Lately my mind had been on hoodies.  I wear them a lot – I practically live in them on the weekends.  Perfect thing to spend my time on, right?  Plus, it passes the Rhinebeck test.  I’d love to walk around the fairgrounds in a newly-knitted hoodie.

I started a Charleston Tea but in worsted instead of sport.  After 20ish rows it’s clear – I don’t like it.

The cables are pretty but the designer is right – they should be in a thinner yarn.

Ok, back to the drawing board.  Here are a few hoodies I’ve had my eye on for this Fall.

The first 6:

• Sundog by Melissa Schaschwary – ok, not a hoodie but I could add one.  Although that cowl neck is awfully cute…
• Nutkin by Melissa Schaschwary – also not a hoodie but it could easily get one on it.
• Briquette by Alicia Plummer – it’s hard to see but there’s an asymmetrical line of rev st st on the body.  I’ve learned that asymmetrical doesn’t look good on me so I’d make it symmetrical.
• Fickle Heart by Justyna Lorkowska – the cables and lace make this one a nice feminine option.
• Miranda by Josee Paquin – I like how she’s designed the kangaroo pocket to work right in with the cables.  Plus I already own the pattern.
• See You There by Joji Locatelli – the central texture and back are pretty and the sleeves have a bit of detail too.

And the second 6:

• Gytha by Jennifer L. Appleby – I love the mostly-solid but with splashes of color in the hood, arms and bottom of the bodice.  Maybe my gateway stranded project?
• Luminen by tikru – look at the cool way the pocket is incorporated into the cabling.
• Mariah by Jodi Green – yep, it’s back on my list again.
• Olive Branch Yoga Hoodie by Kirsten Hipsky – and not just because I’ve been working my way into some yoga.  Look at that back cable detail.
• Piscataqua by Alison Green – the pic looks pretty simple but it’s another one with a back cable V detail.
• Basic Chic Hoodie by Bonne Marie Burns – Bonne Marie has several hoodie patterns but this one stood out to me because it’s mostly st st but with some lacy details.

Thoughts on the designs:

• Top down raglan – I like the fit, the try on as-you-go, the knitting style (once you get done with the yoke it feels like you motor through) and it fits my body shape well.  If the design isn’t top down raglan I’ll likely mod it so it is.
• Worsted weight – they all are made with worsted weight.  A hoodie is a good amount of knitting and it’s supposed to be warm.
• Most have cables or lace – something to keep the knitting interesting – but they aren’t overly fussy.  I like that.
• Pullover or cardi – I’m undecided about this one.  They both have their advantages.  I’m still terrified about putting a zipper into my knitting and I don’t really like the look or function of buttons on a hoodie.  Hmm – maybe magnetic snaps?

What do you all think?  What did I miss?  What would you pick?  I’m a bit earlier than normal for my typical fall planning but I might actually get something done this way.

I’ll catch you on the purl side…

I quickly decided that I wanted to knit Briquette out of Miss Babs Yowza in Scarlet Letter.  Pretty color and the hoodie is something I’ll get a lot of wear out of on the weekends.

But then I looked at my sweater yarn stash – I actually have several choices.  Going with my “be more deliberate” approach that I’m taking on this year I wanted to make sure I wasn’t making a rash decision.  I don’t want to frog this just because it wasn’t a good choice.

I came up with a few more options…

Briquette in GGH Bali Brown with a small stripe (or two) on the sleeve with the blue.  I like the sportier look for the weekend.

Pier 60 out of Dream in Color Jilly.  The pattern is designed for worsted so it would be a big change from the original.  I think the stitch pattern could work really nicely in this colorway though and the neckline makes it fit the lighter weight feeling of the yarn.  This could be inspired or irrational.

Salted in Jilly as well.  I like that someone else made one in Tosh Merino Light (a very similar yarn) but it’s in a more solid colorway.  How will the openwork look at the top?  I don’t need you to see it well but I want to make sure it doesn’t detract.  And for the body I could do it in reverse stockinette stitch (knitting it inside out so I do knits in the round instead of purls).

I’m really not sure which way I want to go at this point.  One thing all these options have is that I’ll finish it right before spring starts so I’ll get a lot of wear out of it.

What do you think?  Any other options that you see here?  What are you joining in with for the KAL?

I’ll catch you on the purl side…

I went through so many project ideas but once I saw the yarn I knew it needed to be White Light.  The reverse stockinette stitch background was begging for some slightly variegated hand dyed yarn.

The pullover starts with a mega-cowl – here it is around 7 inches and another 9 or so to go.  I washed it to confirm how it would block out – I knew the corrugated stitch pattern would stretch out but I needed to see what was comfortable.

And here it is all done and steam blocked.  I think it’s going to squish up when worn but I’m hopeful it will still be good enough to be a drapey, voluminous cowl.

