The baby knitting spree continues! (36 weeks along)

Well partial bedrest may not be conducive to totally decluttering the apartment or decorating the "nursery" (otherwise known as the cosleeper attached to my side of the bed, since baby will be rooming with us for at least a year), but it definitely helps with the knitting mojo.

Most evenings of late have been spent lying on my left side feeling super-uncomfortably pregnant, watching Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Netflix with the husband and knitting some last-minute baby things.

After finishing the orange wool Beyond Puerperium cardigan sweater I blogged about recently, I decided to make a matching hat and booties with the leftover yarn.

The hat is the free Aviatrix pattern by Justine Turner — my version Raveled here with all construction details. It was super quick to knit, has a fun construction method, and should keep baby's ears nice and warm. Again, the yarn is soft, squishy washable merino wool — Malabrigo Rios in Glazed Carrot.

The booties are the free Gansey Booties pattern (my version Raveled here) and while they are cute and a quick knit, they inspired a lot of reknitting and swearing. The directions for the short-rows were not very clear, and I ended up knitting each bootie differently to compensate, so they don't really match. The instructions are to turn at the end of each short row--but not to wrap--and I wasn't sure if I was then supposed to start knitting again with the last stitch knitted, or with the one after the turn, or... am I just reading this wrong?

If I attempt them again, I'll also make the cuff a lot longer to give them a better chance of staying on.

\

Finally, I am almost done knitting the Gift Wrap Baby Sweater by Carina Spencer (Raveled here), a kimono-type raglan sweater with a cool contrast border. I originally had a grand scheme to come up with some kind of TARDIS pattern to take advantage of my blue, black and light grey yarn, but got lazy and just decided to stripe the darn thing. Here it is from a week ago, but I've now finished the border and started the sleeves:

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, a super-soft and washable merino/acrylic blend with a bit of cashmere thrown in for good measure (or good marketing, anyway).

And the panic (and excitement) is really setting in here. I feel really ready, but also not ready at all. And Baby Wood has now suddenly flipped from a nice head-down position to a terrible and uncomfortable sideways/transverse position and refuses to budge, despite all the crawling around on the rug and weird off-the-couch headstands I've been doing as per the Spinning Babies website for "optimal fetal positioning." There's still a few weeks for baby to turn back (and there's always external version) but it's freaking me out a little. Turn baby, turn!

Done: Bicycle appliqué cashmere cardigan with matching hat refashion

Four years ago I picked up two lovely, soft — and totally shapeless — cashmere cardigans at a thrift store for a few dollars each, with the vague dream of refashioning/upcycling them into warm and snuggly baby leggings for my then-tiny daughter.

Those snuggly leggings never came to be... but I thought a cashmere cardigan and matching hat would make a perfect baby gift for a bicycle-loving knitterly (i.e. unafraid of handwashing) friend of mine who had her baby girl last week, and so here we are:

The basics

Patterns:

• This raglan cardigan is part of the baby jogging suit from Kwik Sew's Sewing For Baby. I've made it twice as a hoodie (once in a custom Spoonflower print for my daughter, once in an owl print for a friend's baby), but wanted to make the collared version this time so I could make a matching hat.
• The bear-eared hat is the "Ernie" beanie from the 1/2013 issue of Ottobre—a pattern I do NOT recommend, because if followed as written, it leaves no actual opening for a head. For real. (You may recall this led to tears and excessive consumption of mocktails during my October sewcation.)

Fabric: A cut-up thrifted Lord and Taylor two-ply cashmere pullover sweater, plus some scraps of blue bamboo knit and some turquoise wool felt for the appliqué. Much better than buying actual cashmere yardage, since I could repurpose the ribbing as well.

Notions: Embroidery floss, fusible webbing (part of my dwindling Lite Steam-a-Seam 2 packet), colorful snaps from Sew Baby, petersham ribbon from Pacific Trimming.

Size: Medium (3-6 months) for the sweater, and I just eyeballed the hat size to match.

Here's what the adult sweater looked like before I cut into it:

Inspiration: I knew the gift had to be bicycle-themed, because my friend and her husband are the kind of people who manage to squeeze five bikes into their 1-bedroom Brooklyn apartment. (All of which they ride, frequently). I cut my appliqué design out freehand based on this cute little T-shirt from Mini Boden:

Modifications: No modifications, but I'm embarrassed at how much unpicking was involved in both of these items—somehow I managed to attach the collar wrong twice, and the ribbed hem too.

