Knitting: check.

I finally, FINALLY finished knitting my latest design.

Had I been able to knit each stitch only one time, as is usual with knitting, it would have gone so much faster. However, I re-knitted the yoke about 8 times, then the body like 3 times, the lace piece 4 times, and the left sleeve I think had a black hole somehow attached to it.

But now, it's done. I think. I feel like it could use more length in the body, which involves either ripping out half of it and re-knitting (NO, I WILL NOT), or doing some scary magic with snipping a stitch and using the sorcery that is the Kitchener stitch. Or I might leave it as is. We'll see. Haven't decided yet. Pretty, though, right? It's Cascade Ultra Pima and Ultra Pima Fine. Thank you, Cascade, for providing me with the lovely yarn. It's so soft! Like, so so soft! Great to work with.

Sweater Quantites

Something terrible has happened. My favorite hand knit sweater was attacked by vicious, sadistic moths. They ate an irreparable hole in the MIDDLE of the FRONT of my lovely wool/silk/alpaca sweater. It was (properly stored!) in an air-tight bin with three lavender sachets with a bunch of other wool sweaters, hats, and cowls. Did the moths eat anything else? No. Didn't even look twice at another sweater. They found my favorite one and chowed down.

Sigh. Trying to move on.

So I'm making a new sweater. It's the Agnes Pullover from the Fall 2012 issue of Knitscene. Normally I'm not a cable person, especially not an all-over cable person, but I loved this sweater instantly. I actually didn't ever plan to make it, but one evening a couple of weeks ago I was looking through past knitting magazines, and saw this pullover again, and thought... "Hmm. Isn't there a sweater's worth of Berroco Vintage upstairs in the craft room? In a color that would be perfect for this fall? What did I buy that yarn for, again?" Ten minutes later... we have started a sweater. This is why I don't normally keep sweater quantities around. I am rash when it comes to knitting choices. I think this is a better use for this yarn than the original intent, which was an all-over lace pullover that I somehow thought I would start AND finish on the drive out here from California. I am clearly a crazypants, because I didn't even wind any of the yarn into balls, much less knit an entire sweater.

Love these squishy cables. The yarn is perfect for it- so soft, and a real joy to knit. However... it looks a little bit fuzzy already (especially in the places I had to rip and re-knit... don't drink and knit, kids), but I think that it will be fine. 

And yes... that's a Harry Potter book in the background. It was time for the yearly re-reading.

And the winner is...

Debbie! Congrats Debbie, I've sent you an email with the pattern.

To everyone else who entered, THANK YOU! If you end up making the Everett Henley I'd love to see it on you.

The last stop on the Holla Knits! blog tour train.

Two Mondays ago (I don't know how many days that is... I am not even totally sure what day of the week today is. The down side of moving and not having a job lined up for when you get there.), we got into a moving van in Davis, California with everything we owned, including our cat. We drove, and drove, and drove, and then just to mix things up, we drove some more. We drove through mountains, through endless cornfields, the bleak desert of Nevada, the lush forest of Pennsylvania, a driving rain storm, intense heat, and far too many rush hours- including Chicago. Edge of my seat. The van overheated. The cat lost her cat cool and nearly had a heart attack. I became all too familiar with truck stops, and quickly learned just how much space one needs to turn around a moving van with a car carrier on the back of it. Towards the end I felt like my whole life had been spent in that van. There was nothing before the van, and there would be nothing else but the van. Luckily, thankfully, FINALLY, there was no more van. And now? Now we live in Delaware, land of strip malls, no sales tax, and cheap lobster. Yum.

Everett Henley, shown in Knit Picks Swish in Copper. Size 32"

Why am I telling you all of this? Because the day we got into that hated van is the day that my first ever sweater pattern, the Everett Henley, was published in Holla Knits. I went through like all of my data checking Ravelry every 2 seconds on release day, just to see how many queues my pattern was in. What I saw made me happy. The Everett Henley did smashingly well. Hooray! I cannot wait to see other knitters' versions of it... which will be easier for one of you if you win my pattern giveaway. Just leave a comment to enter, and I'll pick a winner next Tuesday... provided I can figure out what day of the week it is.

Shown in Knits in Class Merino Mohair Worsted in Mr. Darcy. Size 40"

If you'd rather not wait to see if you won, head here to purchase the pattern through Holla Knits! 

The Everett Henley is a fairly advanced pattern, but the end result is so worth it. All-over lace; raglan, 3/4 sleeves; a curved hem with applied i-cord; killer style. You know you want to make one. I kind of want to make another one.

Curved hem with applied i-cord. 

Leave a comment and win a copy!