You can see the line up the back where I wrapped and turned.  This allowed me to do the whole cowl without any purling!  I placed it center back so I think it’ll be ok.

I’m head over heels with the gorgeous dyeing of Mellifera yarn.  The variation is subtle and has a gorgeous, grown up depth.  I’m a bit cautious about how the cowl is going to work out until I’m done knitting some of the body and can try it on.   I’ve swatched, measured and calculated but nothing beats actually pulling it over my head to see what it’ll look like.

I better get knitting so I can try this baby on soon.

I’ll catch you on the purl side…

• Designers choose up to 20 designs to offer at 25% off – look at all of them
• The sale goes from Thursday Nov 13 – Friday Nov 21
• After that, the KAL goes until Dec 31st.  Knit ANY pattern from a participating designer to qualify.
• There are TONS of prizes – take a look
• More questions?  There’s a group on Ravelry for the GAL.

I spent some time yesterday going through the thread of participating designers – all TWELVE pages of them.  Lots of designers – many I recognize and some that are new to me as well.

Here are some of my faves.

Newsboy Hat Hannah, Tangerine Trees, Jamison Square, Ricochet, Lonely Road and Skipperling

October sunrise, Zippety, Colophon, Bluet, Sea Dragon Shawl and Red Robin Shawl

Antiquity, The Vampyre, Cycles Reversible Scarf or Wrap, Wickershanks, Phi and Biellese

Lichen, Lawsonia, Trilinear, Piewhacket and Rendezvous

23 designs – mostly smaller items like mitts and cowls but with a couple pullovers and larger shawls thrown in as well.

I couldn’t possibly knit these all in the GAL but I do plan to buy a few of the patterns later this week.  A couple have been in my faves for a while so why not save a couple bucks and support indie designers?  A win-win in my book.

What are you considering?  With so many designers I’m sure I missed a few.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

I’m sure you’re getting close to having heard enough about this design – I’m losing steam too.  I got up yesterday morning and decided I couldn’t bear to work on RT.  You know how the rest of this goes right?

Ravelry browsing.  Here’s how it went down.

Ooh I can fave more things for Rhinebeck shopping!  I forgot about Deep End – it’s a great excuse to shop for mini skeins of sock yarn.   I wonder if Miss Babs will bring any her kits of mini skeins – polydactyl or gradient.  Gradients are fun – I wonder what designs use them.  Traliccio is new to me.  Spectral too.

An hour later and a bunch more designs to shop for at Rhinebeck – and not a stitch more knitted.  Thinking about knitting and looking at others’ knitting was sadly doing nothing to help get my sweater done for Rhinebeck.

So I took RT out of the bag and started knitting.  I made a deal with myself – 10 rounds this weekend  And a couple hours later I hit that magic number.

Here’s the back…

and the front…

and a close up of those cables…

Contrary to what it looks like on the mannequin, I’m about halfway through the bust area.  I think I have 2 more full repeats of cables and then the bottom ribbing.  I tried it on again yesterday and it still fits great!

If I finish this one in time this will be the third sweater I’ll have finished for Rhinebeck in 9 years of attending.  There’s something about that festival that motivates me to get things done.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

It finally started warming up in the Philly area this week and I started wearing a few lacier tops.  And of course that got me thinking about knitting a lacy top.  I looked at a bunch of tops and had several in mind, but Orangina kept coming to the top.

Friday after work I went to the LYS and found 5 skeins of Filatura di Crosa Dolce Amore in red.

LOVE the color.

I know myself and I need this to be easy care or it will sit in a bag waiting to be handwashed.  I knit up a swatch and washed and dried it.  Like many cottons it retained the stitch count but shrunk up on width.

I took before and after pics on top of the graph paper pad so I could resize both to be the same size for comparison.  I don’t trust myself to measure consistently.

As for mods, I can see how stretchy this stitch pattern is and I don’t want a loose fit.  I do like slightly cap sleeves though so I’m starting with a 36 and I might reduce down to a 34 after the armholes.  I’m also planning to knit it in the round after the armholes.

I cast on yesterday and just have an inch or so done.  I think I’m going to love the color and assuming my sizing is on I’ll get a lot of wear out of this top.  A lot of people talk about what a slog this knit can be so I’m preparing myself for that “omg I can’t knit this freaking thing any more.”  It won’t be that bad though if I procrastinate by knitting on a pair of socks, right?

I’ll catch you on the purl side…

The color, those cables…

that collar…

and those raglan lines

all make for a “can’t put it down” project.

I tried it on last night and LOVE the collar.  I think I’m more excited about the collar right now than the cable.  It does need some blocking so it doesn’t curl but I kinda like it like this right now because I get to see more of the back’s cable this way.

It’s surprisingly efficient with yarn usage too – I got almost the whole yoke out of just one 215 yard skein.

