Mods: Changed gauge, added pokets, lengthened sleeves, changed some of the yoke. Project page can be found here.
What Makes This Awesome: I really love the way Mona did these pockets, they look like a completely organic element to the design. The resulting cardi is gorgeous! This is such a beautiful way to customize your ideal sweater- finding a pattern and using it as a jumping-off point to re-evaluate the details- gauge, sleeves, lace/texture details or even overall fabric are great ways to change up a pattern.
Notes: This is a fantastic cowl pattern- it's totally reversible which is amazing, and I love how the reversible cables are done! It's cozy warm, and I've worn it a lot- thee's something about a merino/cashmere/silk blend wrapped around you rneck that feels like heaven, don't you think? Ravelled here.
I'm so pleased with how this turned out! The cardigan is exactly how I envisioned, and I'm excited to wear it post-baby bump, too. Currently it's a wee bit tight on my arms, but that's due to baby weight gain (it better be, anyway), so I hope it comes off after the little one moves out of me and into the world.
These photos were taken the day before little Lila came into the world!
The back detail- as the tiny V shapes met at the back of the neck, I thought it would be nice to have a little french knot to finish off the details.
Answers to questions on the previous post:
1. The yarn is labelled DK, but there is no way it's DK- Its definitely an Aran weight. I think the contrast works really well with the fine gauge of the original cardigan.
2. I'm sorry, but I didn't do a video of how I sewed on the knitted trim.... :( It's not expertly done, I relaly just tacked it down and moved on to the embroidery. I'm not a perfectionist, so I just winged it.
3. You can check out the project page on Ravelry here!
Mods: Kept the lace yoke, changed the body to striped stockinette, and altered the fit and the sleeves. Project page with great details on the full modification process can be found here.
What Makes This Awesome: Sometimes it's hard to
envision wearing an all-lace top, even if you know that you can wear all
sorts of things underneath it. I think Nicola's solution was a gorgeous
one- keep the lace detail in the yoke, and make the body a solid
stockinette. I also love her stripes, I think they are a clever way of
merging the two colours, and the result is perfection!
G and I are very pleased to announce the birth of our little bunny, Lila (like lilac, the flower) Somerset (the region in England where G is from) on April 16th. She's only a day old in this photo, but I think she looks a lot like G! Then again, look how she's a ham for the camera, so maybe that's how she takes after her mom (work that bunny hat!). I have no idea why one eye is a little more closed than the other in this photo, both her eyes are the exact same size. Maybe it's a little wink at the camera.
And here she is coming home from the hospital:
I pretty much put her in that bunny hat every chance I get. Newborns are cute, but newborns in bunny hats make entire elevators of jaded hospital staff smile their biggest smiles.
We're in the final stage of my pregnancy, and I finally decided to stop being so lazy about taking some more bump photos! I can't believe she is going to be here so soon. There's still so much baby knitting I'd like to get done first! I guess we'll see how far along I get with it all before she makes her debut.
This is my favourite of the shots, which were taken while doing FO shots of the Upcycled Cardi, which I'll post about REALLY soon!
These two hats are pretty much the cutest things I think I've ever knit:
I'm hoping I made them small enough to fit a newborn, I love the idea of her wearing them during the first couple of weeks out in the world. The Newborn Kitten Hat is a much-modified version of the bunny hat- Maybe I should have saved it for a Mod Monday post?!
You may recall seeing this hat on the blog way back! I was working on a hat pattern for a new yarn base for Tanis Fiber Arts, which is now known as Orange Label. It's a blend of merino, cashmere, and silk that is out of this world soft. I wanted to design a great little one-skein hat that would be a quick knit and the perfect use of a little luxury like this, and the Olive colourway was right up my alley. I've been wearing this hat a lot.
Pattern can be found here, and the Ravelry pattern page is here.
Mods: Bigger gauge, and originally started out with the idea for a pair of legwarmers that turned into sleeves, and a stunning sweater was born. Great details can be found on her project page, here.
What Makes This Awesome: I love the back story on this sweater. Mia originally wanted to knit a pair of legwarmers, but felt that they would work better as sleeves. She began working on the body, and kept reknitting it until she got the fit she wanted (got to love it when perseverence pays off). All that effort was definitely worth it- just look at that gorgeous, amazing sweater. I want one now, too!
Gatsby crashes almost all of my videos- he's such a ham for the camera.
I'm soooo close to being finished! As of last night, I only have a little bit of embroidery left to do around the front edge.
