NB: I did not use that particular tutorial for horizontal bust darts, I used the secondary tutorial you receive with all of Mary Annarella's patterns . I found the above when I was discussing bust darts with other people on the forums about using bust darts. 

#tck12sweaters2015 #ultimatekal