Presenting my brand new Tapestry cardigan!
November 05, 2006
I bet you were all expecting me to stall for a few more weeks before finishing this cardigan! But hooray, here it is all finished up and photographed for your viewing pleasure!
This is my own design, which I know is not a very complicated design, but nevertheless it's all my own work and I'm proud. I want to try designing something more challenging one of these days, but for this project I didn't feel that the stripy yarn needed any swanky design features as it is swanky all by itself. Here it is:
Click on the photo to see/read more! I will say I'm really pleased with how the edgings turned out. I thought it would look cool to have the stripes going in the other direction on the edgings, and in my opinion it does look cool!
I have just called this cardigan Tapestry for now, but I'd really like to give it a proper name.... If you can think of a name that would suit it please let me know! I'm sure you can all do better than me!
Posted by jen at 07:33 PM | Comments (20)
Halloween is coming and the Pumpkin's getting fat!
October 31, 2006
More like I'M getting fat cramming my face with homemade cake! We don't really DO halloween in the UK, but there were a lot of pumpkins in the shop, and it seemed almost churlish not to buy one! By the way there is knitting content at the bottom if you want to scroll.
Firstly we made a pumpkin risotto (onion, olive oil, pumpkin cubes, arborio rice, stock, rosemary, thyme, white wine, cheese stirred in at the end):
Then we used the rest to make a cake! The recipe is from our much used and drooled over Green & Blacks cook book, you can see the little strands of pumpkin, also it has Maya Gold chocolate (spicy orange flavour):
Both were SO GOOD. That's my halloween contribution!
OK now onto the knitting. I have been beavering away at the Tapestry cardi. Lots of people ask which pattern it is, and it's my fault for not saying stuff often enough - it's my own pattern I'm using! I've done the sleeve borders, and sewn on the buttons - just the bottom border to go. It's pretty long and dull though, so here's where I'm at now:
I was goofing around while Adam took these. I know this photo is dreadful, but I want to post it anyway because:
(a) It makes me laugh
(b) Adam hates it
Haha Adam! You have a dorky girlfriend!
Posted by jen at 08:29 PM | Comments (9)
The return of the Tapestry cardi
October 25, 2006
After totally neglecting my Tapestry cardi to work on the blanket, I finally got back to it this week. I've actually been at home ill today (stinky autumn bug thingie) but I'm feeling slightly better this evening so I thought I might as well show off my progress! I hope you all haven't noticed I still haven't shown a finished Pinkster, soon I promise.
I've finished all the main pieces and sewn the raglan seams together:
This is to prove it is a real cardi!
None of the stripes line up at all. Which I knew was going to happen when I knitted it, but I now wonder if it matters a little bit. With that Noro Kureyon stuff (that I haven't used but admired on many other blogs) it clearly doesn't matter since the stripe pattern is so long, but maybe for Tapestry it does. Also therefore making a raglan may have been stupid. I don't really mind, but it might make it less smart than I imagined, and therefore only get worn for casual and not to work as well like I planned.
Any thoughts? Or shall I finish the damn thing so we can all decide properly?!
Also I have started the edgings for the sleeves, they are fun, garter stitch with wee picots on the edge and short rows to make it flare:
OK now I'm tired, maybe me and the Caterpillar will watch Napoleon Dynamite (AGAIN!) under a duvet. Hurrah!
Posted by jen at 07:57 PM | Comments (8)
What blog?!
September 03, 2006
Sorry about that, I just kept procastinating and suddenly it's been ages. I've even actually been knitting and shopping, so there have been some things to show.
Firstly, I keep forgetting to say (it's only exciting to me probably!) but I'm going to San Francisco and around in only a few days! It's all come along very quickly, since we've been planning to go for a few months now. I've been before, but not since I was 18. Can anyone recommend any ace fabric/yarn/clothes shops I should visit (I have one day entirely to myself without Adam), and also any vegetarian restaurants and good bars? I rely on recommendations, and I would be super grateful if anyone had any!
OK onto the stuff I have actually been doing this last week or so. My Tapestry cardi is coming along very nicely, since the initial moron set back! I have now done: back, both fronts, one sleeve. So only one more sleeve and the edging to go! But the edging might need a little more thought and so take longer.
I also got the Perfect Buttons! I was looking for ages, because it's hard to find ones that match both the pinky and the grey parts of the yarn. In the end I found some that are big, dark, and have a brown-grey sheen that I think is perfect - I bloody love buttons!
