Who's Afraid of Ripping?

 

This beautiful baby is a sweater that I ripped out. I cast on this second iteration of Cafe Au Lait at the beginning of the summer, along with Andi Satterlund's Outfit-Along. I had a mysterious, sport-weight, probably-mostly-cotton yarn in my stash, and I wanted to use it. A finite, but undetermined quantity, and I wanted it all. gone.

Maybe it's because I live in a rented apartment, and therefore my living situation is, by all definitions, "temporary," but I do not like to have yarn stashed. So having a sweaters-worth of this mystery cotton laying around, when I could have a sweater laying, felt unacceptable.

I cast on this tried-and-true pattern. The grey version of this sweater is a staple in my wardrobe, and the combination of cables and lace are a delight to knit and wear. I blissfully starting knitting the back, from the bottom up. I knit the entire back of the sweater, which probably took 15 hours... and then quickly realized I would not have enough yarn to finish this sweater as-is, and I threw it in a corner, giving up on the Outfit-Along.

But the knitting community is nothing, if not motivating. The FOMO of Instagram led me back to another knit-along, this time Shannon's Summer Sweater Knit Along. And I packed this half-knit sweater and took it on a family trip to Rhode Island. The focus of travel knitting and the motivation of my fellow SSKAL-ers led me to rip out most of my progress, and reknit it again, with a shorter body. Yarn problem, solved. 

I probably spent upwards of 50 hours working on this sweater. When I posted a photo on Facebook, a family member asked, "How much could I pay you to make me one?" The honest answer is something along the lines of, "30 hours wages times mystery yarn cost." Or "a bottle of whiskey and three new episodes of Game of Thrones," aka the time and encouragement it took to rip out hours of work. But I won't quote anyone this price (or really any price), since I didn't knit this for money. 

I think this means I have become a process knitter, right?

After a few wearings, I think I will rip out the cuffs and re-knit them smaller...

 

Hawaiian Bees Socks

I went to Hawaii for the first time in September. After scoping a serious sale on Virgin from LAX to Maui, my best friend and I bought cheap tickets in "celebration" of my birthday. By that I mean, a reason to spend a lot of money to go to Hawaii and enjoy ourselves. Is there a bad reason to go to Hawaii? Nay. But this was our's.

With travel comes the need for a travel project. It must be portable, interesting, and definitely take longer than a week to knit (sorry, vanilla socks, you do not qualify in this instance). I was craving an intricate pair of cabled socks, and this pattern fit the bill perfectly. So I cast on these Busy Bees Socks right before I left, using some Stroll Tonal I had in my stash. 

 

They did me well. In fact, it took me much longer than my trip to finish them, since I was interrupted by my Campside Shawl, but I was determined to finish before I started any holiday knitting. I like the finished product - they look amazing - but I do not love these socks. The heel is slightly ill-fitting (and I prefer a slipped stitch heel), and I'm not super in love with Stroll as a sock yarn. It's a bit too hot on my feet, doesn't have much stretch, and felts easily. I'm lazy with my socks, and frequently they end up in the washer and/or dryer. There, I've admitted it. Take me away!

While we're on the subject of confessions, let me also say: I knit in the car. Yes, it's bad, but so is traffic in LA. 

Campside Shawl

This is my stormy Campside Shawl, knit from a free Pompom pattern and 6 balls of Knit Picks Gloss DK in Hawk. I first spotted this pattern a few years ago and appreciated the simplicity, with just enough yarn overs to make the knitting interesting. And it just looked so cozy, you know? 

Shawls were never my thing. I couldn't imagine wrapping myself in what amounted to a small, triangular blanket. I know, I know, as knitters, it is our duty to love shawls. We all took the sworn oath of Shawl Love. But not me. 

So what changed? Perhaps my newfound obsession can really be attributed to living in LA. We certainly do love wearing tank tops in November here, and wearing a wool sweater of any weight is difficult. Plus we have a city-wide obsession with black denim, black tops, black everything, and nothing tops off that type of outfit like a small, triangular blanket. 

So here I am. Swearing my oath of Shawl Love. 

 

Great Northern Blog Tour - Support the Kickstarter!

Hi friends. I've come out of my blogging hiatus at just the right time: to support the Kickstarter for my knitty friends Teresa Gregorio and Leah Coccari-Swift in their newest project, Great Northern.

Yes, a knitwear collection INSPIRED BY TWIN PEAKS. Do I need say more? No? I'll just link you to the Kickstarter again, ok?