Detail of the raglan increases and that lovely lace.

And this concludes the Fall/Winter 2013 Holla Knits blog tour. The end.

New Pattern: Everett Henley!

Look! I have a pattern in the Fall/Winter 2013 Issue of Holla Knits!

It's called the Everett Henley, and I loves it.

Finished Size This sweater is meant to be worn with anywhere from -2 to +2” of ease, depending on personal preference and how you plan to layer it. To fit bust sizes 28-32 (30-34, 35-39, 38-42, 43-47, 47- 52, 52-56). Finished bust measurement 30.5 (32, 37, 40, 45, 49.5, 54.5). Sweater shown in Knit Picks Swish Worsted in 32” and in Knits in Class in size 40”.

Materials

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted, 100% Superwash Merino Wool; 110yds/50g: Copper, 10 (11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 23) skeins.

Yarn: Knits in Class Mohair Merino Worsted, 52% Mohair, 48% Merino; 225yds/100g: Mr Darcy, 5 (6, 7, 9, 9, 10, 12) skeins.

Needles: Size 7 (4.5 mm): 24” circular, and size 8 (5 mm): 30” circular for body of sweater and EITHER a long (40”+) circular, a 16” circular, or a set of 5 dpns for the sleeves. You will also need 2 Size 8 dpns for the applied i-cord bind-off. Adjust needle sizes if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

Notions: Removable markers (m): one matching set of 8 for raglan increases and one matching set of 10 for lace increases; smooth waste yarn; tapestry needle; 5 (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) 5/8” buttons.

Gauge 20 sts and 28 rows = 4” (10 cm) in St st on larger needles. 20 sts and 28 rows = 4” (10 cm) in Everett Lace pattern on larger needles.

Lace pattern: each repeat measures 1.5” across and 1.25” down unblocked; 1.6” across and 1.5” down after blocking on larger needles.

Buy it now on the Holla Knits website!

Holla Knits! Blog Tour

On Monday, a bunch of stuff is happening.

We're getting in a moving van and leaving my beloved California and driving for 45 hours and 6 days to move to Delaware. Oh man. Also, my first ever sweater pattern is going live on the Fall/Winter 2013 issue of Holla Knits! Bad timing... I think that everyone else will see it before I do. I hope our hotel has free wifi.

Here's the blog tour schedule, with a bunch of awesome giveaways. Check it out each day, then come back on October 4th for my day! Hopefully I'll be settled into Delaware by then, and I'll be snuggled up in an actual sweater, drinking hot apple cider. Yum.

There may be some radio silence on my end for a couple of weeks, but I've got some great patterns in the pipeline for once we get settled. Stay tuned!

Schedule:

Sept 17: The Sweatshop of Love - subscriber exclusive giveaway, pattern giveaway

Sept 18: The Knitting Vortex - pattern giveaway

Sept 19: Unplanned Peacock - subscriber exclusive giveaway, pattern giveaway

Sept 20: Knit York City - pattern giveaway

Sept 23: masi|knits - subscriber exclusive giveaway, pattern giveaway

Sept 24: Wooly Wonka Fibers - subscriber exclusive giveaway, pattern giveaway

Sept 25: Knittery with Doog - pattern giveaway

Sept 26: Dyeing to Knit with Yarn Love - subscriber exclusive giveaway, pattern giveaway

Sept 27: Dirty Water Dyeworks - subscriber exclusive giveaway, pattern giveaway

Oct 1: Rohn Strong Designs - subscriber exclusive giveaway, pattern giveaway

Oct 2: Knits in Class - subscriber exclusive giveaway, pattern giveaway

Oct 4: Cosmos and Cashmere - subscriber exclusive giveaway, pattern giveaway

New Pattern: Out in the Woods Hat

Oh look! A new pattern.

It's an all-over cabled hat- the cables spread out as you get closer to the crown, forming a cool pattern. And there are pompoms. We must have pompoms on hats. 

Living in California is hard as a knitter, because it's ungodly hot here up until about November. Once September rolls around, all I want to do is knit for winter, but it's too hot. Today, in mid-September, the high is 100. UGH. Anyway. A hat is a great way to ease into winter knitting, because then you don't have a big wool sweater in your lap. 

Out in the Woods Hat: $4 on Ravelry (no account required)

Pertinent info:

Size: Adult S/M (17.5" circumference) and M/L (20" circumference), both sizes 9" tall

Yarn: 200-240 yards of DK weight yarn, shown in Knit Picks Gloss DK in the color Aegean

Needles: US size 6 (4 mm) dpns and a 16" circular

Gauge: 26 sts/30 rows = 4" in cable pattern