1. “Everything Bag” from Suss Cousins, Hollywood Knits Style (k)
2. “Breast Cancer Ribbin’ Scarf,” my design (k) 3. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, navy (k & c) 4. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, claret (k & c) 5. “Cardigan for Arwen” by Kate Gilbert in Interweave Knits, Winter 2006 (k) 6. Aran Sweater for SIL, from Ann Budd’s amazing Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns (k)
7. “Ewe & Eye Needlecase” by Heart’s Content (xs) 8. “Corinthian Ribbed Blanket,” my “design” (a simple ribbed blanket) (k) 9. “Drizzle” by Anna Tillman for Rowan 38 (k)
10. “Ballerina Top” from Zoe Mellor, Adorable Knits for Tots (k) 11. “Aran Wrap,” my design (k)
12. “Felted Sashiko Chessboard Cover,” my design (k) 13. Jord (that’s the name of the yarn) handbag, my design (k) 14. Chair cushion cover, from Suss Home Knits (k)
15. Blue Basketweave scarf from Vogue Scarves book (k)
Only one finish this week, although I have made considerable progress on the Everything Bag (#1) and I anticipate finishing it by the end of the month. The Ewe and Eye Needlecase, as Anna of Stitch Bitch so wisely predicted, is more than a one-month project, even with the bit of a head-start I had going into the month.
But let’s concentrate on the small victory for now–here, making it’s professional debut, give a Lyf So Short welcome to the Jord handbag:
In terms of actually being able to cross things off my list, I haven’t made as much progress this week as last, although I have made significant progress on several projects and I’ve managed to finish the Drizzle Scarf at least (pictured to the right). Mmmmm… so soft and purple….
Because I like longer scarves than most designers seem to think appropriate, I doubled the called-for length of each of the light purple and beige stripes on the ends of the scarf and lengthened the solid purple middle section too. The fuzzy effect is created by mixing Rowan Yorkshire Tweed (sadly discontinued now) with one strand of Rowan Kidsilk Haze (fast becoming one of my favorite yarns) in the “dewberry” color. Here’s a detailed close-up of the striped section:
The pattern, in Rowan 38, calls for a bunch of shell buttons to be sewn on the ends of the scarf, but in the interest of getting all of this done for “stitch or cut floss” March, and, more importantly, because I really didn’t think they would add much, I decided not to go with the buttons. However, I do want to go on the record as saying that my administration has always had a firm pro-shell button agenda.
Here’s how I stand with the list so far:
1. “Everything Bag” from Suss Cousins, Hollywood Knits Style (k)
2. “Breast Cancer Ribbin’ Scarf,” my design (k) 3. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, navy (k & c) 4. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, claret (k & c) 5. “Cardigan for Arwen” by Kate Gilbert in Interweave Knits, Winter 2006 (k)
6. Aran Sweater for SIL, from Ann Budd’s amazing Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns (k)
7. “Ewe & Eye Needlecase” by Heart’s Content (xs) 8. “Corinthian Ribbed Blanket,” my “design” (a simple ribbed blanket) (k) 9. “Drizzle” by Anna Tillman for Rowan 38 (k)
10. “Ballerina Top” from Zoe Mellor, Adorable Knits for Tots (k) 11. “Aran Wrap,” my design (k)
12. “Felted Sashiko Chessboard Cover,” my design (k)
13. Jord (that’s the name of the yarn) handbag, my design (k)
14. Chair cushion cover, from Suss Home Knits (k)
15. Blue Basketweave scarf from Vogue Scarves book (k)
As soon as my roommate’s midterms are over and she sets up the sewing machine for me, I should be able to finish nos. 1, 10, and 13. #1 needs a lining, #10 needs the pieces sewn together, and #13 needs both.
Here are some pictures of the current state of #6, Aran sweater for SIL (the book that the pattern is taken from, by the way, is the amazingly useful Knitter’s Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd, and the pattern is titled “Cable Panel Pullover”). The yarn here is also the late, lamented Rowan Yorkshire Tweed:
Pre-Assembly
And here’s a close-up of the sleeve opening and funnel neck (inside-out, of course):
Close-up with sleeves pinned, inside-out
And here’s a close-up of the sleeve seams (baskstitched):
Sweater Sleeve, seamed
And the wrist:
Sweater Sleeve, Close-up
I’m planning on finishing this up in the next couple days, so that should be one more in the “finished” column. Yay! Stay tuned. Same stitch time, same stitch channel.
I’m making some progress! The projects that are crossed off are completely finished:
1. “Everything Bag” from Suss Cousins, Hollywood Knits Style (k)
2. “Breast Cancer Ribbin’ Scarf,” my design (k) 3. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, navy (k & c) 4. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, claret (k & c) 5. “Cardigan for Arwen” by Kate Gilbert in Interweave Knits, Winter 2006 (k)
6. Aran Sweater for SIL, from Ann Budd’s amazing Handy Book of Knitting Patterns (k)
7. “Ewe & Eye Needlecase” by Heart’s Content (xs) 8. “Corinthian Ribbed Blanket,” my “design” (a simple ribbed blanket) (k)
9. “Drizzle” by Anna Tillman for Rowan 38 (k)
10. “Ballerina Top” from Zoe Mellor, Adorable Knits for Tots (k) 11. “Aran Wrap,” my design (k)
12. “Felted Sashiko Chessboard Cover,” my design (k)
13. Jord (that’s the name of the yarn) handbag, my design (k)
15. Blue Basketweave scarf from Vogue Scarves book (k)
Technically, I decided to frog #11 because it just wasn’t working out, but that counts as finished since I won’t have to think about it anymore. Cardigan for Arwen is turning out to have some fitting issues, so I won’t be talking about that right now.
