Yes, I could have picked up stitches along the edge of the body and knit the sleeve down from the top, reversing all the shaping to make the sleeve narrow as I knit towards the cuff. I have successfully done that many times, but it does have its drawbacks.

First of all I would have the weight and warmth of the entire sweater resting in my lap while I knit the sleeves. This is a deal-breaker for me.

Second, the direction of the knitting is reversed. For my simple diamond pattern this is not a huge deal, but if the sleeve is patterned with something other than straight stockinette or garter stitch, you will need to figure out how to knit the pattern upside-down. Depending on the complexity of the pattern, this may or may not work.

There was another comment asking what ratio I used to pick up my stitches. It all depends.

My completed sleeve was 20″ across the top, so I measured 10″ down the front and 10″ down the back of the body of the sweater and placed markers at those points.

After I finished my sleeve increases, I had a total of 101 stitches. That means I needed to pick up 50 stitches up the front, 1 stitch at the shoulder seam, and 50 stitches down the back. So on the body I placed a marker halfway between the bottom marker and the shoulder seam, and then another marker midway in each of those sections so that I had 4 even sections in which I needed to pick up stitches on both the front and back.

Starting at the bottom marker, I picked up 12 stitches in the first section, then 1 stitch right at the next marker, then 12 stitches in the next 2 sections, then 1 stitch right at the next marker, then 12 stitches in the next section — which takes you up to the shoulder seam. That’s 50 stitches for the first half of the sleeve. Then I picked up my 1 stitch right at the shoulder seam, and picked up the remaining 50 stitches in the same manner as the first 50 stitches.

Here’s my sleeve:

And here’s the sleeve joined to the body:

But this photo is the most accurate representation of the color:

Hard to take photos after work in the winter when it’s dark!

To change the subject . . .

See this little angel?

Hard to believe that someone who looks so sweet and innocent would wake her Momma up 7 or 8 times during the night for no good reason, huh?

Sunday afternoon I made some good progress on my Diamond Gansey. I joined the front and the back at the shoulders using a three-needle bind-off, and I picked up stitches around the neck and knit a narrow neckband.

I also picked up stitches along one side so I will be able to attach the sleeve using a three-needle bind-off.

I’ve gotten a fair amount done on the first sleeve — I ought to be able to finish this sleeve tonight.

Winner!

The winner of the Jordana Paige Craft Tool Butler, chosen at random from the comments on the post that announced the contest, is, for a change, a guy: Small Town Knit Guy Rusty! Rusty has been contacted. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest and a big thank you to Jordana Paige for supplying such a lovely prize for the giveaway.

While my Diamond Gansey will not be done by the next blog post, I hope to be working on the second sleeve. We’ll see.

Lucy is hard at work too.

I told you that it was a 50/50 cotton/acrylic blend but not what it was. A number of you guessed that it was Rowan All Seasons Cotton or Rowan Calmer. A couple of you guessed correctly: good ol’ Lion Brand Cotton Ease.

I started the swatch with a U.S. size 7 needle but thought it was working up a little loose so halfway through I switched to a U.S. size 6. You may be able to see the point where I switched in the swatch — the stitches on the bottom half are a bit wonky. With the size 6 needle I’m getting 4.25 stitches and 6 rows to the inch.

Working up, the yarn this feels most like to me is All Seasons Cotton. But Cotton Ease is a lot cheaper. I’m planning on knitting a textured pullover with it to see what I think.

But I’m still in the middle of my diamond gansey knit from Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Cotton.

I finished the front last night.

And I started a sleeve.

I think at some point this afternoon I’ll join the shoulders and knit a narrow neckband. Come back Tuesday to see how it looks!

And don’t forget the Tool Butler giveaway closes on Tuesday. Remember, you have to leave a comment on that post to be entered in the giveaway. If you’ve emailed me using the “contact me” link you are not entered. I have a plugin that pulls a winner at random from comments on a particular post. The link to comment is right below the title of the blog post and is blue and says “xxx Comments.”

Okay, I’ve got a lot to do today, so it is time to get started on it.

Lucy has been resting up so she can spend the rest of the day helping me.

Better late than never, here is my work in progress: the front of my gansey-type sweater.

I’m about two-thirds done with the front (yay three-day weekend) so I have high hopes for finishing the front this weekend and getting a start on a sleeve.

I did take some time out from knitting on this to start a swatch in a different yarn. Can anyone guess what the yarn is?

I’ll give you two hints: it is a cotton/acrylic blend and it is worsted weight.

Book Giveaway

The winner of my review copy of Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett (illustrated by Jon Klassen) is “Stacy and the rugrats,” who has (have?) been emailed. Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway.

Speaking of Giveaways . . .

I got something exciting in the mail the other day. This:

This is the new “Crafter’s Tool Butler” by Jordana Paige, who was nice enough to send me one for review. (Note that I shamelessly pulled the photos of this case from her website since they are far nicer than any I can take here on a dark afternoon.)

The specs:

The cases is made from an attractive vegan-friendly PVC and is available in 4 colors: black onyx, bronze, deep red, and eggplant purple.

