New skills learned

Many of my anxious thoughts about this sweater have shown to be totally needless. It came out just the way I hoped.



One of the reasons for my anxiety about the sweater was the construction, which isn't similar to any other sweater I've knitted. During the process it was very hard to tell whether this would fit or not. It wasn't until the steek was cut that I was able to see if it would be a succes or a total failure. I did some measuring before I cut and felt fairly safe, but not until I could try it on, which was also beyond the point of no return, I knew I was going to be happy with it.



The construction also entails that there is absolutely no seaming, except from the underarms. It is knitted all in one piece, even though it has set-in sleeves. And this was new to me. All in all I learned quite a few new skills but to me the overriding new technique was doubtlessly the steeking. Much of the fear has disappeared now, though, and I'll definately do it again some time. I might use the same yarn (shetland wool) next time I knit something which includes steeking. I liked it and there is a wide range of colors.



I had some trouble about finding the right buttons but these were the ones I ended up with. I think they suit the sweater well.



The only moderation I made was making the sleeves a bit longer by adding one pattern repeat. I see now that it wasn't necessary, however, I dont' mind them being on the long side.

Pattern: Little Birds
Designer: Ysolda Teague
Source: Twist Collective
Yarn: Shetlandsuld from BC Garn

I cut the Birds!

The steek is cut. It all went fine, so I won't need to worry about steeking again. I'm glad that I made the reinforcement, though.



Also, edging is done, ends are weaved in and it's now blocking. Once it's dry I'll sew on the buttons.






Yesterday I bought three skeins of Rowan Tapestry. Have you tried it? What do you think? It contains 30% of soybean protein fiber. Now, that's interesting! Another fiber I haven't tried. The rest of the content is wool. It's very soft so I want to knit a scarf using the ogee pattern from Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns, which I also used for my cardigan.

Steeking - The Chicken and the other Birds

I guess I'm a chicken! I'm making a crocheted steek on Little Birds even though the pattern says you don't need to make a reinforcement. Shetland Wool is fuzzy and sticky enough to leave it as it is. It will felt enough by itself. But - since I haven't tried it with Shetland wool before - I can't just cut. I'm using Eunny Jang's tutorial.

Outdoor knitting with the birds

Today was a perfect day for outdoor knitting. I love those clear and sunny days in early fall.

The Birds are coming along pretty well, though I am a bit anxious about the outcome of this. It’s really hard to tell how it’s going to turn out because of the construction with the steek thing. I’ve added one pattern repeat to lengthen the sleeves a bit because to me they seem pretty short. I hope one repeat is enough because I don’t think I’ll be able to reknit it when I’ve cut the steek. (I wonder if I’ll ever dare to do this!) And I can’t try it on before I cut it, as it’s really oddly shaped, so I’ll do some proper measuring before cutting.

Last night I was at my LYS, attending the monthly knit night, which was enjoyable as always with great company and lots of yarn, and I even bought some yarn which I’m going to use for my secret Christmas knitting. (Psst… If you’re on Ravelry you can follow the top secret Christmas knitting on my page there! Some of the recipients might read this blog.)

Happy knitting!

Birds and colorwork

The weather is changing. It’s getting colder, which means there is a need for more woolly knitwear. The cotton yarns are already hibernating and I can surrender myself completely to my favorite fiber, wool. Are you looking forward to this as much as I am?

I’ve started a project in Shetland wool which contains colorwork and steeking, haven’t tried the latter yet but I’m plucking up the courage, day by day, and hopefully one day I’ll be brave enough to CUT my knitting! I haven’t decided which method it’s going to be yet but I’m tending towards applying a crocheted steek. I know that when knitting with Shetland wool it shouldn’t be necessary to make any reinforcement at all – you just cut. I don’t know if I’ll ever be that courageous, though. Eunny Jang’s tutorial on steeking is such a great reference and I’m so going to use it.

If you haven’t guessed it by now, my new project is Little Birds by Ysolda. It’s from the new online magazine Twist Collective. This magazine is just so great and full of beautiful designs, and Ysolda’s Little Birds is just one of them.