knitting Archives - Sew Wrong

Lucinda June 10, 2014

Summer Knitting – Do you?

Call me crazy, but I just started a sweater this past weekend. It’s been a long time since I picked up my needles and did some serious sweater knitting (I think the last time was Februrary??), and now that Orange is the New Black is back on Netflix, I need some knitting to do so I don’t feel so guilty sitting on my couch binging on episodes. Summer TV (aka watching my Netflix queue) is in full swing now.

I tend to knit more in the fall/wintertime than I do in the summer due to the fact that my hands get really sweaty when I work with yarn in the summer. Sure, I turn the AC on, but I still keep my apartment more on the warm side so I’m not paying a crazy high electric bill each month. Knitting with cotton is a little easier, but honestly, I’m not a big cotton fan – it stretches out, even sometimes when it’s blended with other fibers. I just don’t like how it feels. Meh. I’m a wool girl at heart.

Oh yes, this sweater I just started – it’s called Salted by Alica Plummer, a relatively new sweater pattern I stumbled across on Ravelry. This is the kind of sweater I can picture throwing on in the evening for a stroll along Ogunquit Beach or on an early fall day, and the relaxed fit is a new silhouette I discovered through the Wardrobe Architect that I like wearing now. I chose to make this out of Berocco Vintage, which is an acrylic/wool/nylon blend. I may be kicking myself that I’m knitting with a wool blend in the summer, but that’s for another post.

So – do you knit in the summer? What kind of yarn do you use?

Follow:

Lucinda May 13, 2014

Finished Project: Knit Night Cardigan

Pattern: Whole Wheat Cardigan
Yarn: Sublime Yarns Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK (#162 Pinkaboo)
Needle: US 9

Jeans: Gap
Watch: Michael Kors
Sneakers: Reebok

I started this sweater what…two years ago??? Yeah, umm…I got distracted, let’s call it that! Me Made May this year kicked my butt into gear – I really wanted to finish this sweater to wear with some of my dresses, and I’m finishing up a Ginger skirt right now that goes perfectly with this color. A cropped sweater like this really pairs well with a fit-and-flare dress.

I blame it on the fact that I HATE seaming sweaters. Hate hate hate. Which is crazy, because I sew, but there’s something about sewing up sweaters that’s just plain NOT FUN. It’s irrational, I know, whatever. So this guy sat in my knitting bag for the last year, just waiting to be blocked and sewn together. But now that it is, I think it’s one of my favorite hand-knit sweaters to date (but my Owls is still my all-time favorite, hands down).

Honestly, not a complicated knit, but I did have to be mindful of where I was with the pattern. I may have done the stitch pattern on the fronts incorrectly – I’m not sure if they’re supposed to mirror each other? I actually noticed it as I finished binding off for the second side. It doesn’t seem necessary to have them mirror, but if that floats your boat, it’s totally possible.

I lucked out on the buttons, too! White buttons would have looked way too twee, and these pink ones are a pretty close match.

Is Me Made May motivating you to finish any WIPs that are lying around?

Follow:

Lucinda January 7, 2014

What I Made In 2013: Owl Sweater and Wool Moss Mini [Grainline Studio]

Patterns: Owl Sweater by Kate Davies, Moss Skirt from Grainline Studio
Yarn: Rowan Cocoon, Scree colorway
Fabric: wool from Metro Textile
Sizes: sweater – small, skirt – 6

Hat: Topshop
Leggings: DKNY
Boots: London Fog

During the snow storm late last week, I dreamed up the idea of escaping the cold by going to Maine (hah!) for the weekend and staying at a resort with hot tubs and fireplaces. It was a great weekend last weekend, and so weird to see the place where I vacation in the summer covered in snow. Chris and I walked down to the beach on Sunday, which was a surprisingly warm and sunny day. It felt like a totally different place, seeing all of the beach stores and cafes boarded up for the winter.

