Swatchless

If you could pick any knitting pattern to download, which one would it be?  There are so many to choose from, it’s hard to know where to start.  Would you start by choosing the technique you want to learn?  Would you start by choosing the kind of garment/project you want to knit?  Would you start by choosing a pattern that you could knit with your current stash yarn?

Today I found out that I was randomly chosen as a Team Canada Ravelympics prize winner for completing my projects (Ceilidh and Eirinn).  The prize (a ravelry downloadable pattern up to $6 US) was generously donated by yarnpiggy of flying pig knits

So, now the tough part….what pattern should I choose??

What is your favourite pattern and why?

I’ve been knitting along happily for the past few days, making cables and diamonds and braids.  I’m enjoying the yarn and loving the colour (a shade of dark heathery purpley blue that never seems to look as good on camera as it does in real life).  As usual, I didn’t really make a swatch when I started.  Preliminary research included looking at several baby sweater patterns and looking at how many stitches they started with, and then choosing something similar.  (Note to self:  Next time, pay attention to more than just number of stitches–needle size, yarn size, age of child are also valuable pieces of information)

Today, after two diamonds are almost completed, the sweater is getting long enough to stretch it out and see how big a child it will fit–and my worrying begins.  Is this sweater gigantic?  Is it going to fit a 2 year old?  Will parents of a newborn be excited to get a 2 year old sweater?  If the sweater is gigantic in circumference, how long do I need to make it?  It’s all a question of proportion…How big is a baby anyway?!

pretty cables!

But…does it really matter?  In the end there will be a lovely sweater that will fit someone at some point.  Maybe I’ll just keep knitting, and let it sort itself out.

In the mean time, to calm my worrying, can you tell me how big around a one year old is?

I recently remembered something….

I love cable knitting!!  20 rows into this little sweater and I’m totally hooked.  Maybe it is the fact that each row is different so I will never get bored of it.  Maybe it is because I can work in convenient 4 row chunks between doing all the other things that need to get done.  Maybe it is because it has been a LONG time since I did a lot of cable knitting.

Have you knit cables before?

Don’t be intimidated….they look very intense, but step by step, row by row, they are pretty easy to figure out.

I remember my very first cable knitting project.  Back in the early 90s boxy fishermen’s sweaters were pretty cool (in my middle-school mind anyway).  I was excited when my mom took me to Lewiscraft to buy more 50g balls of cream coloured acrylic yarn than I could hold in my arms.  Back then I was naive–I didn’t really know that there was anything but acrylic yarn.  This isn’t entirely my fault though since the ’80s thought acrylic was awesome!

My first cable sweater was knit in pieces then [badly] sewn together–these days I avoid sewing thing at all cost!  My first cable sweater took a lot of patience to get set up properly because I didn’t really understand  how the cables work.  I was counting stitches, and counting rows and checking things off step by step on the pattern. I remember being fascinated by how the cables worked, but frustrated because if I made a mistake I’d have to rip WAY back to fix it.

The second cable sweater (knit one year later) was more exciting to make because I knew what I was getting into.  I chose my pattern more carefully and could make more sense of the charts and instructions.  I remember knitting it during math class once my homework was done (yes…I was THAT kid!)

Since those two adventures in cables I’ve dabbled in cable socks, some were tame, others not so tame!  These socks are Rhiannon by Cookie A that I knit for a guy who wears kilts from time to time.

I am now enjoying the freedom of creating my own cable patterns.  The stress of pattern reading has been eliminated.  I simply have to remember what I want it to look like, and count rows in groups of 4.  (I hope I haven’t just jinxed myself!)

If you are interested in starting into the adventure of cable knitting, here’s an easy and quirky beginner cable project: the DNA scarf.

Image source (http://www.twosheep.com/helix/)

Make one for the geek in your life!

The Olympics are done.  The Knitting Olympics are done.  The Ravelympics are done.  Or……are they…..

Ceilidh and Eirinn (Photo credit: Mom)

I had such a good time, I think I will start up another Olympic challenge for the duration of the Paralympics later in March!  Who’s with me?

I’m happy to report that the sales of the Olympic Red Mitten Pattern have been rolling in, and are currently at the $1550 mark raised for the Penguins Can Fly swim team.  I hope that people continue to purchase patterns and knit these mittens through the end of the paralympics.  Maybe we can hit $2010…wouldn’t that be cool?

Who knows….one day maybe some of the Penguins will be swimming in the summer paralympics!

Tonight, during the closing ceremonies, after proudly modeling my gold-medal pattern creations Ceilidh and Eirinn, I sat with no knitting in my hands–for all of about 15 minutes.  It’s at times like this that I wonder if I do have a serious problem, but I was suddenly struck by inspiration to knit more cables for a baby sweater/vest of sorts that I can almost see in my mind.

The trouble with things in your mind is that it’s very difficult to make them appear just like you imagined they would.  I am doing my best though, keeping careful scrawly notes and math written down just in case this project ends up successful enough to share with other knitters out there.

I absolutely LOVE the yarn.  It’s Life DK by Stylecraft, a blend of acrylic and wool.  Easy to care for, and so soft.  I may need to go back to Wool Tyme to get more–there are so many babies to knit for this spring!

Are you gearing up for March 12th when the torch gets re-lit?  The Paralympics run from March 12th to 21st in Vancouver!!