Time to catch up on what is going on in my knitting life. The theme is FINISH, FINISH, FINISH before I start Fulmar. Well Fulmar IS started but I'm trying to get the On The Needle projects done before spending time with Fulmar.
DONE - Symbolic Knot pullover from "The Best of Knitter's Arans & Celtics" made in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted on a US #7. The front and back were knit separately, three needle bind off at the shoulders and the neckband picked up and knitted. The sleeves were supposed to be knit from the cuff up but I picked up from the body and knit down in order to get the length exact. This is a heavy sweater, has that sheen to it since Lamb's Pride is 85% wool and 15% mohair. The sweater was knit in five weeks mostly in car travel back and forth to VA to visit family. It is not the complicated Aran I love to knit but it does have that big central knot on the front. It was knit for my daughter to use as a Maine outdoor winter sweater.
CLOSE TO DONE - I really wanted to knit Erin from the moment I first saw the photo. It is one of Alice Starmore's fair isles in a cardigan, using 15 colors in Botany and Donegal yarns which are long out of production. Did the best I could to recreate the colors by comparing colors online, talking with other knitters who had made the sweater and substituting with Jamieson & Smith 2 ply jumper wool. There are a group of online knitters making the sweater at the same time as a KAL - knitalong. Helen (Greendragon) is doing a super job shepherding us along. I have 13 rows on the longer of the two sleeves to finish plus the ribbing and about 50 rows on the other. Trying really, really hard to finish this sweater before getting deeply into Fulmar, an Aran pullover.
STARTING - Fulmar is another Alice Starmore Aran design. It is a very tightly knit all over cable, drop shoulder pullover. It is supposed to be knit in pieces from the bottom up and sewn together. I'm going to knit this as a FLAK sweater, from the top down in the round. FLAK means Follow The Leader Aran Knitalong. Janet Szabo developed a method of fitting the sweater to yourself. I need shorter arms and wider body and do not need the amount of fabric a drop shoulder usually creates under the arm.
BEFORE CHRISTMAS - Finish "Hemsdale", a Dale of Norway cardigan that fits the taller daughter. All that needs finishing is adding to the length of sleeves. She tried it on in April and we measured what needs to be added. The photo is from a magazine. My Hemsdale is in browns, golds and rusts and I don't have a good photo right now.
GOT TO FINISH - The Fair Isle pullover called "Shirt Tail Hemmed Cardigan" from "Sweaters from Camp" is on hold. The body is done including all the ribbing. One sleeve is picked up but I'm still figuring out short rows on a cap. What I did does not look as good as the rest of the sweater. Need to get help at a knit shop for this one.
BACK BURNER - "Spring Forward" is a Janet Szabo Aran cardigan. I tried to add more cables to the V-neck front and it is not working. This sweater is knit from the top down from saddles across the shoulders. Need to rip out the front and redo.
JOE'S SWEATER - This is a simple all over rib raglan pullover made in Cottage Craft wool. Front and back are done, bottom of both sleeves are done, need to do raglan caps on both and sew together. Joe asked for this sweater but he hasn't worn a sweater in the 25 years we've been together so there isn't a rush to finish this one. It's pretty boring which is why it isn't finished.
So much that I want to do - so little time. But it is all just one stitch at a time isn't it?
