Friday, March 23, 2012

Friday finished object -- Owls!

Owls is D-O-N-E.



This sweater has been knit, ripped, re-knit, hibernating, ripped, re-knit, ripped (by cat), re-knit ... oh gosh, I can't keep up with how many times. But the last end has been woven in, and now all it needs is a bath to be ready for my mother's birthday in April. I hope she likes it! (Don't worry -- she won't see this. She never reads my blog or Ravelry page!)

I'd originally started knitting this for myself, but when my mother expressed delight in the softness of the wool (KnitPicks Swish Bulky), I decided to change plans. I may knit up another one for me, but I'll knit mine with a longer torso (oy, my long waist!) and in gray wool. Now that my mother's version is done, I'm ready for a completely different sweater for me, perhaps a simple, no-fuss  top-down cardigan knitted in Berroco Ultra Alpaca (colorway: Oceanic). Would be perfect for summer movie theater visits. Am I the only one who freezes all summer? Bloody air conditioning! Most stores (and movie theaters) have theirs set to "meat locker." By late July, the artificial chill has me pining for fall.

Another sweater high up on my list is Kate Davies' latest release, the Betty Mouat sweater. I fell in love with it when Kate first posted pictures of it last year and have been waiting patiently for the pattern release. And yay, this week it appeared in the 2nd edition of Kate's magazine Textisles, which includes a fascinating story about women's knitted swimwear. Anyway, I know Betty Mouat would have looked wonderful on me 20 years ago when I had a 22" waist and tight, toned triceps. Now I feel that I'm thick of waist and long of tooth; will it still flatter? There's a schematic for a long-sleeved version, but I really like the short sleeves.

I don't buy a lot of knitting books, preferring instead to check them out of the library. But here's one that I quickly added to my personal library after skimming through the copy I'd gotten through interlibrary loan:



What I like about Knitting in the Old Way is what I like about Elizabeth Zimmerman's books: a can-do attitude about design, and just enough explanation to help me get where I want to go. I've never been good about following directions slavishly and prefer to go off and do my own thing once I've got my sea legs, and this book meets my needs. There are no actual patterns in here; just illustrations of different styles and ethnic designs that a knitter is free to borrow for her own work. Anything that's remotely complicated (such as the overlapping welts at the join of a Danish Nattrøjer) is explained clearly, but otherwise the knitter is given just enough info to forge ahead successfully. I anticipate this book will become a well-loved addition to my small collection of craft books.

5 comments:

  1. It's beautiful! Your mom will love it.

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  2. You did a lovely job on the owl sweater!

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  3. What a beautiful sweater. Well done. I am a crocheter and still scared to start knitting sweaters but I may just go for it.

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  4. I love the Owls! I, too, did some frogging when I made mine. It's now one of my favorite sweaters. Well done and what a nice gift.

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  5. Thank you ladies. I have to confess: I've worn it a couple times (mom won't mind) and I've gotten a few compliments on it. It IS a great pattern. Emma, I started out as a crocheter, but turned to knitting in the past year. I'm more of a sprinter than a marathoner in knitting, but this sweater is a great one to start with. Don't be scared off by my frogging -- it was all bad luck and lousy timing on my part, not the pattern.

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