Noolie Knits

Something Rarely Seen Around These Parts

I'm about to show you something you have not seen around these parts for quite some time - it's an FO and it's for ME!

This FO started out wanting to be something else.  You may remember my sad tale of denial from this post.

After that failure, I just couldn't bring myself to start the same sweater over again, so I used the yarn for a different sweater:

Why yes it does actually have sleeves; I just couldn't get them in the picture (hey, I was rushing). Here it is on the blocking board yesterday afternoon:

I know, it's still hard to really see what they look like; I'll try to get a modeled picture for you soon.  I have it on today, and I will be going to Chicks wiht Sticks tonight, so maybe I can beg someone there to take a photo of me.

Details:

Pattern:  Knitting Pure and Simple Neck Down Swing Coat
Yarn:  Cascade Ecological Wool   ~   Needles:  Sizes 8 and 9.

Mods:
~I wanted a little less swing in this Swing Coat, so instead of increasing every six rows, I increased every 8 rows.  If I were to make it again, I'd leave out the back center increases (with a butt like mine, I don't need to be drawing attention to it).
~I did the entire collar in seed stitch instead of most of it stockinette with 3 garter ridges as the pattern called for.
~I used seed stitch at the cuffs, the bottom of the sweater, and the button band. 
                            I do love me some seed stitch :-)

More pics:

Seed stitch:

        

Buttons:    

(The true color of this sweater is somewhere between the brownish and the grayish of these pictures; truly hard to capture.)

The sweater during the inspection process:

     

It would appear that it passes inspection!

Teeny Tiny Hats and More

Although you wouldn't know it by my last couple of posts, there has been knitting going on around here.  Actually, make that knitting and crocheting going on. 

CROCHET:

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the first preemie hat I made for the K3tog Preemie Hat Knitalong.   I had anticipated making several more when all of a sudden, I looked at the calendar and realized that the month is almost over!  How did that happen? 

I had been crocheting a little hat in the style that my friend's grandmother taught me 100 years ago when I was in high school.  It should have taken me only a couple of hours to do, but because of my inattention to the calendar (and apparently to the hat) it took me over a week!  Well, since I cannot send just two itty bitty hats, I decided I'd look for a quick crochet pattern and whip up a few more itty bitty hats.

 

These hats all use leftover acrylic yarns - Caron Simply Soft, Bernat Softee Baby, Plymouth Jelli Beenz and size "H" crochet hook.

Clover personally tested the hats on her baby:

She approves.

I did crochet one extra one for her baby to keep; I didn't get a picture of that though.

KNITTING:

Hubby mentioned recently that he'd like some more hand knit socks, so I went stash diving and found the perfect yarn for some mansocks .  I told hubby that these would take awhile because I have some other projects I really want to get done but I've been working on them a bit here and there.  I brought them to the doctor's office with me yesterday and when the doctor appologized for making me wait, I told him it was fine because I got some knitting done.  I don't know about you, but I don't mind waiting in the doctor's office as long as I have my knitting with me; I actually kind of like it.

 

 
Cascade Sassy Stripes (superwash) yarn Size 2 dpn's    

The Replacement Sweater is coming along nicely. I've tried it on and believe it will be a nice fit; a little loose but not huge.

Yarn: Cascade Ecological Wool
Needles: Size 9 circular Pattern:  Knitting Pure and Simple Swing Coat

Of course Clover had to inspect it:

She's withholding judgement until it's complete.

Has this ever happened to you?

You're ready to knit yourself a sweater that you've been wanting to knit for months.

You've settled on the yarn and you've even done a gauge swatch (or four).

You settle down and start knitting.

After several inches, you notice the sweater seems a little bit small.

You get out your ruler and double check the gauge.

You stretch the knitting just the teeniest bit to get the right gauge and continue knitting.

You stop every couple of inches and measure again, telling yourself it'll be fine; it's only half a stitch off. (Can you see where this is going?)

You knit the entire back of the sweater before you decide to ask your friend what she thinks.

That's when this:

becomes this:

I've already cast on for another sweater, Knitting Pure and Simple's Neck Down Swing Coat, using the yarn from this failure.

I still plan to make the Drops sweater.   I just couldn't bring myself to start it over just yet.  I'll find a different yarn and I'll remember that sometimes gauge swatches do lie!