Another birthday sweater

I designed this sweater for my mother-in-law for her birthday. I was unable to get very good pictures of it, but I still wanted to post it here.

I don't even know yet if it fits her, but she loved it. I wanted to get a picture of her wearing it, but I forgot. Anyway, The yarn I used is from Elann. It is a worsted weight superwash wool. The sweater was constructed seamlessly from the bottom up. The sleeves were worked separately, from the bottom up, and then joined to the body. The yoke features small plait cables with the decreases in the purl stitches to form the circular yoke. The pattern I used for the body is a modification of Barbara Walker's rib and braid pattern.

New yarn and needles

I just got these in the mail today. They are Knitpicks Options harmony wood interchangeable needles. I purchased them with money that I got for my birthday. I can't wait to use them. Aren't they perty?

My husband got me this beautiful yarn for my birthday. Well, he gave me a dollar limit and told me to choose whatever yarn I wanted. I buy most of my yarn on Elann.com, because you get more for your money. Anyway, the one on the top is Superwash Bamboo and the one on the bottom is Highland Sport.

More pics

My sister Jenn emailed me these pictures she took of my sister Karla wearing her birthday present.

Snowflake eyelet wrap cardigan

I designed this sweater for my sister Karla for her birthday. It was supposed to be for Christmas, but I knew if I knitted like crazy, I could get it done in time. It took me less than two weeks to make. My inspiration for this piece came from a picture in a magazine of a similar wrap cardigan that my sister liked. She asked me if I could design something like it and this is what I came up with. It features a snowflake eyelet pattern, a ribbed waist, and a ribbon tie. The bottom edging is a 1x1 rib knitted on sideways because I didn't want it to pull in at the bottom. The yarn I used is Lion Brand micro. I usually don't like to use acrylic for wearables, but this is the softest acrylic yarn I have ever used. And it was on sale, so that was another bonus. Her birthday was last Saturday and she loved her gift.

What I've been doing

I haven't posted in awhile, but there is a reason for that. I finished another sweater, but it is a Christmas present, so I am going to wait until after Christmas and hopefully I can post a picture of it on the recipient. I am almost done with another design, but I can't post a picture of it yet because I am going to submit it (hopefully) for publication. So I am still knitting like crazy and it won't be long until I am posting more pictures.

Fleurette lace sweater

Since the weather is starting to get colder, this will probably be my last Summer sweater. I wanted to design something pretty and feminine that could be worn with jeans for casual occasions, or with a skirt for more formal occasions. The yarn I used is a cotton, linen, and rayon blend. The lace pattern for the sweater is a french lace pattern called Fleurette. For the sleeves, I used a type of faggoting called Rick Rib. The use of short rows shape the cap sleeves. There is a ruffle at the hip for ease in fit. When I was knitting this sweater I wanted to shape the waist, but I didn't want to mess with my stitch count and throw off the pattern. So I changed needle sizes for the waist shaping. Since this yarn is so drapey, it didn't shape the waist as much as I wanted. To fix this I made an i-cord drawstring and wove it through the lace pattern at the waist. I did a picot bindoff for the neckline, sleeves, and at the bottom of the ruffle.

Eyelet wrap cardigan

I love wrap cardigans. I actually tried to design one about a year and a half ago, but I had just started designing and it didn't come out right. So I finally got up the courage to try it again and this is what I came up with. I used Rowan 4-ply cotton yarn. The allover stitch pattern is a quatrefoil eyelet. The edgings and the side ties are done in a feather faggoting pattern. This took me about a month to make because I am a bit of a perfectionist and I frogged it out a couple dozen times. It was worth it though, because I am very happy with the end result.