Hi, knit friend!
I hope this finds you well and knitting. Things have been pretty busy, chez moi, but not on the knitting front. We’ve got two girls about to graduate (a middle schooler and a high schooler), so that’s kept me busy. Forms and activities to wrap up their time at their respective schools, paperwork for their new schools, outfits for various ceremonies and events. It’s all exciting but it’s also a lot. And two in the same month, with grandparents coming whom we haven’t seen in 2.5 years, takes it over the top.
Since there’s a lot going on, I haven’t moved any of my to-be-published designs forward (I just don’t have the bandwidth), but I can’t not knit, right? To that end I knit up Melanie Berg’s Pink Is For Power pullover with some of TreLiz’s delicious cashmere blend yarn (frogged from Jane Richmond’s Audrey - fun to knit garter stitch cardigan that just ended up not being the sweater for me). This sweater was a very different kind of construction than I’m used to, being top-down and drop-shouldered. My only quibble (and it’s my quibble with all top-down sweaters) is that I don’t like doing sleeves last with the entire sweater body in my lap. I am very happy with the finished sweater and need to get a decent photo of myself in it. Melanie battled breast cancer (in Berlin, just like my sister) and proceeds from this pattern go to a German breast cancer awareness fund, so it was kind of the perfect project for me last month.
One of the things I’ve been working on over the past few years (even before the pandemic got us all KonMari-ing) is lightening my stash and clearing out some samples. There are sweaters I’ve knit that have become part of my residual self-image and then there are garments that have been tucked away in moth-proof bins. When you are a prolific knitter, you end up with a lot of stuff. I’ve given knits to friends and donated yarn to charity and am thinking of doing a sample sale on my Payhip shop (probably in the Fall - most northern hemisphere folks aren’t thinking about sweaters right now). I want to lighten my load a bit but certainly don’t want to stop knitting.
So, in recent stash tossings, I came across a half-knit design that just didn’t progress. The yarn is some bouncy merino that I bought at Rhinebeck years ago. Undyed, creamy, bright wool that doesn’t seem to be available online. Because of that it really isn’t a good candidate for a design (knitters like the option of knitting up exactly what they see in a pattern). Combine that with the fact that I gave my Beaton pullover (from the first issue of Filament*) to my bestie, it being too small for me, and I am now knitting my very own Beaton. Let me tell you, I did a really good job of combining cables to make that sweater. It is a pleasure to knit, and I haven’t referred back to the charts since something like the sixth round! There will be some yarn chicken, but I think I have just enough. Maybe 3/4 sleeves to make sure there’s enough for the collar? This is one place where top-down sleeves are a good thing: you work most of the sweater then knit the sleeve with your remaining yarn. We shall see. I may provisionally cast on the tops of the sleeves at the yoke joining round, then graft the sleeves to the body at the end. That would certainly put my grafting skills to the test (luckily the honeycomb stitch pattern has quite a few knit-only rounds, so it’s just a matter of grafting four stitches in purl on either side of the braid that runs up the sleeves - I can do that). My other option is to not do the shawl collar since it uses more yarn than just a simple ribbed edge, but I do love that aspect of the design. Right now I’ve got a 15-inch sleeve (put on waste yarn after the final increases - we shall see how much longer I can make it down the line), which served as my second gauge swatch, and eleven or so inches out of 14 for the body. After that I think I’ll knit the second sleeve to the same place, so I know how much yarn I have for the yoke and collar. The one other thing I’m considering is to keep all the increased fabric on the second sleeve in stockinette, rather than integrating the increases into new honeycomb. This would use less yarn and make the sleeve fabric where it falls against the body less bulky. That might be the ticket. After doing the second sleeve that way, I would weigh both sleeves to see how much yarn is conserved. Kind of a fun/nerdy experiment.
Of course I could kick myself over the past few days of heat for choosing *now* to work on a worsted weight, cabled sweater project, but things have abruptly cooled off in NYC today (yay!), so fingers crossed that the weather stays pleasant until I finish up this project. Next one will be fingering or lace weight for sure.
What are you working on these days? Does the weather dictate when you knit? I generally knit year round. Do you plan ahead with your projects, working on small gifts and such when the weather heats up? I do like smaller or lacy projects when it’s warm, though I have been known to knit substantial winter wear in the heat of summer for a photo shoot. Of course if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, you’re heading into the cold!
Feel free to comment below/on the web with what you’re working on. In all the graduation hubbub, I’m spending less time on social media, so I’m missing out on your current projects.
In thanks for being a subscriber, use the code “substack” (no quotes) for 25% off all my patterns in my Ravelry and Payhip shops. (I wanted to do a BOGO but Payhip doesn’t offer coupon options like that, so instead of Buy One Get One 1/2 Off, you just get 25% off any/everything - not bad.)
Looking for a Father’s Day gift? My necktie patterns (Dennis or Nicholas) are pretty quick and very sharp. My other mens knits generally need more time, but you could get started on A Vest for Charles, the Vesey St. Vest, or the ever-popular An Aran for Frederick. Beaton is a unisex design, if you’d like to knit along with me. Captain Austen’s Scarf is also a good one - Nick wears his all winter.
Until next time…
Happy knitting! xxoo, Kathleen
*Filament is out of print, but you can find past issues on Ravelry, and my patterns from the magazine are available individually in both my Ravelry and Payhip shops.
The Knit No. 22 | Summer Sale
I have for years lived in an area that gets hot and moderately humid in the summer, and doesn't get truly cold in the winter. I'm now moving to somewhere that only gets warm in the summer and snows occasionally in the winter. Even so, because I run hot all the time, I never knit anything heavier than DK weight, and I almost always knit pieced cardis rather than all-in-one-go. However, I'm never not knitting, no matter how hot it gets!
However, one thing I've found useful for the occasional top-down piece - knit the whole until you separate the sleeves, then work the sleeves, and then go back to the body. The sleeves can then be turned inside out and tucked into the body while you're knitting the rest of it, and you've got less bulk in your lap. It will look a bit funny at stages, though... https://cathairinmyknitting.wordpress.com/2022/06/01/mash-up-to-end-all-mash-ups/