Progress Report: Weekend Getaway Satchel

Just a quick update...I had to take almost three weeks off from knitting because of the tendonitis in my right wrist, but I was able to keep working on my mom's felted bag because the motions used in embroidery didn't hurt me at all.

As a small side note: I had all this Free Time in those three weeks. The house was clean, the nails were painted, books were read! I am wondering if I need to find a little balance now that I am able to knit again. Maybe take one or two nights off a week to do something else. Maybe. Hehe.

Anyway, the bag is knit in pieces and felted separately, then sewn together; the sides, bottom, and back are all solid black, while the front is a riot of color. The color is accomplished by knitting the main blocks for the flowers and leaves in intarsia, then embroidering on the stems and detail work. Doing that embroidery took about as long, maybe even longer, than knitting the whole 30" by 34" inch intarsia panel. But when I was done, I had gone from this:



To this!





I've also felted the whole thing but haven't had a chance to take pictures yet. After this week, I should have time to sew the whole thing up and give it to my mom! I can't wait to finish.

My Own Personal Mary Poppins

When I saw the pattern for the Weekend Getaway Satchel, it was one of those "lightning strike" moments--I knew it MUST be made for my mom. One of the first movies she saw in the theater as a kid was Mary Poppins, and she still loves it--but most importantly, this bag is a symbol of what she has been to me over the past year and a half. She and my dad, through various life circumstances, found themselves with a job that enabled them to live anywhere in Southern California, so they moved right across the street from me to help me through treatment for and recovery from a chronic illness. The many hours she's spent playing with my children, running errands for me, folding laundry, painting my walls, picking up toys, and much more, have literally made my life livable. Just as Mary Poppins seemed to have everything that could possibly be needed in that bag of hers, my mom has somehow managed to anticipate our needs and fill them even before I knew what they were. As she and my dad get ready to return to their regular lives in the next few months, I wanted to make her a carpet bag as a reminder of my appreciation.

I knew this would be a time-consuming task, but since I had never done intarsia before I didn't even really know what to expect. I knitted the solid-colored back, sides, bottom, and straps first; that way when I started the intarsia panel I knew exactly how much time I would have to finish before Christmas...so I started the colorwork with confidence. I had to laugh at myself half-way through the first row when I realized that I had only half as many little bobbins as I needed, since I didn't realize that each section of black between the colored spots on any given row would require its own little yarn supply!

I guess I shouldn't really be surprised that I chose something this big for my first colorwork, considering that my first cable project was this:


You know, though? There really is something to be said for going "all in." Sure, the first few rows of cables or intarsia were a little shaky, but when you have so much practice right at the beginning, you can't help but learn quickly how to make it look right. After about the 15th row of the colorwork, I was twisting the yarn together when switching colors like a pro! It became very natural to work with the bobbins and maneuver the whole thing on my lap, and after finishing the panel I have the confidence to tackle any intarsia! I am no longer scared of it. (Side note: I am still very afraid of Fair Isle...should I start with an adult male sweater? *cackle*). The other nice thing about starting with this particular project is that it's going to be felted, so I knew that any holes between colors could be stitched up and the washing machine would hide a multitude of sins.

Here's the front of the bag (I shared the back's tangle of ends to weave in here). It's about 33 inches from bottom to top, to give an idea of the scale.



Today, I've been working embroidering stems, flower centers, leaf veins, and more to finish up the floral pattern before felting--this might take nearly as long as knitting the intarsia did. And, in keeping with the theme, it's also my first embroidery!

Finished: Delancey Cardigan/WIP: Weekend Getaway

My Delancey Cardigan has been finished for a couple of weeks now, and I had high hopes for a real photo shoot with this one. I wanted glamour shots, darn it! But with the holidays, finding time and a willing photographer was too hard and I decided the inside photos would have to do.



The pattern is by Alexis Winslow (just a tip: it can be purchased through the Knit Picks site for a few bucks less than the Ravelry download costs), and I'd say it's a great pattern in every way. If you get gauge, you're off and running since the pattern is very specific and clear for row-by-row instructions. I mentioned my short row problems earlier--the pattern doesn't specify *how* to do some things, just that you need to do them, so I'd say it's not a complete beginner pattern, though. It's totally seamless, so if you like that sort of thing, this is a perfect cardigan!

I used my go-to yarn, Knit Picks Swish DK. I love this yarn--it's soft, washable, and comes in beautiful colors. When it's knit at more of a worsted gauge, the fabric is so light and drapy, yet snuggly too! The colors in Delancey are Beach Glass, the perfect greeny-turquoise, and Pampas Heather, a surprisingly interesting and complex neutral. I would call it green, but as you can see, bronze buttons look like they were made for it:


In that photo you can also see the slight fuzzing on the sleeve that happens with wear--I've been wearing this a ton! Usually I'd take a sweater shaver to it, but I thought someone might be interested in what the yarn looks like after a few wearings.

One thing I am not too happy about is that since this is knit at 18 sts/4 in with DK yarn, it's pretty loose, and my purse keeps catching on it! I've had to carefully work several snags back into the sweater.