Construction notes: The cardigan is simple, if you actually pay close attention to the instructions, which I apparently did not. SO. MUCH. UNPICKING. OF. SERGER. THREADS. I did 90 percent of this project on the serger, reasoning that would keep the fine-knit cashmere from unraveling better than the machine.

The embroidery bit was super fun—I fused the little wool felt shapes to the cardigan with fusible webbing, then just played around with some back stitches and running stitches.

I initially put a bike wheel on the hat, but it looked odd and I replaced it with a heart:

Finally, I wrapped the wee soft things in some of my daughter's extra artwork (with her permission), and tied them with a bit of leftover yarn—so much more fun than commercial wrapping paper and ribbon, am I right?

Hmmm... I kinda want to make a matching set for my baby-to-be now with the remaining cardigan, a nice red cabled knit — they could wear them when they play together.

P.S. I am happy to report that my daughter's scheme for a handmade mermaid fairy superhero doll with a big curly purple Afro is well underway—we designed the pattern together and she's mostly sewn and stuffed—all she needs now are a few finishing details. More to come soon!

Hetty Cardigan Try-On For Your Amusement (Sweater Girl Showdown Progress)

Yes, so I think it is pretty obvious that I started knitting this Hetty cardigan (winner of my most recent Sweater Girl Showdown bout of cardigan indecision and Raveled here) a few weeks before I got my positive pregnancy test. At that time, I actually had a waist...

Now at 19 weeks, I'm not so much with the waist (in the front anyway):

I also have given up on my old "don't wear leggings as pants" rule, because, well, I have one single pair of maternity jeans and these eBay-acquired used maternity leggings are really, really comfy. (I'm finding eBay has been my best source for used maternity clothes to supplement the items I sewed last time, as many items go for cheap or in lots, and it can be hard to find the few decent maternity items at local thrift stores).

I realize the sweater looks ridiculously small in front, but I am still fairly confident it will fit post-pregnancy and post-blocking. My gauge swatches grew significantly when I blocked them, AND this is a lacy cardigan AND it is 100% merino wool AND I will be adding some button bands. (My normal bust size may even return at some point, though probably not for at least the first year of nursing if my previous experience is any guide).

AND the back fits just about right, even now:

Plus the color is just lovely!

All that said, it is a bit hard to keep momentum on knitting a thing I will not really be able to wear properly for at least 5 months. I find myself itching to knit a big scarf or wrap and some mittens, plus lots of baby things. We'll see when these sleeves will actually happen!

What do you think so far?

Done: Purple Stripes Overload Cardigan (Delancey Cardigan by Alexis Winslow)

You could NOT buy a cardigan like this in the store. Not with these stripes in JUST my favorite colors and with just the right amount of negative ease (5 inches! More on that below)...

Or the pop of color hidden under the garter stitch shawl collar...

Plus the chevroned back:

And these purple flower buttons of awesomeness:

Because when you make something for yourself, it doesn't have to be strive to be "as good as" ready-to-wear... it can be BETTER than that. Because it is your size, your colors and YOUR hands that made it.

A sweater (or any project, really) that takes this long (almost a year! but that includes a six-month knitting break) is like a slice of an ancient tree—like the rings in a tree, each row is from a certain moment in time.

Like the moment in time I accidentally left one skein of discontinued bright purple yarn I was using for the third stripe on a plane... and had to change my stripe repeat from a "bright purple/light purple/gray" pattern to a "gray/light purple/gray pattern:"

What mass-produced fast-fashion garment has a "flaw" or a story like that?

