swearing off sport-weight sweaters

...at least for a little while. I've been working on this bad boy since last October, and while I'm loving the finished product, I'm ready for some faster-knitting projects. It's going to be a while before I get back on the sport-weight sweater horse, despite the fact that I have at least two more sweater's-worth of sport waiting in the wings. Luckily, I have even more sweater's-worth quantities of worsted to keep me busy 'til I'm ready to re-open this door!

This was a fairly easy pattern to follow - all measurements were in the metric system, which I find I kind of enjoy - it really doesn't make sense that we're one of the few countries that still insists on clinging to the English system of measurement. I mean, the English don't even use the English system these days! Come on!

My only critique of this pattern would have to be the cables in the charts - I found the yarn overs to be a little fussy and awkward at times, especially for the first set of cables. This was especially true on the return row, where you had to knit all yo's through the back loop. Be sure to get yourself some bamboo needles for the yoke - my metal needles were a little too slippery for the task at hand.

Another thing that really helped me knit the yoke quickly was to put in stitch markers for each chart repeat. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you to do this - but believe it or not, it didn't occur to me until after that first cable was completed that stitch markers might be a good idea. Once I did that, the yoke just knit itself! It made those return rounds where I was trying to make sense of all the yo's and cabled decreases so much easier - re-establishing the pattern was much simpler. If you look closely at the yoke, you can see why I decided to try putting in the stitch markers - I got off a stitch on the return-row and the rest of the cables are slightly offset from the bottommost cable.

My only other critique involves my pet peeve in the realm of pattern instructions: "decrease X number of stitches evenly across the row" - I find it incredibly frustrating to come across that in a pattern. I know it's probably hard to give those calculations for a range of sizes, but as a knitter, I find it very irritating to have to stop what I'm doing and get out my calculator.

All in all, still a great pattern - honestly, you can't ask anything more of a pattern you don't have to pay for. I didn't come across any errata, so that's pretty impressive. I am loving this sweater already and practically sleeping in it. Sorry, tea leaves and owl cardi - it seems I'm a fickle girl.

the details:

Pattern: Drops Knitted Jacket with Raglan Sleeves and Cables

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Superwash Sport in Japanese Plum

Buttons: Vintage buttons from my stash

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

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Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends, so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks). The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a...

handmade by stefanie

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