I’m ready to start the body now and you know what that means – quicker progress.  Of course, I will still have to go back and do the sleeves when the body is done, but they go quickly, right?

Feel free to lie to me.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

I love that cable and the fold over cowl/collar is such a great feature.

I shopped my stash but didn’t have anything that worked, so I headed to my LYS on Thursday and got Berroco Vintage in Aster.

The color is a bit of a departure for me and I’m loving knitting with it.  Plus, the lighter shade means I can knit it even at the pub or while watching TV with dimmed lights.

I’m just about done with the knitted flat part and am ready to join in the round.  I have made one mod – I’m working the sides of the cables in the back in stockinette instead of reverse.  I did this because:

• I don’t love the look of purls in a solid shade.  In subtle handdyeds it’s gorgeous but it looks a little meh to me in a solid.
• I’m lazy and I knit faster than I purl.

I’ve never hidden that I don’t like make 1’s and prefer kfb or lifted increases but given the decorative look of the raglans I wanted to try the M1’s.  I’m so glad I did – I love the way they’re working up.  The raglan is so pretty and the other increases would have had a different look.

Fun color, gorgeous cables and top down knitting.  This may have just gotten my mojo back.

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

I want to wear this top.  Now.  Right now.

Last week I talked about the 2 color options I had – orange in the middle or the bottom.  I decided on the middle.

The Cast On

I wanted to be sure to get a stretchy cast on.  I have a store bought sweater that’s stretchy everywhere except the cast on edge and it’s SO annoying.  I understand why handknitters have trouble with stretchy cast ons, but machine knit sweaters have no excuse not to use a good cast on.  {/rant>

I did the Very Stretchy Cast On (wish there was a more unique name) and while it was painful to cast on all those stitches it’s living up to its name and is both very stretchy and very pretty.  I love how tonal handdyeds look when they’re cast on.

The Ribbing

The ribbing worked up surprisingly quick even though it’s on 3.25mm needles.  The ChiaoGoo tips really helped speed things along.  And bonus – no unsightly striping or flashing.

Section 1

The first section was straightforward too.  That joining of the second color was a bit fiddly, especially with the intentional purls rolling up into the work.  There might have been some cursing.

Section 2

By the time I got to section 2 I knew what to expect with the joining round so it went smoother – it didn’t fly by but I got better at it and don’t think I even raised my voice or grunted (you rate your knitting that way too right?).

I’m now onto the magenta and can’t wait to get done with these short rows so I can just knit knit knit in the round.  Then it will truly be TV knitting – although I did knit on it at the pub a bunch last night so I guess it’s technically already at that point.

I know I’m not the only one obsessed with this pattern – the number of projects in Rav has almost doubled since I cast on a week ago.  This knitter even went a step further than I did with the color options and mocked up 9 variations to help her decide.  It was fun to look through all the different options she had.

I’ve already been daydreaming about what to do with all the leftovers I’m going to have.  Stripey legwarmers maybe?

I’ll catch you on the purl side.

I wrote on Friday about some projects that have been inspiring me lately.  I love doing that because it puts everything in one place for me when I’m shopping.

I knew I wanted to look for yarn for 3 in 1 and I found the perfect colors at Neighborhood Fiber Company.

I ruminated on colors for quite a bit on Friday night – thinking about what I like to wear (pink, red and purple) and where I have holes in my wardrobe (orange, yellow and maybe some greens).  I knew I wanted to use some colors I don’t often use, but I also wanted to make a cohesive top when I was done.  I was afraid I’d make a top the looked like I just layered on three tops.  Oh and I’m not doing the stripes.  The tonal variations in the Neighborhood Fiber Company is enough for me.

Enter the Color Wheel

There are tons of great articles on using a color wheel to select colors and I thought this one was quite good.  It talks about different types of color combos – e.g. primary, analogous and complementary – and the real value for me – lots of pics of the color combos in action.

I of course started with one of my favorite colors to wear – a deep magenta pink – and added on a green and an orange-yellow.  For the color geeks this is called Split Complementary.

I got Neighborhood Fiber Company Studio Sock in

• Charles Village (magenta)
• Del Ray (orange-yellow)
• Anacostia (green)

And look at the cute bag Karida was giving out.  A girl can never have too many bags.

I’m trying to decide which order to use for the green and yellow.  I like both and keep changing my mind.   What do you think?  I’ll be wearing this with jeans so I don’t think that’ll have an effect.

Yellow in the middle

This feels like the less traditional way for me to place the colors – I like that!  Sometimes I like the swath of yellow in the middle and sometimes I think I’ll look like I’m walking around with a yellow boomerang on my midsection.

Green in the middle

I like the way the green and pink look next to each other.  The progression of colors looks like it’s going from light to dark.

I can’t CO until I figure this out because it’s knit bottom up.   Help a knitter out?

I’ll catch you on the purl side.