I fell in love with Twin Peaks a few years ago after finally giving into the goading of my well-meaning, artsy friends. And I definitely fell - the dreamy landscape of the Pacific Northwest, combined with the murder mystery and strange characters, captured my imagination. It's directed by the surreal David Lynch, and I love that Teresa and Leah have incorporated so many of my favorite aspects of the feel of the show into their designs!

I can't decide which garment design I'm more excited about, which directly correlates to the way I can't decide which Twin Peaks character is my favorite. I'm super excited to see the finished designs of these three sketches:

I love the vintage, cozy, mysterious inspiration behind all the pieces in the collection. These ladies have perfectly captured the small town, noir-feel that is Twin Peaks. Even if you're not a fan of the show, there is something in this collection that will resonate with you! 

So head over to the Great Northern site to check it out, and back these lovely ladies on Kickstarter, here. There are lots of fun incentives to make it worth your while!

Finished Ikat Alder Shirtdress

Happy Labor Day, I finished my Alder Shirtdress! 

I love love love this pattern. I love love love the way this dress turned out. I hate hate hated sewing this fabric.

I knew when I picked this slippery rayon, I'd have troubles. But the drape! So soft! I just kept imagining the dress it could be, and I decided to go ahead with it anyway. And it's definitely a wearable dress, but it was a bitch to work with. 

(look at my road rash! it's so healed!)

The way the yolk is hanging, the mis-matchy ikat on the front, the slightly rumpled button band - these are all symptoms of working with this fabric. But it hangs nicely on the body so I can ignore most of those problems, and it's light and breezy. I already wore it to work this week and it is the perfect work uniform.

I would definitely categorize this under "wearable muslin." As you can see below - I skipped doing the full bust adjustment and that was a mistake. I cut a size 16, and I should have cut a 14 and done the FBA. I'll never wear this without a tank top underneath, so it's not a huge deal, but I'll go for a better fit with my next Alder. 

I also skipped my planned side seam pockets because the drape-y fabric would not have held up well. I cut the chest pockets, and then ended up skipping them as well because the ikat fabric was already so busy. Like I need to give people another reason to examine my chest...

I did shorten this by about 2" (and I'm 5'8"), because if I am going to wear what looks like a large shirt, it better show off those legs! This makes it the perfect length for wearing with boots and feeling sassy, but it did, however, make it a bit too short to belt. Meh, I guess one cannot show off both legs and waist. 

All in all, I love it and I can't wait to make more. And check out Allyson's version and Laura's version - both turned out so rad! 

Alder Dress Sew-Along: W.I.P.

Our little Alder Shirtdress Sew-along is going strong! Allyson and Laura both posted fun pictures of their WIP dresses last week. They're a bit ahead of me, since my bike accident held me back from starting this as soon as I laid eyes on the pattern. 

This past weekend I was finally able to cut into my fabric. It's a slippery rayon, so I had some trouble cutting it perfectly on the grain. I've been straightening it up as I sew, though, and thus far that's worked out. 

Do you like my cutting table? Yeah... it's the floor. 

How about my scenic sewing room: 

I moved into a tiny, 420 sq ft studio last January, so this "sewing room" is also the kitchen, and the dining room, and sometimes bike storage. It's a challenge to fit everything into such a tiny space, but now that I have all my sewing stuff out of the closet, I'll be knocking out a few projects in one go. You can see my pile on the ottoman in the corner! 

Ok, check with Allyson on Wednesday for her finished Alder, and Laura on Friday! 

Alder Shirtdress Sew-Along Extravaganza

Have you seen the Alder Shirtdress pattern from Grainline Studio? I first saw it on Ginger Makes, where Sonja made two gorgeous versions, and I fell in love. I had to have this dress!

Then I found out that my bff's, Allyson and Laura, were also obsessed with this pattern, and it was official: we had to do a Sew-Along.

Luckily, our mini sew-along is just a week behind the official Grainline Studio Sew-Along, so I've been benefiting from their guidance.

Here are my plans, thus far:

Version 1: A straightforward take on View A. This will hopefully be a wearable muslin, where I work out any fitting issues within the pattern. Since it's designed for a B-cup, I will definitely be doing a Full-Bust Adjustment (following the instructions here). I will also be adding pockets, and possibly tweaking the collar to a Peter Pan style, depending on the fabric.