The details

• The pattern: Delancey cardigan by Alexis Winslow of Knit Darling (available in regular and plus size). I think it is fair to say Alexis Winslow is my most favorite knit designer ever stripes ever polka dot ever. I loved making the Delancey as much as I loved making Georgina, and I'm pretty equally pleased with the results and sure I will wear her as much as possible (weather permitting—this wool Delancey is HOT). The construction was unusual and varied enough to be interesting, but still easy to memorize and knit while riding a subway, chatting with friends or giving my kid a bath.
• The yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style — a discontinued but very soft and lovely to work with merino DK weight yarn that had been languishing in my stash for YEARS.
• Sizing notes: I knit the 33-inch bust size—which SOUNDS like a bad idea since I have a 38.5" bust—but wasn't at all. Remember the power of negative ease and the tendencies of many yarns to grow when blocked! I had actually emailed Alexis for her advice and she told me the bias handknit fabric was EXTREMELY stretchy. And because of the chevron design, this is a straight up and down piece—there's no way to create waist shaping or definition except by making it snug. When I was knitting I kept second-guessing this decision, but now that she's blocked the fit is PERFECT and not at all tight or uncomfortable.
• Notions: Purple floral buttons from Pacific Trimming.
• Mods and construction notes: I knit the shorter version as instructed here. As per Alexis' email advice I tacked down the shawl collar back to keep it from rolling up. And I used the Back Join to change colors while striping.
• Raveled with more info here.

Of course now it is over 80 degrees F here in New York... so I'm hoping for a few more brisk days to enjoy my cardigan joy before summer really comes rolling in. Where's a chilly rainy day when you need it?

Sweater Girl Showdown 2014: Which Two-Tone Shrunken Cardigan to Knit Now?

Yes, yes, I am a slow and indecisive knitter (but I have a history of carpal tunnel! So I HAVE to knit glacially, for my hands' sake). I DID finish three cardigans last year... but two of them were for babies.

So as I am putting the finishing touches on the button bands of the Delancey cardigan I decided on in last year's Sweater Girl Showdown 2013 (and as I sit here wearing the Georgina cardigan I made for 2012's Sweater Girl Showdown) I of course jump ahead to the excitement of the next negative-eased cardigan to come.

This time I am just deciding between two, both of which I have the yarn already in stash. I don't have enough solid card yarn to finish either, hence the two-tone theme.

Option 1: A blue-and-gray Hetty

• The pattern: The Hetty cardigan by Andi Satterlund Lovely, lacey, retro and fitted—and supposedly a relatively quick and easy knit, too:
• The yarn: Beaverslide Dry Goods Mule-Spun Merino Lambswool in October Skye (blue) and Light Natural Gray Heather, both worsted weight and sitting in the stash over three years. I don't have quite enough of the blue for the entire cardigan (unless I make it shortsleeved, which doesn't really appeal here). This is truly special yarn, and it's been waiting for the right project for a long time:

  

  

  Pros: I've been wanting to knit one of Andi's gorgeous figure-flattering vintage-inflected patterns for AGES (I blame Lauren) and I know I would love knitting and wearing this beautiful cardigan. Also, when I had questions about yarn weight, Andi answered them on Ravelry in like, minutes. (Don't you just LOVE indie designers like that?!)

  Cons: A bit too warm for summer wear, even in the air-conditioning, I think. I'm also not 100% sold on my two-tone sketch for this—I'd kind of like the blue closer to my face, so maybe I'd use the gray for the bands and lower part of the cardigan—not sure.

Option 2: A double-candy-pink Cherry

• The pattern: Cherry by Anna Bell: Also lovely, lacey and fitted, and a bit more suited for spring/summer with its lighter-weight yarn and short sleeves.
• The yarn: 1 ball Filatura di Crosa Zara superwash merino and 5 balls Sublime baby cashmere/merino/silk blend (bought with a gift certificate from the husband at my beloved local Brooklyn yarn store La Casita last year—they didn't have quite enough of it in just one color). So soft, so pretty, so summery!
  

  Pros: I've been wanting to knit this for over a year (it was the runner-up last time) and I have the yarn ready and waiting. Plus: so perfect for a summer knit! And there are a lot of really lovely versions of this on Ravelry to envy.

  Cons: The website for the Cherry pattern is gone and it can no longer be purchased ad hoc. But my library has the book it appeared in originally, Modern Knits, Vintage Style.

I'm still making up my mind here... but which would you knit if you were me?

P.S. Here are a couple of other quick color ideas for Hetty... the third one could also work in all blue with just short sleeves. Or I could see if I could get another skein of blue (not the same blue but still blue) for a more unified look...

Matchy Matchy + Sewing Machine Sadness + Delancey Progress

Z and her new doll on Christmas, with polka dots in abundance.

