doug's cabled cardigan

Over the Christmas break, I started knitting a cabled cardigan for my friend Doug. I've finished the knitting and just need to finish seaming the sleeves, weaving in the ends, and adding the buttons.

It's gone very quickly considering the winter is my business time of the year. Doug is a tiny guy so this tiny cardigan flew off the needles.

It's been a great knit, and I'm really pleased with the results. It's another Josh Bennett design in a past issue of Vogue Knitting. I would knit this one again, probably for myself. It fits well and is a great, timeless design.

green hoodie

A few months ago I finally finished knitting a green hoodie for my friend Christopher. It really turned out great!

The original design had a zipper closure, but I didn't think I'd be able to find a zipper that'd be a good match for the green. So I knitted a button band and added wooden toggle buttons.

It's the largest size, which is big on me. The two fronts and back were knit together up to the armholes, which took FOREVER.

This pattern was designed by Josh Bennett, who I really like. I'm knitting another of his patterns now. I don't think I would knit this pattern again, but I am still happy with the result!

ernie

A few years ago Debbie Stoller contacted me about creating a pattern for her fourth book in the Stitch 'n Bitch series. I accepted and created this fun pattern for a sweater inspired by the one Ernie wears on Sesame Street.

I only had one month to complete the sweater! I completed the entire back in one weekend. Then finished the rest in the following two weeks. I blocked and assembled the sweater the following week and then shipped it off to NYC never to see it again until the book arrived about a year later. (Debbie gave the original garment I knitted to her boyfriend.)

I had a secret fear that the pattern would be wrong and everyone who tried to knit it would end up with a garment that had 3 sleeves and was 4 sizes too big. I've gotten over that thanks to Ravelry. I love seeing the finished sweaters. There are some great ones out there!

It's not a pattern/sweater for everyone, but I'm happy that was able to create something that people respond favorably to.

Rubber ducky would be proud.

old projects

Lately, I've been wanting a mindless knitting project that I could work on while watching TV, etc. While looking for some yarn to start a new project, I came across an almost completed back of a sweater vest. It was stuffed in a bag, still on the needles, along with sketches and hand written instructions.

I had started the vest probably 5 years ago. No clue why I stopped knitting it. I have hours in this thing since it's on size 4 needles. Yikes!

The front will be knitted in this stitch pattern using two colors. I don't like the colors I originally chose, but the pattern is good. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the stitch pattern, so I'm going to have to do some research/digging.

Have you recently restarted a new project you had forgotten about?

morris

A while ago I finished knitting a cabled cardigan for myself called Morris, a Rowan pattern. I have always loved knitting cables so I was excited to start on this.

Very few hand knitted sweaters ever look good when finished, so I'm always weary. I had seen a few photos of this pattern when finished and it looked like the fit was good and not too awkward. It also knit up very quickly because of the gauge.

I am really happy with how it turned out. It fits well and is very warm... almost like a jacket. It's great to wear on a chilly spring or autumn day. The yarn is great next to my skin so it's perfect to wear over a tshirt.

A great pattern all around. Check it out on Ravelry!

big shawl collar

In the summer of 2010, I went to British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska with my family to celebrate my parent's 50th wedding anniversary. We had a blast and saw all sorts of amazing things...

Covering so much ground in just two weeks meant a lot of sitting on buses, cars and even boats. I started a knitting the Big Shawl Collar by Josh Bennett, aka Boy meets Purl, on the trip and got through almost 75% of it in those two weeks.

I finished it a few months later and it really looks good...

I was really happy with the result. Definitely worth knitting if you're a knitter! Check out the pattern on Ravelry.

wurm

A few months ago I knit a hat for myself from a pattern called Wurm, which I found on Ravelry. I was a bit afraid it was going to be too feminine, but I love the result and wear the hat regularly. Definitely worth checking out if you are a knitter!