Version 2: View B, made out of something drape-y, like silk charmeuse. Also adding pockets. Always with the pockets.

Version 3: A v-neck shirt version, a la this post. I think this would be amazing in a chambray.

My plans are ambitious, but after my bike accident last week, they have stalled. Thus far I have....

Just an assembled pattern. But hey! That took a really long time. I really wish I had seen this tutorial from Colette or this one from Sewaholic before I started. But I'll be cutting that fabric in no time, I just know it.

You can catch up with Allyson's progress on Wednesday and Laura's on Friday for all the Alder-goodness you can handle!

Hodgepodge Mittens for Meghan

Here's a Christmas 2013 project that never got a blog post: Hodgepodge Mittens for my sister. 

This was my favorite pattern from Holla Knits Accessories last year, since I love colorwork mittens. So cozy and so entertaining to knit! I knew my sister would dig them, too, in a nice, neutral color palette. And look! They matched her post-Christmas outfit perfectly. 

I knit them pretty much as written, using Magic Loop. I stopped a few rows before the end of the chart because my sister (and I) have small hands. It worked well to try them on as I went and adjust accordingly. I loved the easy 4-stitch pattern repeat and simple color scheme. They look great finished, but weren't too crazy-making while knitting. 

My sister got married in June, and a few months before the wedding, I was sitting at my desk, thinking about how things were going to change within our family. Meghan and Jeff, her new husband, have been together for 10 years, so I wasn't really worried until I realized: Meghan and I would not be waking up together on Christmas morning, like we had since we were old enough to sleep in our own beds. It brought tears to my eyes to think about! Who knew, that at age 30, I'd still have some "growing up" to do?

Summer Knitting - Harnett Tank

Hey, check it out: it's my Harnett Tank.

I cast on this baby on New Year's Eve, and finished in early June. (Rav page here, if you're interested.) I knit size 38 with almost no mods, except following Michelle's directions for jog-less stripes. She's so helpful!

I used the recommended yarn - Knit Pick's Stroll - and found it... lacking. After I finished my Fire Opal Tee, knit in a cotton blend, I was totally in love. Putting on a wool blend, at the beach, for these photos, was torture. The sweater fares much better when worn in my air-conditioned office, but I still wish I had used cotton. 

But it sure looks beautiful, doesn't it? I was a little worried about the length and width while knitting, but the nice thing about wool is that it's so darn flexible, and I was able to wet block it into a nice shape. 

And hey! I'm a lucky lady, because Allyson came to visit and work on Red Letter Day Stitches stuff, and took these photos of me. This was pretty much the most perfect day at the beach because:

• We saw a whale, and it spouted water! 
• We saw dolphins, doing flips! Seeing dolphins is not unusual on the SoCal coast, but I had never seen so many, being so acrobatic. 
• The water was very warm and swim-able. Rare for the Pacific, and probably why we saw so many animals.
• We mastered the technique necessary for anchoring a beach umbrella in the sand. 
• We were seated next to a group of very beautiful European people, and spent a good amount of time eavesdropping on their conversations and speculating on who was dating whom. Maybe that's a thing I shouldn't admit on the internet...

A finished summer sweater: Fire Opal Tee

Lookit what happened: I finished a thing.

This is my Fire Opal Tee, and I finished it a few weeks ago as part of Allyson's KAL. Oh, what a satisfying knit!

Allyson designed the tee to be knit with wool yarn, but I live in California, so I subbed Knit Picks Comfy Fingering in Parchment, and had to make few modifications. This yarn knits up so soft and drape-y, I know I will wear this all summer (and let's be honest, winter) long. 

Although the pattern was designed to be knit with positive ease, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I cast on the 38" size (my actual bust measurement is around 40"), and a few inches in, I realized it was going to be far too loose for my liking. So I painstakingly ripped out a good 6" of knitting and cast on the 36" size. I lengthened it by about an inch before separating at the sleeves, but otherwise knit as written. It's perfect. 

And yes, I'm modeling it without a tank top underneath. Once I had finished it, I knew it would lend itself nicely to being sauced-up a bit in this way. I'm not sure if it's because I'm smack-dab in the middle of LA, or if it's just the way fashion trends have turned, but I would have never worn it this way a few years ago. 

Is it the reasonable color? The sophisticated cables? Whatever it is - I'm a-ok being a bit scandalous with just a bra underneath. Maybe it's the short hair. I'm a risk-taker now!