Mine is bronze.

It has six flat pockets for all sizes of double-pointed needles and crochet hooks, as well as a mesh pocket for small items such as safety pins, stitch markers and darning needles.

There is also a knitting needle and crochet hook inventory chart included.

And there are four zippered accordion pockets for circular needles with label inserts for custom numbering.

It is 10.5″ long by 6.5″ tall by 2″ thick — compact enough to tuck into a medium-sized purse or knitting bag. I foresee that I will find it extremely useful for knitting on the go, something I do a lot of.

You can purchase the Crafter’s Tool Butler from the Jordana Paige website here. There’s also a link on that page to a store locator so you can purchase it locally.

Did I mention how nice Jordana Paige was to send me one? She actually sent me two: one is for me and one is for one of my blog readers.

I’m keeping the bronze one, so I’m giving away the black onyx one. Who wants it?

Leave a comment on this blog post by 12:00 noon Eastern Time on Tuesday January 24, 2012. I’ll choose the winner at random then.

Lucy is very excited about the whole contest thing.

I’ve got some neck shaping there so the neckband won’t be too high up on the neck, and I’ve got the shoulder stitches on holders so I can attache the front and back via a three-needle bind-off.

I’m making this sweater from Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Cotton (in the gravel colorway). I’d heard great things about this yarn so wanted to try it out for myself. It lives up to the hype — it’s a soft and lovely cotton. My only gripe with it is that it tends to be a little splitty since it is made up of many plies. So I have to pay closer attention as I knit.

But all in all it is a lovely yarn with great stitch definition.

Extra Yarn

Last week I was sent a review copy of this book:

This is Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen.

It’s a cute little story for kids ages 4 and up about a little girl who finds — well the blurb on the sleeve says it all:

The illustrations are wonderful:

Who’d like to win my review copy?

Leave a comment on this post by noon Eastern Time on Thursday, January 19, 2012 to be entered in the drawing to receive my copy.

Lucy’s Plan for the Day

Crazy weather.

Long-time blog readers may recall that I am loathe to turn on the heat in the winter. So far this (so-called) winter I have not turned on my heat. But I have closed the windows once or twice.

Knit Like the Wind!

I’ve had some comments recently remarking that I must knit very fast in order to complete projects so quickly. This always makes me smile because I don’t consider myself a fast knitter, just a persistent one.

I don’t have much knitting time during the week. On weekdays I get up at precisely 3:47 a.m. and arrive at work at precisely 5:45 a.m. I am almost always home well before 5:00 p.m. (except in unusual cases, like this week, when a training course necessitates my staying at work two hours later than usual). I try to do all my “chores” on weekday afternoons after work so I have weekends free. And on  weeknights I need to attempt sleep fairly early. All this adds up to very little knitting time on weeknights. I do knit for half an hour on the train in the mornings (in the afternoons coming home I read and check my work Blackberry) and sometimes a half an hour at lunch as well. And then an hour in the evening.

So most of my knitting is accomplished on weekends.

This past weekend I knit a mouse for a coworker who recently adopted two kittens.

This was knit using leftover sportweight sock yarn and my “nose-up” mouse pattern from my Projects for Leftover Sock Yarn pattern.

I also worked on my cotton gansey:

Reader Charlotte commented:

I thought ganseys had flat stockinette “bottoms” with the initials worked in before the patterning started. I was told this was because the gansey was tucked into overalls or trousers and there was no reason to make that part of the garment pretty. In addition, the smooth stockinette would be easier to tuck in.

What I have read was that the plain bottoms (on body and sleeves) was to make it simpler to rip out and re-knit when the bottom edges got worn out from wear and tear.

But not all ganseys are knit that way. There are approximately one ga-jillion gansey patterns out there and there is no law that states that you have to adhere to an exact pattern when creating a gansey-type pattern.

Just for fun, I did a Google image search on the word “gansey.” Check out the results!

Here’s my “gansey-type” sweater as it looks today:

I don’t expect to get much knitting time this week so I’ll likely not post on Thursday, so I’ll talk to y’all on Sunday.

Lucy is miffed because I was late getting home today. I told her I would be when I left the house this morning but she wasn’t paying attention.

I am knitting this project from Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Cotton, using the “Gravel” colorway. This will be a gansey-type pullover. Definitely not a “true” gansey because I am knitting it in pieces and from cotton instead of traditional gansey wool. But the patterning is gansey-style.

I knit a tiny swatch with a U.S. size 6 (4mm) needle but thought it was just a little too loose, so switched to a size 5 (3.75mm). Using a size 5 needle, I’m getting just a shade over 5 stitches to the inch (like 5 and 1/16 of an inch) and 7 rows to the inch.

Rather than do a ribbing on the bottom edge, I’ve done narrow columns of seed stitch alternating with stockinette stitch.

This morphs into the body pattern: seed stitch diamonds separated by narrow seed stitch columns.

As a rule, I am not a fan of knitting with 100% cotton yarn. I cast this on and on the first row was not terribly happy with the feel of the yarn. But by the second row I was much happier. I never like working the first row of anything — knitting into a cast-on edge is something I always find slightly unpleasant.