Anyway, the fit is really nice. I made the 36" size, which matches my bust size with zero ease and has a few inches of negative ease on the hip--the right choice for this pattern, I would say. It's very stretchy because of the diagonal construction. After wearing it a bit, I ended up sewing down the back of the shawl collar because it wouldn't stay folded properly. Once I did, the front of the collar looked perfect, so I'd recommend doing that.



It feels good to be done with this, because I sort of fell out of love with it as I went along. I've realized that I don't have very many "plain" sweaters, the kind I can just throw on with a casual outfit and run to the park. I've got one in the works now that is really just a glorified hoodie--I'll share more about that one later!

For now, though, guess what I will be doing tonight?



(That's the back of the intarsia panel for my mom's Weekend Getaway Satchel...almost done!! I'm really having fun with that project.)

Let there be color!

Don't you hate it when life gets in the way of your knitting? I sure do. Between school, work, colds, things breaking in my house, and fall fun activities like a trip to the apple orchards, I have had to stay up into the wee hours of the night if I want to spend time on my hobby...then pay for it dearly the next day when the kids are up at 6:30 am and want to come crawl in bed with me. It's adorable, but of course I can't go back to sleep. I always have to remind myself that they won't be little forever, and just squeeze them a little tighter until I am happy to be awake.

Despite the lack of knitting time, I have:

• made a very little progress on my Delancey Cardigan. WIP photo here.

• finished a Honey Cowl, for which there will be no blog post because it's ugly--there is no redeeming neon pink, yellow, and green varigated yarn!--though the free pattern is awesome and highly recommended. Ravelry pattern page for Honey Cowl by madeleine tosh.

• nearly finished a Peak's Island Hood by Ysolda Teague (Ravelry pattern page.). In a wonderful bonehead move, last year I purchased one skein of Patons Classic Wool in Aran, and one in Winter White, but didn't notice the difference until I was three inches past the skein change in my Hood. Argh. Silver lining: There will be Wilton's food coloring crock pot dye-ing to write about!

• knitted about 4 inches of the intarsia part of the Weekend Getaway Satchel (Pattern photo below from Interweave Knits, Fall 2005) .

So, leave it to me to choose a huge, involved piece for my first intarsia project! I had to giggle at myself when I started the first row and realized that although there are only 3-5 spots of color in each row, the black background in between also requires a separate ball of yarn. I had to wind about 6 balls of black as I progressed across that row! I think at this point, I am up to about 12 little bobbins at once. This picture was taken about 10 rows ago, and there are also some red and yellow patches involved now. It just tickles me to see all the colorful little bobbins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes hanging off the back of the work.

This bag is a labor of love. It's not TV watching or social knitting now that the solid pieces are all done. I've even felted them already! As soon as I get some good pictures I have lots to share.

Finished: Que Sera (Sera!)

This was an aptly-titled project--whatever will be, will be! I started this cardigan with the intention of keeping it for myself, because let's face it, most of the things I make are for me. (Side note--I'm not ashamed to admit that at all!) But as in life, things don't always work out as we plan.

Pattern: Que Sera by Kirsten Kapur, size XS with shorter sleeves.
Yarn: 8 skeins Knit Picks Main Line (discontinued), 75% Pima Cotton, 25% Merino Wool, in Ivory
Buttons: Vintage brass dress buttons from Vintage Necessities on Etsy.

Because I'm knitting from stash, when I fall in love with a pattern I have to rummage around and see what I've got that might work. In this case, I had two quantities of cotton-blend yarn: one lot of Knit Picks Main Line in Ivory with enough yardage to make the XS size with truncated sleeves, and one lot of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Robin's Egg Blue with enough to make my size if I also made short sleeves. The Main Line was so much softer (seriously, I don't know why they discontinued this yarn...it's wonderful!), and I started to imagine wearing the sweater in cream color, so I did some calculating and went with it.

Since it's a thicker yarn than called for (aran vs. worsted), I used a size larger needle, and made the XS size. I fully admit this might have been an ill-advised choice from the start. The bust measurement for the XS in the schematic is 31.5". Ahem. Not my size. But I started with the sleeves as a kind of a swatch and it seemed to be working out to be something approaching my size. Once I got a fair bit completed on the body, however, I realized that the lace pattern pulls in much more than I had bargained for, and started to make peace with the fact that this cardigan was not meant to be mine. Once it was complete, it was not quite an XS, but there were about 4 inches between the front edges when I tried it on. Bummer. No picture of my humiliation, sorry.



Then, it really started to be kismet. My very dear (and tiny!) friend got an AMAZING job and is re-entering the workforce part-time after taking a break for children for the past five years. I realized this sweater was meant to be hers. It's my "Congratulations and I'm SO Proud of You!" gift. It was actually finished a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to surprise her so I sat on this post for a while--then I caved and told her about it on the phone the day before our big outing (to an awesome show and dinner for her job!). But oh well: she loves it, and of course I forgot to take a picture of her in it, so here it is anyway.


PS: The robin's egg blue Cotton Fleece I mentioned? It's going to be a Que Sera for me! Stay tuned. :)