It struck me the other day when someone asked me what I liked most to knit, that I was in a sweater place. Most of what has been on my needles the last few months has been sweaters.
There’s been this little guy. It’s the Zip Up Cardigan by Hannah Fetig. I have to admit, I was a little intimidated by the zipper. I almost outsourced this to a tailor shop, but I was determined to try to sew the zipper in myself. I signed up for a class at Stitches Midwest on putting in zippers. It was much easier than I had expected. The only hitch came when the sweet lady next to me at class informed me that I had purchased a non-separating zipper! Darn! I ended up having to purchase a new zipper from Zipperstop.com Once that arrived I was able to pull out my class directions and “zip” right through it. I would definitely make this pattern (with the zipper) again.
Then, I made these two sweaters. They are the Anthropology Inspired Capelet made with Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande. I made these for the girls to wear at my little sister’s wedding at the end of October. Not to be content with following the pattern as written, I lengthened the arms and made each sweater longer than the original. I really wanted these sweaters to be cozy on a cold fall day and I wanted them to have a bit longer of a life than just the one day.
I remember a day when I thought making a child size sweater was so neat because I, “couldn’t possibly knit something as big and involved as an adult size sweater!” Child size sweaters just went so fast. Now that my girls are in adult sizes (mostly), their sweaters still seem to move pretty quickly off the needles. Plus, I can steal their sweaters and hand knit socks! It’s a beautiful thing and I think I might have to savor it while it lasts, because I’m pretty sure my girls are going to take after their Daddy in height.
Last but not least is this little cutie. It’s the Clayoquot Cardigan by Tin Can Knits. This is knit in the round and steeked. While I’ve steeked before, this was my first time using a crochet reinforcement. I will definitely be doing this again as I really liked the way it worked to hold everything in place and I liked the way the crocheted line made a nice edging on the inside of the cardigan. I also think that all of the Tin Can Knits patterns are well written. I always learn something new from them and very often they make me stretch my knitting skills.
So, basically, I’m in a sweater place. I’ve got several more started or in the line up. After all, how many scarves do I really need?
Knitting Up North 