Neither Hip Nor Funky

I have really been on a finishing kick recently, and I have some more completed projects to share. It has been part of my spring cleaning of my house and life in general. Yes, it is a bit late for spring cleaning, but I need some organization.

However, I think some people might start doubting that I am really knitting all these things. So I will share a progress post.

Some of my needles are now free, which means more projects, mainly more sweaters. However, three projects keep jumping around in line. Every week, it is a different sweater that must be my next cast on. I have swatches done, yarn and trim picked out, patterns lined up….all I need to do is cast on.

It is up to you to figure out which one will jump on the needles first.

Tweedy Aran Cardigan (ravelry link) in Classic Elite Skye Tweed in Marmalade. I bought this yarn through ravelry as it turned out to be more orange than the other knitter wanted, not a problem here! (The color really does look like more of a peach/pink on the Webs site).

Celtic in Rowanspun DK in Pumpkin. The trim will be a concoction of two strands of Yorkshire Tweed 4 ply in Bristle and Rowan Kidsilk in dark green; it sounds odd but really works with the pumpkin.

Eunny’s Autumn Rose Pullover in the pattern colors in Jamieson’s Spindrift. I will modify the neckline to be a little higher, as others have done. I had to go with the pattern colors because they are all the colors that I love.

I know which sweater will be first, but do you?
(I moved them all down in my ravelry queue, so there’s no easy cheats there).

If guess which one it will be, here’s your prize:

Two skeins of Rowan Kid Classic 847, a classic red. (This was in the running as the trim for Celtic, but the colors aren’t quite right together.)

I’ll pick a winner on Sunday night.

My first wool scarf! I learned to knit three years ago at around this time of year, so it is the about time to have my first warm scarf.

Yes, I knit plenty of scarves when I first learned to knit, mostly too short and poorly constructed ones for my family. (Sorry, fam, if you want nice scarves now, please just let me know.) I then did knit one simple long skinny scarf for myself, but it was out of cotton. It is not so much effective for the whole “providing of warmth” thing.

I first found this color pairing when I was using sock leftovers to make a baby hat. I fell in love with it and I wanted more of the yarn, but Blue Moon did not have any more of the Autumn colorway last spring. I saw that they had it back at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival last month, and my love was renewed.

The second colorway is Monsoon, one of the sock club colors this year, the dyer’s notes mentioned that the colorway was based on the wet winters in Northwest Oregon. Combine the two and you have the perfect description of fall in Oregon.

Pattern: Chevron Scarf by Joelle Hoverson in Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Socks that Rock Mediumweight in Autumn and Monsoon
Needles: Addi turbos US 4

This was my TV knitting as I watched the first season of Heroes on DVD (yes, I’m always a bit late on these things), and it was done before I realized it. The only modification was making it a little shorter so it didn’t overwhelm my short frame. I knit it to 60″ and it blocked to 69 (heh).

I have to admit that a part of my high school self almost tried to talk me out of starting this because, you know, everyone else has done it. But unlike trends in high school, so many people have done it because it is a good idea and makes a stunning scarf. (A much better trend than that thing with low rise jeans, cropped shirts, and visible thongs ever was.) I’ve never been happier to be a follower because you guys were really onto something with this one.

Pattern: Tangled Yoke by Eunny Jang
Needles: US4 and US2 for button bands
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in Treacle, just over 7 balls (pattern called for 9 for this size)

I do think that there are some problems with the number counts on some sizes, but I didn’t find any errors with the directions themselves. This is a very elegant cardigan with a nice vintage look. Worth it in the end, but I can’t claim that it wasn’t a bit of a slog to get to the fun part (cables!).

This sweater is for my oldest sister. While it looks okay on me, I think it will look truly stunning on her. The sweater is definitely meant to have a more fitted look, and as I’ve stated before, there wasn’t much left by the time the boob fairy got to me. But K, she was first, and the boob fairy was more than generous with her (so imagine the sweater enclosing 5 more inches of generosity). It will have a great, classic sweater girl vibe on her.

