B&B Cardigan

I suppose I've made you wait long enough for photos of my Black & Boysenberry cardigan, and since I finally managed to throw together a few half-decent photos, today is the day.

I'm sure I've laid out the details before, but in case you don't remember, I used EZ's percentage system to knit the cardigan entirely in the round on circulars, with a steek in the front that I cut to add the buttonbands at the end.


The sleeves were also knit in the round, two at a time, and then attached at the underarms so that I could continue knitting the whole thing in the round. I used a set-in sleeve shaping and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I think I had knit the shoulder width a bit small, according to my knitting gauge, but it blocked out pretty wide when it was wet, so it actually turned out just about perfect.

I also did v-neck shaping with a steek, which made the work-in-progress look pretty weird, but after cutting, the shape is just right. I am really happy with the depth and angle of the v-neck - it really pays to measure and get out the calculator and a pencil. With an eraser.

The sleeves lengthened a bit more than I anticipated, with blocking, as well, but they are still a comfortable length. I fold the cuff back once if I want to keep them out of trouble, but otherwise, they are cozily down around my hands, keeping me warm.


As you can see, I couldn't pick just one type of button at the fabric store. It's not entirely my fault - the store didn't have eight buttons of either of the styles I wanted. It was my mom who suggested that I get four different types of buttons and mix them up, two of each. I agreed that it was just enough to give the otherwise simple cardigan a bit of personality.

The only thing I don't love is the corner where the buttonband turns to the v-neck. It is a bit floppy - I guess I did too many increases there, since I was guesstimating how many I would need. I could try to reblock them flatter, but I'm not sure it would work, anyway, since they were pretty flat while blocking the first time. Having the top button a bit higher would probably help with that, too. Live and learn.

I'm super happy with this one - it is just the size I wanted, comfortable and warm. I've been dreaming of a wide-stripe v-neck since forever, it seems. (At least since then.) I finally have one.

Almost a Cardigan

I put a lot of time into the striped cardigan this week, and it's paid off. I attached the sleeves to the body on Monday, and this morning finished the shaping and got ready to cut the steek. As you can see, it ended up looking a bit weird, since I did decreases for a v-neck on either side of the steek, on the upper half. That way I could keep knitting in the round and do all the shaping at once. The set-in sleeves worked really well and look good, although you can't really tell in the photo, since they are all squished together by the neckline shaping. I loved having a chance to customize where the seams sit, even if it meant doing a bit of math last night when I was planning it.

This afternoon I sat down at the sewing machine to stabilize the sides of the steek, so none of you have to worry about my sweater unravelling. Then I carefully cut it apart along the dotted line, and picked up a million stitches for the collar and buttonband. I should have the knitting done by tomorrow (dare I say tonight?) and then lay it out to block for a day or so.

The scariest thing about knitting with steeks isn't even the cutting; it's not being able to try the sweater on to see how it fits. You have to rely on your gauge swatch, your skills with a measuring tape, and knitting math. I'm not gonna lie -- I tried it on right after I cut the steek, since I was pretty nervous about it, and I'm really excited about the fit. Hopefully it will look even better with buttonbands and a good blocking.

Getting Somewhere

The problem with having so many projects on the go at once is that progress moves slowly, overall. I've been plugging away at several of them, but only really getting anywhere on one or two, this week.


I decided to pick up the socks and do some more work, since socks are fairly quick to finish, and I would be able to get one project off the roster. (Let's not point out, just now, how I always start knitting a new pair, having completed the old one.) As you can see, I have one completed sock toe, which means one completed sock. The linen stitch suits this yarn, I think, and the star toe is not my usual, but I like it, too. The second sock is moving along, as well, but this week, I have started putting more time into the stockingette cardigan.


I cast on some sleeves on Tuesday (two-at-a-time, to make sure they're matchy) and have been going around and around since then. Having stripes helps me to keep going, since I get that "just finish this stripe" feeling while I'm knitting. Then I get the "maybe one more stripe" feeling, after that. I am really loving this cardigan, and can't wait to see the finished project.

On the Needles

I noticed that I've been getting lazy about showing things that I'm working on. A few of them are big projects, and I always try to wait for them to be photogenic before I post something. Sometimes they aren't really photogenic until they are finished, though. Here are a few candid photos of what I have on the needles, right now.


The latest shawl in progress, the Bridgewater shawl by Jared Flood. It has a garter stitch square for a center (very meditative and enjoyable) that is knit diagonally from one corner to the opposite corner, with increases and decreases along the sides to shape the square. Then you pick up a border around the edges of the square, and knit a lace border. I'm at that part of the pattern, which is why it looks like an amoeba. I admit I haven't been working on it much, of late. There are a couple of other things that are taking up my attention.


One of those is a plain stockingette cardigan in black and boysenberry stripes. I had some black worsted wool in my stash, but only half what I needed to make myself a sweater. Of course I immediately thought of using it with another colour, doing a nice wide stripe on a basic cardigan, and got some yarn in this beautiful boysenberry colour to cast on. I'm using EZ's percentage system from Knitting Workshop, and making a steek up the front to cut apart into a cardigan after knitting the body. I am also going to use her formula for circular set-in sleeves to see how that works. And I'm "complicating matters" with a v-neck, as she puts it. "The techniques are simple, but would gum up directions for your first circular set-in sleeve to an intolerable degree." I do love complicating matters.


The other large project I'm working on is another cardigan, the Traveling Sweater that all the Blue Moonies are in love with. This one is a more interesting construction: short row wedges that form a circle of ribbing, with sleeves and upper-back knit separately and attached. I am just past one-fourth of the circular ribbing. It's simple enough, and the yarn is soft and lovely wool/bamboo. I'm still enjoying it, but I might be cursing 2x2 ribbing in another week or three.

Well, those are the big projects. I will show you the smaller ones, too, one day soon. Maybe even a finished one. Well, I can dream, anyway.