But here are some pictures of the granny square scarves. First, in navy:
Granny Square Scarf, Navy
And in claret (for both scarves, I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, one of the softest wool/acrylic blends you’ll ever work with):
Granny Square Scarf, Claret
If you’d like the pattern, email the Suss Design people–and tell them Kate sent you!
And here’s the World’s Most Beautiful Boy Cat (commonly known as “El Guapo”) making himself comfortable on the Corinthian Blanket:
Corinthian Blanket and Cat
This blanket is based on a blanket pattern I wrote for the Suss Cousins Wedding Knits book, the Soft Monogrammed Throw, except I used Rowan Chunky Print in the “Corinthian” colorway (hence, my name for the blanket). It’s a simple four-by-four rib stitch on size 13 needles (the recommended size for Chunky Print), but I think the effect is spectacular. And clearly, El Guapo does too. Warning: if you want to make this blanket yourself, it uses 17 balls, however, since Chunky Print is discontinued, you can pick up balls really cheap right now online.
Update 01/25/11: Suss Design is now out of the handknits business and Suss is concentrating all her efforts on her fashion lines, which are now even being featured on QVC. She continues to design knits for films and television as well. However, if you are interested in the pattern for this Granny Square Scarf, you can email me directly and I can arrange to get the pattern from them.
1. “Everything Bag” from Suss Cousins, Hollywood Knits Style (k)
2. “Breast Cancer Ribbin’ Scarf,” my design (k)
3. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, navy (k & c)
4. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, claret (k & c)
5. “Cardigan for Arwen” by Kate Gilbert in Interweave Knits, Winter 2006 (k)
6. Aran Sweater for SIL, from Ann Budd’s amazing Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns (k)
7. “Ewe & Eye Needlecase” by Heart’s Content (xs)
8. “Corinthian Ribbed Blanket,” my “design” (a simple ribbed blanket) (k)
9. “Drizzle” by Anna Tillman for Rowan 38 (k)
10. “Ballerina Top” from Zoe Mellor, Adorable Knits for Tots (k)
11. “Aran Wrap,” my design (k)
12. “Felted Sashiko Chessboard Cover,” my design (k)
It’s a week later and here’s what I’ve finished:
Brown Crocheted Scarf with fringe
No, this wasn’t on the list. Frankly, I forgot about it until it was time for SnB today and I needed a crochet project. Did you know that it’s National Crochet Month? The fabulous Ellen Bloom was there giving out crochet tips and tricks. She is definitely the expert! I learned, among other things, the “half-hitch double crochet” (OK, I may not have gotten the name right but it’s basically a technique to avoid that little gap/hole in between double crochet stitches).
Unfortunately, I’ve discovered other projects to add to my list. Here goes:
13. Jord (that’s the name of the yarn) handbag, my design (k)
I am officially declaring March 2008 to be my “stitch or cut floss” month (doesn’t that sound much nicer than “_____ or get off the pot” month?). But what does that mean, Kate?
I’m glad you asked, gentle reader. “Stitch or cut floss” means that I will, come hell or high water, finish all my UFOs by the end of the month. I will start April 2008 UFO-free!
In no particular order, these are the projects that I need to finish–“k” indicates a knitting project, “c” indicates crochet, and “xs” indicates cross stitch, of course. Here we go:
1. “Everything Bag” from Suss Cousins, Hollywood Knits Style (k)
2. “Breast Cancer Ribbin’ Scarf,” my design (k)
3. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, navy (k & c)
4. “Granny Square Scarf” by Suss Cousins, claret (k & c)
5. “Cardigan for Arwen” by Kate Gilbert in Interweave Knits, Winter 2006 (k)
6. Aran Sweater for SIL, from Ann Budd’s amazing Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns (k)
7. “Ewe & Eye Needlecase” by Heart’s Content (xs)
8. “Corinthian Ribbed Blanket,” my “design” (a simple ribbed blanket) (k)
9. “Drizzle” by Anna Tillman for Rowan 38 (k)
10. “Ballerina Top” from Zoe Mellor, Adorable Knits for Tots (k)
11. “Aran Wrap,” my design (k)
12. “Felted Sashiko Chessboard Cover,” my design (k)
Since I finished all those old cross stitch projects, I’ve been trying not to start a new one until I finish the Heart’s Content Needlecase, so that explains the huge discrepancy in the ratio of knitted to stitched projects. I promise to “correct” that in the future. Tomorrow, I’ll fill you all in on how pathetically close I am to finishing all of these. Sigh.
I’ve started a new project–a ballerina top for my cousin’s adorable daughter, Hudson. Hence, I’m using a pattern from Zoe Mellor’s appropriately named Adorable Knits for Tots. The yarn I’ve chosen is that great stand-by, Tahki Cotton Classic, in a lovely light mauve color. I really love this yarn, but I think the needle size this pattern requires (size 3) is a bit small for it. The gauge is a little tight, which is leading to a bad case of …. “stockinette curl.” Da Da Dum!!
The Lyf So Short 