Okay, I know we are like in the middle of November, but I’ve had this post in my drafts and decided to finally let it out.
I would like to keep a running log of the projects that I’m working on, what I finished and what I’m looking at. Since we are in the very beginning of this month (and close to the end of the year, it doesn’t hurt to start here. For this November, I’m currently working on two projects.
Neighborly Cardigan for my second son
It all started when I decided to make a cardigan for my husband. The pattern I wanted to use was the Neighborly Pattern from Lionbrand website.I was very enthusiastic, and ready to complete it. Only thing is, I meansured him wrong (ugh) and had to frog the whole thing. I was totally discouraged. I mean, I wanted to knit something for him and I had picked the right pattern. I have learned from that failed pattern. 1. The yarn he picked was too heavy, it turned into a jacket and less of a cardigan sweater. The second thing that I learned is that because the yarn was too heavy, it’s going to stretch and become longer than what we want.
So ultimately, it was a good idea to frog the sweater and try again with a different yarn. Instead, I decided to knit the sweater for my sons, and come back to it for my husband. Their sweaters are quick and easy, and I can make modifications. One son wanted a hood, the other wants a hood and pockets.
The pocket idea is something new that I haven’t tried before, so I’m looking forward to that, and I’ll do my best to post my updates in regarding that.
Variegated Cowl Bandana
I have to admit, I’m really excited about this project that I started for a multiple of reasons. First, I’m working with variegaed yarn again, and the other reason is that it’s a cowl idea.
Variegated Yarn — I have a love / hate with this kind of yarn. I’ve tried this yarn before in the past, many times. I really hated it. I don’t know what it was– my age, my season in life, something; but every time I made something with it, the colors were just too over the place for me and I could not get into it. Then one day, looking at shawls, I can across Red Heart Super Saver Fall Variegated Yarn. At first I was like, eh — whatever, then I saw a shawl made with it and the colors were just amazing at how beautiful it looked. I bit the fiber and I purchased it. I’m now working on the shawl, and I’m not disappointed.
Bandana Cowl — Okay, this one just surprised me. Again, just sleuthing around looking for ideas and this caught my eye. Okay, looks complicated at first, but then I started to look into all the maths that required for it, and it looks really doable. So I started it and I’m pretty excited to see it progress.
Planning on Working on Eldest Son Sweater…
This one is really pushing it, but if I can finish my second son’s sweater, then I would start working on my eldest son sweater. His will not be a cardigan, but he wants a pull over. It’s a design that I worked in the past, but he really liked the texture, so I’m going to knit him a larger version of it.
The first one I made for him was when he was maybe 7. He loved it so much, he work it almost all the time. I had to remind him that he had other sweaters (store bought) but he really liked that one. He looked really good in it too, I wonder if I had any pictures of him in it since he wore it all the time?
The yarn I used last time was a brown barley color with flecks. This time, he went with a beautiful blue for it. The gauge for the yarn is different, so I’m going to assume it’s going to take me a bit longer to knit. However, I don’t mind, since it’ll wear it and I look forward to giving it to him.
Taking Projects on the Go…
Finally, I realized that my sweaters are really for at the home knitting projects. Meaning that I really have to work on them at home, when my mind is in it. I tried taking one of my son’s sweater’s out, and I ended up having to frog the whole sleeve. The stitch count was wrong, and it was just too much work to figure out where I went wrong.
So, I’m thinking for this month, the shawl will be for travel (I’m just setting it up at home) and the sweater will be finished in a few weeks–maybe even two.