My Amazing Mom was having sewing machine issues recently, but took prompt action, got her machine serviced, and all is well. She's been making some ridiculously cute matching outfits and accessories, all drafted from scratch with paper patterns of her own design.

Z and her doll "Howie Bowie Wowie" out for a winter's stroll in matching duds

My favorite so far is this beautiful original design with matching headband—I believe this is an African wax print fabric my mom picked up at Sew-Fisticated Discount Fabrics in Boston.
 

Christmas outfit designed and sewn by my mom: the girl version

And the doll version...

And there's a lot more! Each of these has a girl-sized equivalent, though I don't have all the photos handy:

She's also been sewing matching outfits for Z and her 3-month baby cousin, R:

My own sewing mojo is not so strong at the moment, however...

Goofy and overly confident late-night sewing selfie, right before sewing machine disaster struck

 So right before I got my carpal tunnel last October, I was about to make a Cake Red Velvet knit dress (naturally) but first I wanted to finish my third Cake Hummingbird. I was tired, it was late on a work night, but I had my spelunking sewing headlamp on (one of my favorite non-sewing sewing tools) and I was in the sewing zone and...

And then this happened. Whatever "this" is:


And it's probably still sitting inside my sewing machine cabinet that way.

And then I got the carpal tunnel. And then after I recovered from that, a newfound food-allergy-free baking and cooking obsession.

I know nobody wants to read posts in which people apologize for not sewing or not blogging, but that's not really my point. My point is: why am I always so scared of my sewing machine? I'm sure it's probably 10 minutes of me tinkering to figure out the issue. Or if necessary, a trip to the shop. But somehow that tiny hurdle seems insurmountably annoying, so much more so than, say, making my own fruit leather from scratch.

Knitting is not so daunting, equipment-wise—in addition to those chartreuse Knotty gloves I mentioned before, I'm finally back to putting the finishing touches on my Delancey cardigan—just have to do the edges, button bands and shawl collar!

I am NOT going to think about weaving in all those ends. And I have made piece with my paltry three sweaters per year knitting average (counting baby sweaters). Can you spot which color of discontinued yarn I lost on a plane?

Finished: A Tulip for My Niece

Here's the little sweater I finished just in time for the baby shower for my niece-to-be, a lucky little girl who will be living on my brother's farm in Maine*, picking lots of blueberries, going camping and kayaking and wearing lots of soft snuggly woolen things.

The pattern: Tulips, a Colorful Cardigan for Baby, 9 month size. (Available as a PDF, or as part of a kit).

The yarn: Dream in Color Classy, bought as a kit with eight colors from Eat. Sleep. Knit.

Time taken: A bit over a month (but I was knitting and making lots of other things at the same time).

The exhaustive Ravelry details: Here.

This sweater was so fun and pretty to knit I almost felt guilty — going from stripe to stripe with the little seed stitch, fondling the pretty soft colors, making the little I-cord edge and ties. It was very well received by my brother and sister-in-law and all the baby shower guests. Here's a closeup:

My amazing mom of course made some really gorgeous decorations and tasty treats for the baby shower. My favorite were these allergy-free (for my daughter) chocolate cake pops, with no dairy, eggs, or nuts:

Little Z wore her Oliver + S wax-print dress, and I wore my Cake Patterns Tiramisu. Luckily neither fell victim to the chocolate frosting:

I can't wait to meet my niece!

*My brother is actually a civil rights lawyer, not a farmer, but he lives on a 40-acre farm in rural Maine in a house he and his wife designed themselves with a big garden and lots of ducks, chickens and cats. It's super awesome.

Delancey Try-On: Too Snug or Just Right?

Chevrons and stripes both rank high on my crafterly happiness list and this cleverly-constructed sweater has been a joy to knit so far. The big question, though—does it actually fit me?

Pattern: Delancey Cardigan. You may recall that the Delancey cardigan by Alexis Winslow was the winner of my indecisive "Sweater Girl Showdown 2013." Here was my original concept sketch:

Ravelry link with all details: Here.

Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style (discontinued) in various colors from the stash. A lovely DK-weight merino that I had lying around. Sadly I lost one of the colors I was using midway through (left it on a subway or airplane during a business trip) so you can see that the stripe pattern on the top back is gray/periwinkle/gray instead of gray/periwinkle/purple. Oops!

