Sweaters

As Bill's Mystery Wool Cardigan Vest nears completion, I wondered, just how many adult sweaters have I knit since 1992?  It must only be handful, right? So I started counting.

What sounded like a simple question, turned into a good learning experience.  So good, that I plan at least two future posts about the evolution of my hand spun yarns and a review of smaller knits.  After the initial post publication, I went back and added links for the sweaters discussed in this blog.

These sweaters are not listed stricly in order, but by vague recollection, since some items were completed before I kept project journals.

1. My very first sweater was the seamless yoke sweater from my first knitting book, the classic "Knitting Without Tears," by the late, great Elizabeth Zimmerman.  I can't remember the yarn I used. Sadly, yoke sweaters are not a good look for me and although it fit well enough, it had the effect of broadening my already linebacker-ish shoulders.  It went to the Goodwill.  I don't have any pictures of this sweater, which is a shame. I'm sure it was blue.

2. Sweater commissioned in black wool, for an acquaintance.  I don't remember where the design came from, nor the yarn used.  The sleeves were far too long, by about 2 weeks, but he was a trooper, rolled up the sleeves and wore the beast anyway.  No pictures of this one, either.

3. Heather brown pleated skirt.  I don't recall where I got the pattern nor the yarn.  I do remember it was a k4 p1 ribbing.  Very comfy, warm and lovely.  I have no idea what happened to this beauty. 

4. Penny Straker Pullover vest.  I found a lovely Scottish yarn in an amythist heather.  Possibly Jamieson.  I remember the label: white with a blue thistle. Easy to knit. I loved it. Wore it.  Lost it.  I don't know what happened to it. 

5. Penny Straker Cable vest (technically, the Whit Vest).  I bought lovely soft natural wool and loved this baby as well.  Another lost knit.  Yet I still have both patterns.  Go figure.

6. My next project was a basic sleeveless shell, half of a summery twin set, from an old issue of Vogue Knitting. I no longer have the issue so I apologize that I am unable to give the designer credit.  I made no alterations to the design and used a nice soft cotton, in a lovely teal.   It turned out ok, but I didn't love it enough to wear it often and it was donated or possibly frogged.

At this point, I no longer owned any of the sweaters I'd knit, so I probably felt a bit of a failure.  I was diverted from knitting sweaters by The Sweater Gap of eight years I was in Mary Kay, before I realized I would rather spend my free time crafting than selling someone else's products.  I'd have to check the photo dates, but it's possible I knit #7 and #8 during the Mary Kay years.  

7. The Sweater Gap didn't stop me from wanting to knit sweaters, so I bought my Vogue Knittings and Interweave Knits and dreamt a happy knitty dream and found this one.  Lace Blouson Tank, Summer 2004 Interweave Knits, design by Kim Dolce.  The lace patterns were simple.  The yarn a spiffy Cherry Rowan cotton.  Very soft.  The vine lace pattern at the hem turned out well.  Not so much the other lace pattern at the top, which in no way resembles the design.  But, I love this tank.  It fits well, and I still own it.  It's perfect on hot summery days. Finally, a knitting success.  Projected posted in August 2006's Pink Lace Tank.

8. The Goa Tank. From the first Stitch n Bitch Book.  Knit from a wonderfully soft Egyptian cotton, though I can't remember the brand. A near success.  I still own this one, though it's in storage.  In fact, digging out pictures reminded me I still have it. The neckline needs a repair, which is why I haven't worn it in years. Another great top for a hot day.  You know, for the week of screaming hot weather we get here in the Emerald City.

9. Another knitting success and another favorite.  And another design from the first SnB: The Go Anywhere cardigan.  This one knit from Rowan's merino/cotton blend.  It's soft and a fave, but the cotton, being a short staple fiber, means it became sloppy looking in a despairingly short period of time.  Now it's a knock around the house sweater.  I'm wearing it right now, in fact. It's lightweight, soft, and just warm enough to chase the chill.  I would knit this one again, of course, in my own hand spun yarn.

10. V-neck Cardigan Vest I knit as a gift for my sister using high twist hand spun singles of navy 70% Merino/30% alpaca.  I had not progressed to plying yet.  This was not a planned use for the singles.  In fact, I spun a bunch of it and then sat down to knit the vest and see what happened. No real sampling or calculating.  Sheer, blind luck.  This is my first use of hand spun for a practical item.  The design for this vest was from Ann Budd Handy Book of Patterns for this one.  I got the Merino/alpaca roving at the Weaving Works for an insanely low price of $0.90 per ounce.  There was a giant wad of it with a note saying it was all that was or ever would be, so I bought the lot.  As for the vest, I'll have to ask sis if she's still got it.  This is the only pic I have of it.  I didn't think to take one when she put it on.  Post in January 2007's Navy Hand Spun.