In answer to the questions left on the last Upcycled Cardi post:
1. The knitted ribbing is attached by just sewing it on along the fabric, at both the top and bottom. I didn't trim anything off the cuffs/sleeves before attaching the knitted ribbing.
2. The embroidery is pretty simple, I'm just winging it- I use a tapestry needle to mimic the exact same direction stockinette stitches are formed.
3. I'm using 6mm (US 10) needles for the k1,p1, ribbing, and a tapestry needle for the embroidery (the same one I'd use for weaving in ends). The same yarn is used for both the knitting and embroidery- it claims to be a DK on the label, but I don't believe it for a second- it's definitely worsted.
4. How the knitting is attached: After measuring [so, my gauge of k1,p1 knitting is 5 stitches per inch x cardigan circumference (29 inches) = 145 stitches to cast on for around the body. Sleeves use the same formula], I cast on and knit the ribbing independently of the cardigan. When length is complete, I cast off, and sew the ribbing to the fabric of the cardigan.
5. My skin: Thanks! I don't do anything fancy to it- I wear sunscreen (spf 30 or higher) every day regardless of the season/cloud cover, use rose hip seed oil at night (any health food store will carry it), and drink about a litre of green tea a day (seriously). Although these days, it's naturally decaffeinated green tea (I'm drink some right now, actually). That's it. I don't do toner/masks/serums/facials/etc. I don't have a particular moisturizer that I use (except the rose hip seed oil at night). If I know that I'll be doing FO photos, then I'll use a skin illuminizer on my face under foundation- it's like liquid photoshop, that stuff.
Mods: Used the charted mitten design as a starting point for the baby blanket, knit in the round and steeked. Project page with lots of great photos can be found here.
What Makes This Awesome: The lovely design of the mittens is very pretty, but once Ann blew it up and did an entire blanket of it, I was blown away! The effect is like being in a snowstorm of flowers, and the contrasting border (check out the extra attention to detail of the yellow/green border she added on as well) is flawless. I'm totally in love with it!
I'm really happy with this scarf- I love the diagonal eyelet, the fringe, and the drape makes this seems so classic yet fashionable. It's these sort of scarves that I end up wearing the most (except in the dead of winter), because they easily complete the look of an outfit, as well as look good with a spring/fall coat. The pattern is an exclusive for the Year in Colour Club, until 2013. But when it is live for non-club members, I'll definitely blog about it!
I had a tricky time with this design at first- I
had this idea for a really textured cowl, and I was totally set on it. I swatched many
different stitches, but in this yarn (which is an exclusive merino/silk base
for some of the Colour Club months) it just fell flat. Because this
yarn has a lot of drape in it, and it wanted to be knitted into a drapey
fabric. And I spent at least a solid week trying to force it to do
something it didn't want to do.
The yarn, won in the end. The yarn always wins, because it knows what it needs to be. It had been a while since I had been reminded of that. It's
knits like this that remind me that when you have the right yarn for
the right pattern, it all comes together. And if you're struggling, then
you've got to choose- are you going to change the pattern or are you
going to change the yarn?
I'm so glad I changed the pattern. This yarn knew what it wanted to be. I just had to listen.
Yarn:Tanis Fiber Arts Yellow Label DK in Buttercup, Orange Blossom, Lemongrass, Peacock, and Poppy (1 skein of each, except for Poppy, since I used it for the borders.
Needles: 4.5 mm (US 7)
Mods: I alternated the 5 colours in order, didn't do the mirrored colour repeats as called for in the pattern.
Notes: I knit a baby blanket for a friend before, but I clearly forgot how loooong it takes to churn out a baby blanket! I've been chiseling away at this one since the fall. There have been times I thought it was maybe a bit to bright, but then I got these very fun stroller/toy bar toys, and they matched perfectly!
I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I was a little nervous at the bight colours I chose, because I usually do earth tones so this was a real departure for me. It blocked out beautifully, and is all ready to go for baby bliss when she shows up (can you believe it's only another 3-4 weeks?!).
Mods: Used the great stranded sock pattern as inspiration for an ombre skirt, which was acheived using multiple skeins of ombre yarn and alternating skeins every 3rd row. Details and more amazing photos can be found on her project page, here.
What Makes This Awesome: This skirt is drop dead gorgeous for so many reasons- I love the ombre effect, I love the stranded design at the hem, the great shape of the skirt and the perfect looking zipper (just look at it!) at the back- the knitting is amazing, but the whole garment construction blows my mind. It's a work of art!
