Finished!

Yay!  My Amber sweater is finally finished!  My husband took a day off from work on my birthday this week so I could have a little time to myself while he took care of Sam, and it was just what I needed to complete my sweater.  I added sleeves as this is Minnesota and we need sleeves here no matter how cute the pattern is as a vest.  Overall, I am pleased with how it turned out and it's feels pretty comfy too.  The best part was that when I gave it a bath before blocking more indigo dye came out in the water.  So hopefully I won't have blue dye rubbing off on my arms and neck as I did on my hands while knitting.  It feels great to get another WIP off the needles.  Of course, you'd think this would translate into my wanting to finish another WIP, but you would be mistaken.  It makes me want to reward myself by casting on a new sweater! Oh, knitting logic is hard to follow isn't it?

Joining in with Andrea for Fibre Arts Friday and Linda for Creative Friday.

A Touch of Indigo

 

I'm chugging right along on my Amber sweater - it's body is all sewn up, ends woven in, and the cowl neck close to done.  Now, I have to say I am not a natural at knitting lace and even though this project is pretty simple it made my head hurt.  Seaming up of the lace fabric at the shoulders was fudged at best.  I'm happy the cowl, when completed, will cover most of that seam up.  It's not a knit while you watch a movie kind of project.  More of a "wake up super early before your child wakes up" kind of knit.  Well, at least for me.

In my last post I believe I told you I dyed the yarn for this sweater myself with natural indigo dye.  It was my first time using indigo and I accidentally made it too concentrated (which I discovered afterwards of course.)  All the yarn had to be washed many, many times with a cleanser that helps removes any excess dye for the water to run clear.  Most of the yarn from this dyeing batch I have been able to use without issue, but this particular yarn still has excess dye that rubs off on my hands.  This is called "crocking" and could happen indefinitely if I dyed it incorrectly, but I'm hoping this isn't the case since most of the yarn was fine.  So, Amber's success is a bit risky as I made no swatch, then made modifications to the pattern, I'm not too comfortable knitting lace and indigo dyed yarn that could continue crocking.  Wow, I'm living on the edge - a knitter's edge.  I do wonder why I've taken such a risk with my precious knitting time.  My only conclusion is I simply didn't want to give up on this yarn's ability to be something wonderful.  Routing for the underdog again. 

Joining in with Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On. 

Fuzzy Weather Equals Fuzzy Sweater

Daylight savings time occurred this past weekend which for me means the dark days of Autumn have begun.  While I love the sunny colorful part of Fall, this time after all the leaves have fallen and the days turn gray and fuzzy is my least favorite time of year.  It's the waiting for Winter to come and blanket us with snow and cold that's hard for me.  Once Winter hits I'm fine again and just tuck in drinking tea, knitting, reading and sitting back to enjoy the inward season.  So, with what I call "fuzzy" weather (you know that dark, drizzly, hazy kind of day) comes knitting and what better to knit than a fuzzy sweater.  

That's right, I'm back to knitting Amber by Lisa Richardson in Cascade Ecological Bulky Wool (that I dyed naturally with indigo) and Aloft super kid mohair yarn from Knit Picks (which gives the sweater it's fuzzy look.)  I love how the very bright mohair yarn gives the more muted indigo a spark of color without being too overt (it is laceweight against bulky yarn after all.)  The body is done and I'm beginning to knit back and forth instead of in the round to split the front from the back (which also gives me two armholes.)  The pattern is not too hard, but I have been relying heavily on notes of other Raveler's to get the fit I want.  I'm gambling a bit too not having made a swatch (I know. You 'd think I'd learn by now after all these years of knitting to make a swatch, but they drive me crazy) on how much the lace will stretch out, but I'm optimistic as it's meant to be loose and has no shaping.  Hopefully I'll finish it in a few weeks if not sooner.

Since this post is linking with Yarn Along I need to share with you my current reading book.  It's Slowspoke - A Unicyclist's Guide to America by Mark Schimmoeller.  It was recommended by this blogger whom I read regularly.  Well, I'm only 70 pages in, and I'm hooked.  It's a memoir but somehow it feels larger than a story of just one man.  He goes back and forth in his narrative from his childhood and youth, to his long distance unicycle trip, to the present and while this could be confusing, instead it flows as naturally as your thoughts flow from one to another.  Really beautiful writing.  

Joining in with Ginny for Yarn Along and Tami for WIP Wednesday.