Do you remember the sad story about this sweater back in January 2013? After I wove in the ends and blocked the sweater, it stretched out into measurements that were impossible to wear (we’re talking 30″ sleeves, peeps). I threw it in my pile of WIPs, waiting for fall to come so I could harvest the yarn for a big, chunky cowl. Just before I started the frogging, I tried it on one more time – what the heck, it fits!! Since then, this sweater has been in heavy rotation, especially on cold cold days like what we’ve been experiencing in New England lately.

I really really love this sweater! The sleeve are still a little too long, so I just cuff them up a bit and the sleeves are perfect. The stitches are still a bit loose, but it’s ok because I always wear a shirt under the sweater. I’m not sure how I’m going to care for this; I’m afraid of the stretching happening again and the idea of taking it to the dry cleaners doesn’t really appeal to me.

Instead of putting eyes on all of the owls, I just did one owl – it’s more subtle and not as twee looking. Also, I need to try using a needle a size larger when I bind off – I’m barely able to pull the sweater over my head!

Actually, I really love love everything about this outfit! I made another Moss skirt, this time out of wool and acetate from my failed Beignet skirt, and it turned out even better than my first one. After some practice, I think I finally have the hang of inserting a fly front zipper. I went up a size this time since my corduroy skirt was a bit snug, and lengthened the skirt about two inches since my first one was a little too short for my liking and comfort.

It’s absolutely perfect now! I need to make some more of these for warmer weather, this skirt is definitely a TNT (tried ‘n true) pattern in my sewing arsenal.

What are your go-to winter outfits? Mine seem to be mini skirts, leggings or tights, and boots with a cozy sweater on top.

Follow:

Lucinda October 19, 2013

Fall So Far

At the Amtrak station, going on my first work trip to NYC!

Try as I may to squeeze in some sewing time, fall seems to be flying by – I can’t believe it’s getting close to Halloween already. I’m still trying to adjust to a new job and new work schedule, which include many perks like working from home a few days a week and trips to NYC (where I managed to squeeze in some serious fabric shopping). And now, since I don’t have a set dress code for work, I’ve been itching to crank out some projects on my sewing machine…but it’s been tricky figuring out when to sew. Weekends have been full, like during the Greater Boston Yarn Crawl and with time spent with Chris before his schedule shifts gears into retail holiday mode (something I will never miss!). Evenings after work have been filled with barre classes, running at the gym, and starting to bring out the knitting as the temperatures change.

Well, I guess I have made a couple of things, like a knit cardigan on my serger – however, I don’t think I set the tension correctly since the seams are a little wavy around the bottom and front bands, oh well! I used the leftover fabric from that project to make a jersey infinity scarf, which I’ve been wearing pretty regularly and plan on sewing up a few more. I’m just about done with a polka dot Laurel top and have plans to start a black and white plaid flannel version with longer sleeves, and just last night I cut out a green wool Moss Mini Skirt with fabric leftover from the Beignet skirt disaster earlier this year. I find, though, that my sewing productivity goes down around this time each year because I want to spend all of my evenings working on sweaters and scarves – if you look at my knitting projects on the left sidebar, you can see that I’ve got quite a few ready to come off the needles! Maybe I need to try out my sewing experiment again to see if that will help.

How’s your fall sewing coming along?

Oh, PS: I wore my Archer shirt to work this week and I felt great in it! Thank you so much for all of your kind words, I bet no one even noticed my mistakes. I definitely want to get that David Coffin book now.

Follow:

Lucinda July 12, 2013

Weekend Knitting

After several months of not touching my knitting needles, I became inspired to pick them up again after spotting the Roscoff tank on Raverly by Army of Knitters (the tank is also similar to the Carnac sweater I made last year). The yarn I’m using is Berocco Weekend, an acrylic and cotton blend – perfect for weekend knitting, har-har.

It’s so hard for me to focus on knitting when it’s warm out…I like to knit with wool, and even though I have AC, it just feels icky to me in the summertime. Plus, there’s way too many cute clothes I want to sew for summer, and I always want to spend my time focusing on that since hot days to wear said clothes are in short supply during New England summers.

If you’re a knitter, how do you stay motivated to knit during the summer months?