What's On My Needles - The Making of a Sweater

Each Week, I'll share a quick (or sometimes not quick) snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

Well hey there- I seem to have taken a (rather unintentional) hiatus from posting "what's on my needles". But it's never too late to share, right?  I thought I'd take this time to do a little "start to finish" kind of post to show you the process of skein to sweater, since I finished my Agnes Pullover a couple of (cough) months ago. 

I've since worn Agnes on hikes, to the shops, to the farmers' market. She's a good companion. Nice and cozy warm. And pockets. Bloody pockets. Love 'em. 

That's what was on my needles in Jan/Feb - now I'm working on a cowl (more on that soon), a shawl (also more on that soon), and some sewing/quilting/spinning to break things up a little. 

Thoughts On Sweater Knitting - The Good, Bad, and Ugly

Each Week (more or less), I'll share a quick (or sometimes not quick) snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was farmsitting up at Nan's, and I knew I needed a big project to work on. I'd been eyeballing the Lila pullover for some time, and just needed a sweater's quantity of wool. That's where Nan came in - generously letting me take some luscious White Gum for this sweater (!!). Marlee of Have Company happened to be on the same wave length as I was, so we started our sweaters around the same time and kept each other up-to-date on progress using our lil' hashtag #crosspacificknitclub. 

It was a fun and eye-opening process - knitting this sweater, making mistakes, slowly fixing them, seeing Marlee's sweater progress, loving her sweater, suddenly feeling very inferior and slow. It was a process in self-care and weird competitive vibes for sure.

The anxiety and jealousy vibes I was feeling made me ashamed. I didn't want to feel these things, because knitting a sweater shouldn't invoke those feelings, and Marlee had been nothing but incredible supportive the whole way through (read: ALL the moral support when I was majorly confused about short rows and concerned I'd made a sweater for a giant).

So I stepped back from the sweater for a day or two, mostly because my hands were starting to hurt (early onset arthritis, anyone?), and took a little time to reflect on those feelings. I think they stem from a really deep-seated desire I feel to compete, to be instantly gratified, and get validation on the interwebs. The more I took a hard look at those feelings, the more ridiculous they started to seem. And when I finally verbalised them to a friend, I realised how utterly useless they were. Since I'd gotten my petty feelings out in the open, I could actually move into making this sweater happen, and do it with focus and good intentions. 

After that, I finished knitting it, was feeling pretty happy with it, and then went to block it (because, ya know, trying to be a "good" knitter"). Then the shit hit the fan because it looked as though it had stretched waaaay out. So there I was, on the bathroom floor scrunching and squeezing and hoping it wasn't 7 sizes too big. And it took over 2 days to dry, so I was a hot mess for 2 days wondering if I'd just made a sweater for a pregnant human. 

Turns out I was overreacting and it was a pretty good fit afterall. 

Lessons learned - try to be less critical of myself when knitting (even if I'm slow AF), trust in the magic of blocking, and trust in the magic of internet friendship and KALs (knit-a-longs) to keep you honest, grounded, and supported. Oh, and grey is remarkably challenging to photograph - that was the other (much less profound) lesson learned.

xx

Ani 

What's On My Needles - A Big Ol' Catch Up Post

Each Week (more or less), I'll share a quick (or sometimes not quick) snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

It's been nearly two weeks since I last checked in with you about what I'm working on. I've had a couple of weeks farmsitting for the lovely Nan Bray, who has a property in Tasmania with a big flock of merino. She makes incredible, soft yarn (superfine merino - to be exact) that is a joy to knit with. Whilst I was there, she said "take a skein each day" - and obviously I could not resist that offer! 

I decided to go with a skein of Hawthorn (the red colour) to make a hat for Brittany (we're doing a trade, and as promised, I'm crafting a post on that later, because I love a good trade!). I used the Petawawa Toque pattern, by Goodnight, Day, which creates a really lovely hat, but since she doesn't list gauge or anything like that, it's a little hard to know what you're in for. So, I knitted this on one size down from the recommended needle size, because this is 8 ply wool (Aussie wool lingo throws me for a loop), which is a little bit smaller than the worsted weight this hat called for. 

I have a tiny head, so when I make things for other people, I try them on as I go, and if I'm swimming in them, I assume it's probably a good fit. (Maybe this is not a very good method). I finished this hat, and it looked really bloody big, but I thought, hey - let's just block it and see. WOAH - now, when I blocked it, it got even bigger - so big that it was big on my partner's head (for reference, we often joke that my head is roughly half the size of size). So, I did what every good knitter (and I am NOT normally a "good" knitter) would do - I ripped it back. Actually, I ripped back about 1.5 inches off the crown and reshaped the crown. I blocked it again and - viola, a wearable hat (see below) - a bit big on me, so juuuuuust right for Brittany. Success!  

Now, since I was on a farm (and what else does one do when on a wool farm?) - I knitted a lot. After blocking Brittany's hat, I blocked a few others - one that I just had been too lazy to block originally (the Petawawa in turmeric dyed yarn I made for myself last year), a Classic Cuffed Hat for Edie, and a Boyfriend Hat for Brittany. 

