Project roundup

It's been another of those weeks when I haven't had much time for creative activities, so here's a quick update on my various works in progress.

My Wool Fair cardigan has taken a bit of a back seat, as it's been unseasonably warm here in the UK, and it seemed a bit silly to be working on an Aran (worsted) weight cardigan. However I did, finally, complete the back with its endlessly long rows. At this point you cast off 18 stitches at the centre, and then continue to work on one of the fronts.

Starting the front at last

The pattern gives all the instructions for shaping one front and then blithely states, “work left front to match right front”. This sounds like a recipe for disaster, so I am following the advice of several people who have knitted this cardigan already, and am knitting the two fronts simultaneously.

Well, both fronts, actually

This means that the rows are still pretty long, and each one takes me a while to complete. This isn't ideal for knitting at my mum's, where I need something that I can pick up and put down more easily. So when I'm there I work on my new Close to You shawl, and have completed almost half of it. My yarn choice for this one is a definite success; I love the way the colours work together.

Blues, greens and golds

When I first knitted this pattern, I had wondered if it would be possible to add beads between the eyelets. A browse through completed examples on Ravelry confirmed that yes, it was possible, and several people had done it. I followed this tutorial, and am using dark and light gold beads - from my stash, so size unknown.

Close-up of the beads

I've still got a lot to learn about different yarns, so I'm amazed by just how different this wool is from the one I used before, even though they are both 4-ply (fingering). This one is 50% Corriedale and 50% British Mohair, and gives an almost lacy effect on 4mm needles.

Held up to the light

The weather has finally turned here; it's cooler, very windy, and some much-needed rain is falling as I type. I'm feeling personally responsible for this change, as my new sewing project is a sundress. No sooner had I started to cut it out than the skies clouded over!

I'm making view 2

It's another one of my beloved 1979 Style patterns. The fabric is a crinkle viscose which has a nice drape, but is proving tricky to handle. More updates to follow - hopefully quite soon!

Wool Fair update

I have been working away on my Wool Fair cardigan, aka Lee Target 1232.

The cardigan

If you are a fan of working stockinette in the round because it saves having to do purl rows, then this is not the pattern for you. There is a lot of purling to create the textured knit shown on the cover. Rows of K1 P1 alternate with purl rows, so overall three-quarters of the stitches are purl. I don't find this so bad on the purl rows, but the K1 P1 rows are slow. The stitch effect is slightly obscured by my choice of a tweed yarn, but it does look interesting overall.

Close-up

The method of knitting the whole cardigan in one piece means that it goes from 66 stitches for casting on the back ribbing to 174 stitches at its widest point.

Progress so far

I've just started the backs of the sleeves, and these rows are long. Instead of Sleeve Island, I'm clearly going to be spending some time on Sleeve Peninsular. I can't imagine how the original knitters of this pattern wrangled 174 stitches on straight needles instead of the flexible circular needles we have now.

Showing the sleeve increases

Because I'm knitting with Aran (worsted) yarn instead of DK, the project and unused wool are a tight squeeze in my usual knitting bag. So as a break from all that purling I made a new, slightly larger, one. I used a remnant of curtain fabric from my stash, and lined it with plain cotton, also from stash. My original design seemed a bit shallow when I made it up, so I deepened it by adding a band of the plain cotton round the top.

The completed bag

Reorded on the Stashometer

It only used a metre of fabric overall but, as I don't seem to be doing much dressmaking at present, it’s better than nothing.

Welcome to the Wool Fair

As hinted at last week, I've started a new knitting project. (Yes, there will be some sewing again on this blog at some point, just not yet.) Some time ago, I was lucky enough to get an original copy of Lee Target 1232, aka the 'Wool Fair Cardigan'.

All the fun of the fair

This pattern has an unusual construction in that it's almost all knitted in one piece, but not in the modern way of using pick-up-and-knit to add the sleeves. Instead, you start at the back waist ribbing and knit upwards, then cast on stitches for the sleeves, knit up over the shoulders, cast off the extra sleeve stitches, and then continue down the fronts. The cuffs and button band are added by pick-up-and-knit, and the only sewing up is the combined side and sleeve seam. I had intended to finish some other projects before starting this one, but then Killer Kitsch Lizzie announced that she was holding a knitalong for the pattern, so of course I decided to join in.

The pattern uses Motoravia double knitting wool, but both Lizzie and Linda of knitting4victory have mentioned that 1950s DK was thicker than modern DK, so it's best to use a modern Aran (worsted) yarn. I close Stylecraft Highland Heathers, which is the same wool that I used for both my blue Wondrella and my blue Confidette, but in the heavier weight. For once I managed to step away from the blues, and chose the shade Esk. (I have no idea why the shade has this name; there are several River Esks in Britain, but to the best of my knowledge none of them are purple.)

Nice shade, odd name

This is probably a fair bit thicker than Motoravia DK. The pattern uses UK old size 3 needles, with size 6 for ribbing, which are 6.5mm and 5mm respectively. However, the swatch knitted on size 3s came out considerably too big. Three more swatches later (!), I settled on 5mm needles (4mm for the ribbing), which is what the yarn label recommends.

So. Much. Swatching.

The stitch pattern is simple, but gives a nicely textured effect.

The pattern is the top half of the swatch

The pattern only goes up to a 38" bust, and I’m a 39", but in her excellent video for the knitalong Lizzie mentions that there's a fair bit of give in the pattern, so I'm going for a straight 38" without any modifications apart from shortening the length.

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that knitting needles are like zips - no matter how large your collection, you rarely have the exact length/type/size required. As I had a trip to Shrewsbury planned anyway, I popped in to the very wonderful Ewe and Ply to get what I needed. And somehow, I also acquired yarn for another Close to You shawl!

Not blue either!

This is one of their own brand yarns, a Corriedale/British Mohair mix in shade Sea Shanty. The colours are lovely both close up and when seen from across the shop, so I have high hopes for my second attempt. But now, I really must stop lining up new projects!