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Now that a certain ground hog has told us that Winter is certainly sticking around, nothing is more enticing than burrowing in and getting cozy inside… My current favorite activity? No doubt: bundling up on the couch with a good movie AND a great knit! I’ve gone cabin-crazy knitting top-down sweaters in this new year and don’t see it stopping – I’m on number three right now and just plan to keep on going until I run out of steam (or the need for a lap blanket is gone). :) You know there is nothing more soothing and cozy than wrapping yourself in a pile of wool and there’s always room for the simple, the essential – IBA is first off the needles. The IBA style is something that many of you wrote to me asking for – and incorporates lots of all of our favorite knitting moments: top-down construction, no seaming, built-in neckband, and a relaxed fit… It has lots of plain knitting in there too – I almost named this Netwatcher because it has accompanied me on many rounds "at-the-movies" on you-know-where. IBA has just enough stitch detailing to keep it interesting but enough lovely happy Stockinette Stitch in an Aran gauge to get done in no time at all! Here’s a style that can zoom through those lovely fiber fest barn yarns or simply and elegantly showcase some favorite handpaint. Get all the details here… |
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New Threads Friday February 7, 2014
Sometimes the better part of valor is to just look your nemesis in the eye and and say game on, WINTER!
While we kept waiting (and waiting) for the weather to follow the calendar here in the Pacific NW, Mother Nature had different plans.
So, inspired by my drafty old house and the need to have a Comfy Cozy refuge from the storm, I started knitting.
After sketching and playing around with a huge swatch, TAURIEL took off…
I needed something simple, quick and lovely –
The design uses worsted wool and #8 (5mm) needles for a peppy gauge that makes that sweater sooner rather than later and features inclusive detailing with a modern but easy, chain-cable motif to keep it interesting.
Best of all? NO SEWING: when you’re done, weave in a few ends and WEAR IT!
introducing … Chic Knits TAURIEL
Finished Closed Chest Measurement
34 (36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 48, 52)”
Yarn – Worsted Weight
900 (950, 1010, 1060, 1120, 1190, 1265, 1350) yards
Gauge: 18 sts / 24 rows over 4″ St st
click HERE for more details and to get the pattern….
sweater evolution December 3, 2013
sometimes it just isn’t over until it’s over…
Moving cross-country last year winnowed out grand portions of my household back East.
Not spared: my collection of sweaters.
Gone to good homes & beyond, anything that would not fit into the three remaining packing boxes on moving day. (You see, I’d saved the most valuable belongings to be packed until last.)
It was ruthless. And Reckless.
Funny thing is, now that I’ve put some new roots down, and it’s gotten very chilly, I’ve been reaching for some phantoms. These were the items I thought I’d brought, rescued or put away for a particularly c.o.l.d. day. But they are no longer in the wardrobe, oops! but gone on to a, hopefully, better place, c’est la vie.
Now, what remains has to really earn its keep. Once you’ve been recklessly ruthless, it’s much easier to keep downsizing and exiting those styles that are not being worn.
Case in point:
Long ago, in 2004, I knit a wonderful cardigan, one of the most ambitious projects I’ve ever attempted, a design from the Vknitting Fall 2002 magazine.
In my newbie-ish, mad-knitting-scientist way, I tinkered it right from the beginning, imposing a scoop-necked huge collared zippered cardigan mod on a pullover pattern.
But. I never wore it!
Thinking it was the zipper I really loathed, that became a buttonband (in 2008).
And. I still. Never wore it!
How it became one of the sweaters that survived the moving rough cut is a mystery but survive it did and the other day, I decided it was finally now or never.
Enter that perennial favorite here at Studio Chic Knits: The Dyepot.
Even though I really love the color, it was time for a change!
So off came the collar, on went a neckband and into the bubbly. I used something I’d acquired at a fiber fest long ago – some Gaywool Dye in the color LONGWOOD, a rich deep brown.
This product mix is really appealing – no additional stuff has to be added during the process (salt, sodium acetate, etc) so it was almost a set-it-and-forget it kind of hour or so in the simmer.
Rinsed thoroughly and given a final vinegar-laced pass and VOILA:
Even the buttons match now!
Such a deep lovely burgundy – and who said being stubborn doesn’t pay…