living in the woods and making stuff

I woke up this morning and settled right down by the fire to knit. There is a lovely little couch, right next to the stove that currently is missing all of its cushions, but does have a sheepskin sitting on it. I got out my two most current knitting projects, and set to work. I am taking two classes at the store, one to make a little lace baby bootie, and the other to make a Tomten Jacket.

Both projects are fun and engaging, with the sweater taking up more brain power, as I am adjusting it as I go to make sure that it will fit well. I am currently working on the sleeves. The pattern, designed by Elizabeth Zimmerman (one of the best knitters EVER) is knit modularly, and while it works really well for a child’s sweater, there are some adjustments that help for the adult version. I made most of it according to the plan, with a few mistakes that I actually like the result of. I was inspired to adjust the sleeves after reading about the version knit by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed.

I have finally settled on working short rows for a while and then working straight, after trying it on several times this morning, and then again in class with lots of helpful comments and views. There are three of us in the class making adult sweaters, and it is really fun to collaborate together, changing and adjusting the pattern to suit our needs.

I spent a lot of time working on the join of the sleeve to the sweater body. In the pattern you are supposed to keep the underarm stitches attached, and then knit two together at the end of each row, thus joining the set in sleeve to the body. I didn’t like the results of doing it this way because the two sleeves were different from the front view and back view. In order to make them the same, I took a technique that I learned from Dolly in a modular knitting class and adjusted it so that I was decreasing on either end of the right side. This was a little tricky to figure out, but the finished result is very similar on both sides of the sleeve. I have been working on writing up the technique, but am not completely finished yet..

The second project, the baby bootie was designed by Jeanne McCanless, of Oskaloosa. Jeanne is another of my favorite knitters! She took the pattern from a baby bootie that someone brought to her and figured it out. The unusual design is fun to knit, and a great tiny project to have along (as opposed to the huge tomten jacket). And it is published in this year’s holiday edition of Interweave Knit Magazine!! We are so excited about this!

The lace is knit in a “T” shape, and then the bottom is picked up and knit in garter stitch. The finished product definitely looks like it was harder to knit than it actually is. It is a perfect gift project. I am making the booties in red, as opposed to the traditional creme, and am loving working with the yarn!! It is Jawoll, a combination of wool and nylon, made is Switzerland, and perfect for socks of all sorts. It comes with a spool of reinforcement yarn for the toes and heels inside the skein! (I am tempted to start a pair of red and white striped socks or legwarmers when I have finished the booties.)