I shortened the sleeves a little, but I think they could be shortened a bit more. I will wait for her to try it on before I tamper with it. I made the 42″ size, but I used some of the length measurements from smaller sizes for the yoke. I measured to the length of the smallest size (3″, I think) before doing the cable, and I used total yoke length of the 38″ size. My sister is petite with larger breasts, not extra long armpits, so I think this will work out much better.

As per my tradition, I will also state a bit about why this sister is deserving of a nice, handknit sweater.

I would be leaving a lot out if I acting like K and I always got along; we used to but head often when we were younger. Part of it was the six year age difference, but it was also the fact that we both have strong personalities and strong emotions that could cause a bit of firestorm when combined.

However, as we got older, we both became more similar in other ways without realizing at first. Even though, we haven’t lived within 3,000 miles of each other for the last decade; we are closer now than we have ever been.

So here are a few of the reasons she completely deserves the time and love that went into this sweater:

• When she lived in Paris, she and her now-husband provided me with free room and board on three separate occasions in their one bedroom apartment, one of those times for over month. (Sorry about my bad scheduling that semester, I thought it was going to be for two weeks…but I had a blast.)
• She lived in Paris for 9 years, but she moved back to Virginia to be closer to family. A big move, that I know has made things much easier for my mom as she has been taking care of my grandparents.
• This move also brought my niece to Virginia, and she provided much joy and relief to my family in the difficult last year of my Granddaddy’s life.
• She is a wonderful, caring mother.
• She cares deeply about family. She is probably the only one of our generation that can keep family members’ names and how they are related to us straight.
• She cares deeply in general.
• She has recently voted Democratic for the first time! (Sorry, I had to throw that in, you former Young Republican. I still love the rest you, fam, even though you still vote Republican.)
• She is the family member that is always open to discussions about NPR and good food.

She will have to wait a little bit to receive the sweater, as it is also a store sample for Abundant Yarn. Feel free to stop by and keep it company if you are in Portland.

So, I told myself that I could not cast on any sweaters until I was done with the Tangled Yoke.

Instead, I cast on for a scarf, 3 socks, and a hat. It didn’t help me finished the Tangled Yoke any faster, but I do now have my favorite hat ever.

Pattern: Koolhaas by Jared Flood (in the Holiday Issue of IK)
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted in Cedar
Needles: US 6 and 7 Knitpicks Options

I automatically went down a needle size based on how many stitches I usually need for a hat, and it worked out perfectly. I hadn’t used the Shepherd Worsted before, and I love it. It is such a soft yarn, and the lofty quality of it worked very well with the texture of this hat.

I have to thank P-funk for the photos. Not only did it save me from taking 60 shots of myself to get the right perspective, like with the last hat that I knit, but that shot above is one of my favorites of any of my knits.

The Tangled Yoke has been finished since I completed this hat. I’ll have some FO shots later this week after it finishes drying.

Hmmm, look what jumped onto my needles, and then jumped onto the best beer ever.

Yum (the beer and the sock).

You really need a forty to show off a sock cuff, so go all out and get yourself the best.

This is Bayerische knit in Shibui Sock in Wasabi. Even though the yarn is a semi-solid, some people have had pooling problems. I’m using US0 needles, and with 76 stitches on the cuff it was pooling badly (not visible in this photo). However, after the cuff, there are 96 stitches on the leg, so I kept going and it is looking gorgeous.

This pattern is so much less intimidating than it looks, most of the cables are just reversing the order of only two stitches. I could see how the twisted stitches could get old fast for some knitters who knit English style, but other than that, the pattern is amazing. I am having so much fun with it.

Too bad, this single sock is not for me. I will have to make myself a pair soon though.

Edited to Add:

Here’s the pooling

You can see the lighter section on the right side of the cuff (you can click to go to flickr to see it larger.)
And the actual color is in between the two pictures, closest to the top photo.