Size: 33" bust. The biggest challenge was deciding what size to knit—the 33" finished bust or the 36" finished bust. I have a 38.5" bust and 29.5" waist but I like my cardigans snug, with at least 2-3" of negative ease at bust and waist (see my old post on sweater fitting for more on this).

BUT because of the clever chevron pattern, there is no waist shaping here—the bust and waist are the same size. So if I went with the 36" bust, the waist might have been quite baggy. I wrote to the designer and she gave me some fantastic advice—based on my preferences and yarn she suggested I try the 33", as the bias fabric makes the cardigan quite stretchy.

So readers, what do you think so far? The back looks perfect to me (see top) but the bust area seems to be pulling away to the side (note that I've only knitted one of the side fronts, the other isn't done yet):

And the side "seams" aren't really straight when I pin the cardigan shut in front:

That said, there is going to be a button band and shawl collar in front which will add a little extra front width.

My verdict: Keep going and hope for the best. I think with a little blocking and the bands/collar, it'll be just perfect, and it may loosen up a little with a handwash and wear, too.

Speed notes: I swear I haven't been knitting MORE often than I did last year but I must be knitting FASTER. Not only is my Delancey more than half done, I just finished a baby cardigan for a friend two days ago. AND I just started on a Tulip for my niece-to-be yesterday and I'm already down to the chest:

Hello, my name is Mikhaela and I am a cardigan knitting (and wearing) addict.

I think my new speed is from switching away from plastic to metal needles. I had some serious repetitive stress injury issues with my hands back in 2008 and had switched to using plastic and sometimes wooden needles... and they are just MUCH SLOWER. This year I decided to switch back to metal but just be careful—to knit in small chunks and stop if my hands start bothering me even the slightest.

So, what do you think—too tight or just right?

P.S. By the way, if you're interested in making the Delancey yourself, there was a Ravelry knit-along last year with accompanying blog posts on the Sweatshop of Love. It also comes in a plus-sized version (up to a 58" bust).

P.P.S. In case you're wondering why both Z and I are prancing around in black bike-short-esque things, we were about to go for a family bike ride. We went down to Brooklyn Bridge Park and rode the carousel four times until I got motion sick and had to let my husband take her around for the fifth ride. Phew!

TARDIS sock disaster + swatching my Delancey cardigan

It seems the Doctor and his TARDIS have landed on a planet populated by gigantic adorable toddlers...

Yeah, so, if you've watched any Doctor Who at all (latest episodes available on iTunes if you don't get BBC America), you know that the Doctor's time-traveling spaceship—aka the TARDIS for Time and Relative Dimension in Space—has a curious feature. On the outside it appears to be a small blue wooden British police call box...

But it's MUCH, MUCH bigger on the inside:

Which brings me to my TARDIS socks (full details here, including some mods I made), which, unfortunately are bigger on the OUTSIDE. See how they slouch and bag around the ankles?

They fit fine while I was knitting them (just the right amount of negative ease), but after I gave them a gentle bath, they started to grow...

And now they look good for a second when I tug them up...

But quickly slouch back into saggy baggy land within moments:

I really don't know what's going on here. I used a non-superwash 100% merino wool yarn, and knit them on the smallest sock needles I have (size 0). I've never had baggy socks before but they always had a bit of nylon in them, so maybe it's because these socks have no nylon content?

Anyway, all hope is not lost for my Time and Relative Dimension in Socks—the excellent Tech Knitting blog recommends a fix using elastic thread or an elastic garter at the top of the sock, so we'll see how that does!

Meanwhile, I swatched for my Delancey cardigan by Alexis Winslow. Here's the sketch (on bottom right) as you may remember from my Sweater Showdown decision post:

And here's my gauge swatch:

I'm using stash yarn, so my color scheme is based on what I have available. The main color is going to be the eggplant, and the sets of triple stripes will be in the gray, periwinkle and light purple. The aqua will be for the shawl collar and sleeve cuffs.

I'm going to knit a 33" bust size (even though my bust is 38.5") as I'm not getting exact gauge. I'm hoping it'll come out around 35", giving me 3.5" negative ease. I'd much rather it be a bit on the tight side than loose and slouchy (see my Not-Goldilocks and the Three Sweaters fitting post for more on this).