There's more where all that came from, but I'll save it for next week's post. I've got a lot to say about that knit! 

Thanks for reading.

xx

Ani 

What's On My Needles - Better Late Than Never

Each Week, I'll share a quick (or sometimes not quick) snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

have porch, have comfy slippers, will knit

Normally, I try to make this a weekly post (every Thursday, so far), but last week went awry when I was invited on a 4-day backpacking trip, leaving on Thursday - not that I'm complaining. 

I've just finished up a "Boyfriend Hat", which turned out well, despite my annoyance with the pattern (see previous post for details). That hat is destined for a friend in the states, just as soon as I finish up the other hat I've promised her! I'll post a photo of tht once it's blocked and ready to go - maybe we can even convince her to take one of it on :) 

I then picked up my needles to work on a Classic Cuffed Hat as a (belated) holiday present for my mate Edie. After about 10 attempts at the tubular cast on (which I love, but really seem to struggle with), I got moving and worked on the 1x1 ribbing for the brim on the first couple of days of the backpacking trip, and then on the car ride home, I worked a couple of inches of the body. 

I just managed to finish the hat two nights ago, soak it, and get the blocking started to hand it off to Edie before she heads back to the mainland. She tried it on yesterday morning and - kaboom! - it fits, high five emoji. 

That's what's been on my needles, how about you guys? 

xx

What's On My Needles - 24th Dec 2015

Each Week, I'll share a quick (or sometimes not quick) snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

This week, I've been making a bit of progress on a Boyfriend Hat - a pattern I've been eyeing on Purl Bee for some time. It's for a friend (for a trade actually! more on that later) so I've gone about it in a methodical way - swatching, measuring, etc. Let me tell you, though, it hasn't been my favourite to knit. You need to cast on 160 stitches, and I had to cast on about 8 times before getting it right. Pro tip: place stitch markers every 20 stitches to save yourself from attempting to count 160 stitches at once, only to get lost several times, and end up with 156 on one count, 161 the next - ya feel me? 

Now, of course, as I'm 6 inches into it, I find a whole slew of critiques of the pattern, from knitters whose opinions I value and trust, like Jen of Grainline Studio, amongst others. Mostly, people have found that the sizing seems off - too big. Fortunately, I cast on a size smaller than I wanted the hat to be, because my gauge is a tiny bit looser than called for, and now that I've read these critiques, I'll stop my hat a bit shorter than written in the pattern before I start the decrease rows. So far, the hat is big on me, but I have a head the size of a pea, so I'm not too concerned. What I do really like about it is the tight 1x1 rib (not to knit, because that's a pain - literally) is how dense the fabric is, and how warm it will be. Makes me feel good to know that I'm knitting up a nice warm hat for a shepherdess! 

Other than the hat I've been working on, I've been doing some non-knitting fibre related things. This year, as gifts for the holidays, I wanted to make things that would be simple, cost-effective, natural, and most importantly, useful for my friends and family. After being gifted some madder root dyed linen by a lovely friend and talented maker living in Perth, and learning about the properties of lavender as a moth repellent, I had a lightbulb moment. So, I set about making some of these sachets, which are simple to make, and have a number of uses - including keeping your clothes smelling fresh, protecting your woolens from moths, or for keeping under your pillow to help you relax and sleep easily. I'm really excited to write up little instructional tags to go with these and give them as holiday gifts to friends.

What's on your needle(s) this holiday season?

xx

What's on My Needles - 10th Dec 2015

Each Week, I'll share a quick snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

Whilst not technically "on my needles", because I've finished it now, I blocked the Roku Hat - By OlgaJazzy , which is a really well-designed and quick knit. I needed to learn the long tail tubular cast on method - which pretty much made me tear my hair out, but in the end I finally figured it out (I think) and I really like the way it makes the cast on edge of the hat look. 

Other than the Roku, I've been attempting to rest my hands and wrists, as I'm noticing a bit of pain in my wrists and the fleshy bit between my thumb and index finger (which completely terrifies me). So, instead, I've been working on finishing up the weave that became a "community weave" at a recent picnic I attended. 

What's On My Needles - 2 Dec 2015

Each Week, I'll share a quick snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

I'm working up a classic beanie for a special lady in my life who is a surfer (mermaid) and I thought these colours were just perfect for her. Also, I kind of want a beanie that has a hole for my top knot, 'cause why not? 

I've just cast on a new hat for another special lady, more on that next week!

xx

Ani 

What's On My Needles - 27 Nov 2015

Each Week, I'll share a quick snippet of what I'm currently working on, no matter how small (or rough) it is. 

This week, I'm working on the linen cardigan I've been attempting to design for some time now. It's slow-going an I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of frogging, re-designing and starting again. 

I also finished a crop top halter I've been messing around with for a couple of weeks. Only problem is that it doesn't fit the person it was intended for - back to the drawing board. 

That's what's on my needles this week. What are you working on?

xx

Ani