Nice eh? Also here is proof I have done the fronts!
As well as the buttons I also bought hooks and eyes so if I can tear myself away from the Tapestry I can finish the Pinkster.
I guess I should get on with it all! Remember to leave San Francisco tips if you have a chance - thanks!
Posted by jen at 10:26 AM | Comments (12)
As if the ripping never occured.....
August 23, 2006
I've regained all the lost knitting on the Tapestry cardigan, ie finished the back for the second time! I couldn't find anywhere to pin it to show it properly, so I ended up pinning it on a box just so you lucky viewers can see it! This resulted in several minutes setting up what turned out a very dull photo, but since I bothered, here it is!
To make up for that poo face boring photo, here's one to show just how shiny and soft and pretty the yarn really is:
I've also started a front. I hope to get it done in the next couple of weeks....maybe that's too optimistic?! I'm looking forward a lot to doing the edgings on it, because the stripes will go vertically instead of horizontally, and I hope it looks cool and not dorky.
I also took some photos of some of the bits I like a lot in Rowan 40:
1 = crazy cool muff
2 = sexy socks (but there is no leg shaping, will they make wrinkles around the ankle like a granny's tights?! And if so I'm not making them!)
3 = lovely crocheted over the top frilly scarf, I want one
4 = gorgeous cardigan which I won't make but like loads anyway
5 = wacky armwarmers, which for some reason appeal to me a lot, but I wouldn't make them in brown, maybe inky blue.
It's a brilliant magazine for accessories, well - it's a brilliant magazine anyway but I'll probably only end up making the accessories. It's nearly bank holiday weekend! It's been such a dismal august we haven't arranged to go anywhere, but I hope to go shopping and get those bloody hooks and eyes to finish the Pinkster, maybe there will be finished stuff next week......
Posted by jen at 09:14 PM | Comments (6)
Stupid needles! Stupid Jen!
August 20, 2006
Thanks for the tips on mannequins to sketch over, I'm going to print out the ones Sylvia suggested, since they're free, hurrah, and have a go with them! Look for some semi decent sketches soon :)
I've had a bit of a catastrophe with the Tapestry cardigan! I was knitting it with some of my mum's needles, which were a little bit short, so I went to buy some more longer ones. They didn't have any bamboos so I bought metal ones, and after changing needles my tension suddenly went loads tighter. I didn't notice until I had finished the entire back!
I think it went wrong because my mum's needles are very smooth like bamboos, and the new needles were less smooth, so the yarn wasn't moving as easily and everything tightened up. Balls! I measured the tension at various places, and found roughly where I changed needles, so I ripped out to there - it was annoyingly near the beginning!
I swapped to a third pair of needles, which are the not so smooth type but 1/4 of a mm bigger. I know that might be stupid but I think it should work and I'll measure tension again once I've done a few rows. I'm very keen to get the back done again, let's hope it goes quickly. *sigh*
Posted by jen at 12:19 PM | Comments (5)
The common cold sucks, but at least I got to knit a little bit
August 15, 2006
Firstly thanks for your comments on Gemma - you're all very kind and I'm glad you like it!
I'm at home today with a cold (in August!) cocooned in a fluffy blanket and blowing my poor little nose so much it's gone fire-engine red. I'll be back at work tomorrow, but today I felt a bit too grim to go in!
I found this mannequin thingie in my Vogue Knitting book which is supposed to help sketch a design, since we all know I'm pretty useless at that. You put paper over the page and draw the design around the mannequin. Apparently I can't even do that, and my sketches look like the person wearing the sweater is ridiculously thin!
But I like the idea of tracing over a shape to do the sketching - it takes the hard work out. Maybe I'll find a fatter person to sketch!
That is supposed to be the jacket I want to make from my Tapestry yarn. It's a pretty plain fitted cardigan, with sewn on, garter stitch, slightly flared edging, which will be knitted side-to-side and with little picots along the edge. It's not too exciting, because the yarn itself is pretty exciting, so I don't want to waste the effort making lots of fancy details (even though they are more fun to knit!).
I thought it would be nice for work as well as with jeans and stuff. I hope it turns out how I imagine. Here's my swatch (I swatched! And didn't immediately rip it out!):
I started, and have done some of the back:
I really love most of the designs for Tapestry in Rowan 40, especially Sorrel, which the lovely Cirilia is going to make (looking forward to seeing that!), but I just wanted to make one totally of my own. Hopefully I'll make good progress!
Posted by jen at 02:52 PM | Comments (12)