Jan 07 2006
Rustic Raglan
For all of the work that I have put into this raglan cardigan, I sure have not blogged about it much…
The body of the cardigan was near complete when we left for our roadtrip down south… so it was all sleeves all the time for me! The pattern calls for a 12" circular needle for the sleeves – but I opted for double pointed needles. I am finally enjoying double pointed needles – I never would have said that a year ago!
Sleeve one on the trip down – I think we were somewhere in Tennessee …
Quiet Alabama evenings and peaceful surroundings were very condusive to knitting – I had to extend the sleeve length a few inches for Kris’s long arms, so it took a little longer than planned, but still very manageable. On the trip home, sleeve two was well on its way.
I swear, this yarn looks different every time I photograph it! It is working up quite well. I ordered all of the yarn at once (from handpaintedyarn.com – came to me from Uruguay) and while it said it was all the same dyelot, I am not quite sure … perhaps this is what happens with kettle-dyed yarns? It is not extremely noticeable – and it kind of fits in with the whole "rustic" feel of the sweater (well, that is at least what I am telling myself…) but just a little consideration for anyone thinking about this yarn… more details on that when I have the finished cardigan to show you (hopefully soon!)
Another thing: I will have to *block the living daylights* out of this knit – the deep 4 x 4 ribbing plus the wool make it appear more like a doll sweater than a man’s…
Last Wednesday evening, I met up with Donna, Eilene, and Heather (and Pixie!) for a yarn shop perusal, and a belated gift exchange. We had a great time looking around All About Yarn, our LYS that continues to amaze me with their new things, and then we headed over to one of our fave Italian restaurants for dinner. Dinner was followed up with some nice warm coffee – it was cold outside! Unfortunately, we were not able to really knit together this time – but we sure talked about it!
Heather, Donna (in her new knit cardigan!) and Eilene at the coffee shop
I came home with some goodies, thanks to some Christmas gift money (burning a hole in my pocket!) and from my friends.
A lovely Zelda knitting bag (constructed with vintage fabric!) from Donna and Eilene (thank you!) and a little silk notions pouch from Eilene -my stitch marker collection is already in there! Not pictured is the yummy Satsuma lotion and bath gel from Heather, and the oh-so-fun Harry Potter word puzzle book! (LOVE IT!)
The Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Noro Revisited, and the Skacel Zitron Trekking XXL sock yarn (colorway 68) were purchases from Christmas money. Trekking XXL is a great sock yarn – and I can’t wait to knit these up. And ever since Klaralund, I have been very interested in Hamilton’s designs – and this book has some nice things – some that I would never be able to wear, but still an amazing design – and then some very beautiful (and wearable) items:
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Kolsva cowl neck and the Tista child dress
Thank you so much for your sweet wishes on our anniversary!
I was going to mention how different the yarn looks in each of those picture’s of Chris’ sweater, but you beat me to it! It’s coming along nicely though. Some blocking would do it some good and then nothing but a zipper to worry about!
It looks like you got some wonderful presents from some wonderful friends!
I LOVE knitting with double-points……..have never seen ones as big as those! WoW! The sweater looks soft and warm!
Congrats on getting comfortable with double points. And that cardigan is gorgeous.
Wow, that yarn does look different every time you photograph it. Every incarnation is beautiful though!
You got some nice little gifties! I am loving that cowl in the CTH book..will have to check that one out..
Soooo jealous of your Zelda bag. Lucky duck!
Can’t wait to see the finished boy sweater. I hope it fits like a dream and he wears it all the time.
The cowl {both style and colorway} says Lolly all over it!
Kris’s sweater is really looking good. I love the Noro stuff, too. Silk garden is one of my favorites.
Great friends you’ve got Lolly and great presents. Your man’s sweater is growing fast and I am looking forward to seeing it soon…
Your rustic sweater is coming along nicely! The yarn looks bulky, the sweater should be nice and warm! It is really inviting.
Oh girl that sweater is going to be cool!
And I am stil alway soo jealous when I see your pics of knitting group with Ei!! I wanna knit with you all!!
You’re all sooo cool!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (belated!) That is such a cute picture of you two… I love it!!!
Great gifts – I am a ‘bag-a-holic’ and those look so fun! I wish I had some good friends to knit with! You girls are lucky to have found each other
phew! I can finally comment! (For some reason the last post wouldnt let me get on here) Happy Belated Anniversary!!
Im so jealous you got to start it, it’s looking great by the way. At least I get to learn from your experience now ; )
i love that cowl sweater! the colors are pretty too! glad you had fun with the christmas exchange.. i think my knitting group should do that next year. like the trekking…your first socks were out that
I’ve not really worked with kettle-dyed yarns, but I’m going to just assume that like most hand-dyed or hand-painted yarns, even with the same dyelot, the color concentration/saturation will be greater in some areas than others. Many times, it will tell you to alternate every two rows or so with handpainted yarns so that there won’t be color pooling or obvious variations in the yarn. For me, that’s what I love about the yarn, but it can be aggravating if the colors truly seem off. I think it will be okay though.
Don’t you just LOVE Handpaintedyarn? I would buy out that whole store if I could. That sweater looks lovely and you and your mans are adorable. (Somewhat belated) Congrats!
You are soooo going to love your Zelda bag! I have a tote and I carry it everywhere.
Just went to All About Yarn (or AAY as The Fonz would say) on Friday. They had so much great new stuff….drool…..
I love that chunky yarn. Fun. Isn’t it easy to knit with double points once you get used to it?
Happy Belated Anniversary.
I love that cowl neck sweater, and I’m very jealous of that great Zelda bag.
And I finally finished my Soctoberfest socks. Better late than never.
Hey Lolly….Happy Anniversary to you & Kris! So much to say…first it was so great to all get together this week! Hopefully we can continue that often; ) Secondly, I just love
the handpainted yarn, it is so pretty, and yes it does look different in each photo. I’m so glad you love the bag…we thought it was *totally Lolly*! And lastly, oooohhh those cute puppies. You know how I love little doggies!
Isn’t that the same company that does the Malagrigo? I think it all tends to look pretty rustic, but it usually feels like it’s all of the same type – so I’m crossing my fingers with you that the finished sweater will look just fine.
It looks like you had a great gift exchange with the girls – and received some lovely and thoughtful items.
xo,
E
Love that yarn. I browsed the website and wow! Which yarn did you buy for that sweater? I need to try some myself.
Happy Anniversary. Just had my 11th last week!
What a haul! I love the yarn you’re using for your sweater — and you’re right, it does look different in the photos, but it’s beautiful none-the-less!
love the yarn store buys! I’m trying hard to be good and not buy…but so many yarns call my name when I walk into the LYS!
Enjoy your new Noro book! The designs look gorgeous. I love Kris’s cardi. I love how the yarn colors are working up. Everytime I take multiple pics of a project, the colors look different.
Love the cardigan. Isn’t that yarn beautiful! Can’t wait to see how it turns out…maybe that will be a pattern for my hubby!