fo post: bellevue!

Even though I’ve been knitting for close to six years, I still get such a sense of awed surprise when I finish a sweater and it actually turns out the way I hoped it would. In other words, my Bellevue is done. And I bought a remote for my camera, so that I can take pictures of myself in it!

This is the fingering-weight version, made with Malabrigo Sock in “Impressionist Sky.” It’s the first fingering weight sweater I’ve knit, and I’ve got to say, I’m pretty well sold. I think this will hold up a lot better than my Featherweight did, but it’s still got that light, drapey feel that I think means I’ll be able to wear it in warmer fall and spring weather.

The one change I made to the pattern was to include full-length sleeves, because I really like sleeves. (I was one of those kids in high school who stuck their thumbs through the sleeves of their hoodies, okay? It’s a thing.) This was dead simple to do, since the pattern already has directions for cropped sleeves, but for the interested, I’ve written out notes in my Ravelry entry for this project.

But, overall? This sweater is awesome. It makes me really happy. I’m thrilled that it turned out the way I hoped it would, and someday – when it’s not summer anymore – I will wear it lots and lots.

white cat, black sweater

Okay, so the cat isn’t entirely white, but she sure sheds white.

This, of course, is the nearly-done body of my Goose Rocks hoodie, which (of course) I won’t be able to wear until at least October, considering the way the weather’s been going lately. But it’s still going to be a good hoodie to have in the fall, and knitting it is a pretty good time. The construction is a little odd compared to other low-seam (not seamless – the arms are knit separately and sewn on) sweaters I’ve made in the past, and the more I work with the cotton-based yarn, the more I find I don’t mind it. Plus, I get to do many, many cables: my one true knitting love.

Some sewing-related stuff also came in the mail today, which was very exciting for me. I ordered some fabric online shortly after finishing my sexy cowgirl pillow – trying something a little bigger is one of my goals for the summer. Ideally I’d like to make a quilt, but I’m scared of actually quilting (it looks hard/ what if I make a mistake/I’m not worthy, etc), so we’ll see.

I also couldn’t resist a half-yard of this fabric – anyone who knows me well has, at some point, heard about my ridiculous love of Alice in Wonderland, and this was too good to pass up. I’d love to turn it into a skirt, but being a classy lady older than about nine, I’m not 100% sure if I can pull it off. There’s a fine line between “hipsterishly cute” and “childlike in a sad, empty sort of way.”

Maybe if I used a skirt pattern that involved panels of different fabrics? I’d like to think if I toned it down with really sensible black and a grown-up A-line pattern, it might be more okay, but it’s possible that I’m just thinking wishfully.

Also, out of curiosity – if I had a pattern to write up, perhaps one that was related to last week’s blog post, would any of you be interested in test-knitting? The only things I can offer as compensation are a copy of the pattern, and eternal glory.

black yarn! my favourite!

I’ve been doing a lot of sewing lately, but the mainstay of my creativity is still very much knitting – lots of knitting, on lots of different things. I’m moving in a few weeks, so I’m trying to work on simple things and finish almost-done projects as much as I can, to help with the process.

Still, when my yarn came, I couldn’t resist starting the Goose Rocks pullover. The yarn I’m using is black, because I need another black hoodie in my life. (This is not sarcasm. There can never be too many black hoodies.)

The cat tried to help with the first set of pictures.

This sweater is actually going amazingly fast – I have a thing about cables, and I find them vaguely addicting. There’s something about just getting to the “next row” that makes me want to keep knitting so much more than other stuff.