11. It's around this time that I enter my Sally Melville phase. I believe I tackled this one first: The Not Your Mother's Suit Jacket.  This baby used 2 strands of bulky yarn held together.  Really.  True, it worked up very quickly, but it looked horrible on me.  The design is more suitable to the waif-like.  Bulky yarns are just not for me.  I wore it a couple of times, but it was heavy and awkward.  I eventually frogged it and used the yarns for a variety of smaller projects.


12. I followed up with the Best Friend Jacket Knit in one insanely large piece, origami style from side to side.  A fun, if very heavy at the end, project to knit.  Knit from black Knit Picks bulky wool/alpaca blend.  Since it's black, the bulky stitches are lost.  Oh, so soft.  I wore this one quite a lot.  However, this beast was knit, as mentioned side to side....in garter stitch.  Which stretches width-wise, my friends.  If knit from top to bottom this variable would not be much of a problem.  However, knit side to side, this beastie grew and grew and grew.  Oh, and the piling. Oy. The pilling.  As with the Go Anywhere Cardigan, it became un-wearable at work.  And looking pretty sad at home, as it slowly grew into a ginormous black blob.  Not unlike the the plastic chair that ate the toy company executive in that episode of Doctor Who....but I digress. I set this one aside for a long time and then decided to felt it.  Into the washing machine it went and came out looking a lot like Sally's Assymetical vest..with sleeves, of course.  I haven't had the heart to cut the sleeves off yet. Excluding the sleeves, it's now a reasonably sized jacket/vest.  Discussed in March 27, 2007 post, Best Friend Jacket.

13. V-neck Pullover.  As much as I liked Sally Melville's enthusiasm for knitting and bought the Knit, Purl, and Color books, the designs just weren't going to work for me.  This is another of the Ann Budd classics, this one from the companion - Handy Book of Sweater Patterns.  Seriousy, these two books are handy.  The yarn is a wool from Knit Picks.  All of the yarns I've purchased from KP have pilled terribly.  However, I love this sweater and own it to this day.  Even though the armpit area has felted into a solid fabric.  Sigh.  Discussed in February 20, 2007 post Arctic Pool V Neck.

It's around this time I get the bug to spin my own yarn for sweaters and have even reached the plying stage.  However, I have the capacity to generate only small quantities of yarn.  The time factor remains an issue, so I make one more sweater using commerical yarns.

14. Two-toned Square Neck Pullover.  I'd been hearing about Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top Down and it was finally reprinted and I picked up a copy.  This is the result.  It's not great.  It was too short and the sleeves, well kinda weird.  Fine as a casual sweater, but I didn't love it.  So I felted it and part of it has been a wonderful tea cozy.  The rest is waiting to be transformed into felt art.

15.  Bill's Mystery Wool Cardigan Vest. 
Not quite finished, this is the latest large knit project.  From sheared fleece to rustic vest.  I planned the heck outta this one.  There will be one last post in the series so I don't want to go on too much, but even though I have to re-do the neck band a third time, my goal to spin the yarn for my sweaters is rekindled. First post in the series was on October 7, 2010, Mystery Wool Project.

16. Thistle Pullover V-neck.  I a few inches away from the armhole.  I'm knitting this in the round until the armholes.  No pictures yet.  It's going to be a quirkly colorway but I love the way the yarn turned out. More to come on this project.  Also in October, the first post on this project, Fine Thistle Yarn.

I want to go back to an Elizabeth Zimmerman project or two, even though her instruction are more wordy and less numbery, I think I'm ready, plus I can grab the Handy books, if I get lost.  The Classic Raglan Crew Pullover (maybe worked as a cardigan) from Knitting Without Tears and the Polo from The Knitter's Almanac have always been appealing.  I've wanted a pair of Art Socks since I first laid eyes on them.
 
There you have it. The point of this exercise.  I've knit 15 1/2 sweaters in 19 years and there are 5 of those sweaters still in use, that I know of.   What have I learned in 19 years of sweater knitting?

One of the reasons I started this blog was to prove to that I finish the projects that I start.  Even if I excluded my non-knitting hobbies, I'd feel pretty good about an average of completing one sweater per year.

I'm giving up the Melville books.  Even with the beautiful photos and the lovely designs, they just aren't for me.  I have made one successful knit: the Shape It Scarf, which is a genius design. Ok, two...I also knit a doll sized version of the Best Friend Jacket as a sample before I embarked on the full size version.

The Ann Budd Handy Books are the two best basic book of designs I've purchased.  I still conceptualize the design, find the yarn and work the gauge but I go back to these books because all the shaping calculations have been worked out for me.  You could say it's... handy.

Bill's Vest taught me that I can do the calculations and my hands can make it.

I've learned I have knit a lot of sweaters since I picked up knitting all those years ago.  A surprising number, in fact. Knowing this encourages me to continue knitting sweaters.  Furthermore, with a bit more planning, I can knit sweaters with my own hand spun yarns.

Next time, Bill's Vest.........I hope!

Happy crafting!