So I’m finding this yarn quite pleasant to knit. It’s fairly soft, but has great stitch definition. It is a multi-ply yarn so I do have to remain vigilant so that I don’t split it, but it’s not too much of an issue, particularly since I am using a lovely Signature needle with a stiletto tip. Mmmmmm . . . pointy!

Sweet Shawlettes Book Giveaway

The contest is now closed and the two winners of copies of Sweet Shawlettes by Jean Moss are Heather and Kathy in Alaska. I have emailed you both.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment entering the giveaway and many thanks to Jean Moss and Taunton Press for providing two copies of this lovely book for my readers!

Lucy’s Weekend Plan

‘Nuff said.

Cat included for scale.

Every seam sewn, every end woven in.

As you can see, I added a band to the bottom of the sweater as well as to the bottom of the sleeves. I used the two small side cables together on this band.

So instead of doing the braided cable on the neckband, I did a narrower band with one of the small cables.

All in the interest of being matchy-matchy you know.

With the addition of the bottom band, my Cromarty is almost 26″ from shoulder to hem. A much more wearable length for me than the 23″ it was before the addition of the band.

I used 15 skeins of Rowan Calmer and a U.S. size 5 needle.

I started this sweater on December 3, so it took me a month and a day to complete.

Because of my decision to add bands to the bottom of the body and sleeves, there was a fair amount of seaming and weaving in of ends. I counted how many pieces this sweater is constructed from: twelve. Front, back, two sleeves, two sleeve bands, two bottom bands, and four neckband pieces.

Those among you who are not a fan of seaming are likely twitching by now.

Me, I have no issue with seams. In fact, I’m rather fond of them. Now your mileage may vary, but I find that a sweater knit in pieces and seamed together usually hangs better than a seamless one knit in the round. When you are knitting in the round, you are actually knitting in a spiral. Depending on the yarn you are using, it will in some way affect the drape of your garment. In my experience, the heavier the yarn, the weirder the drape when knit in the round.

I’m remembering back to an Icelandic sweater I bought at a Scandinavian bazaar approximately a ga-jillion years ago. It was knit in the round from Lopi-type (1-ply bulky wool) and it always fit weird, sort of twisting on the body when worn.

Of course, there are things you can do to make your circular knits fit well — using short-rows to incorporate shaping is one technique.

And there are certain types of knits that really are best knit in the round. Fair isle sweaters knit from jumperweight wool, for example. It is much easier to knit colorwork in the round because you always have the right side facing you. The stranded nature of fair isle work adds some stability to the piece. and if you are knitting a cardigan and steeking it, once you cut open the front steek, it is no longer a spiral.

A very compelling reason for me to lean towards knitting in pieces is that I only have to have one piece in my lap at a time while I knit. Because I am too warm 99.9% of the time, this is a big deal for me.

But like I said, your mileage may vary.

Next on the needles: a gansey-type sweater knit in DK weight cotton. In pieces. Stay tuned.

Sweet Shawlettes Giveaway Update

Don’t forget to leave a comment on Tuesday’s post to be entered in the drawing for a free copy of Sweet Shawlettes by Jean Moss. You all have given the book such a lovely reception here that I am now authorized to give away two copies in the drawing this Sunday. A big thank-you to Jean and her publisher, Taunton Press!

Lucy Update

Lucy thanks you all for the lovely comments about her photo in Tuesday’s blog post.

Meanwhile, she has found another great use for the toy she got for Christmas.

Hey, not every photo can be a glamor shot.

This is Sweet Shawlettes by Jean Moss, a collection of 25 patterns for shawlettes, cowls, and other related types of knits. I received a review copy of this book a couple of weeks ago and pronounce it delightful!

The book is divided into 4 sections: Country, Couture, Folk, and Vintage. There is a lovely variety of both types of garments and knitting techniques used. This is not all lace shawls — there is also colorwork, entrelac, texture, and cables. A little something for everyone.

My faves:

From the Country section, I love “Green at Heart,” a button-up cowl.

From Couture, here is “Enigma,” a poncho-type garment with an intriguing shape and a cozy turtleneck.

From Folk, “Polperro” combines lace and texture.

And from Vintage, what I think is my favorite design in the book: “Kitty,” an adorable capelet.

You can preview all the designs in the book’s Design Gallery.

I have long been a fan of Jean Moss’ designs and was delighted to have the opportunity to conduct a brief interview with her.

Wendy: How long have you been knitting and who taught you?

Jean: Originally I learned to knit before I went to school because I wanted to be like my beloved grandmother who spent hours teaching me.  A fallow period ensued but my interest was rekindled in my teens when I started to make my own clothes.  It was the swinging sixties and I loved what I was seeing on the street and in magazines, but had no way of achieving anything similar other than to pick up my needles again.  From then on I was hooked. It never occurred to me that I’d ever be able to make a living out of it, especially as I had no formal training in design, but after getting requests for sweaters I’d made for the kids, I decided that it might be a way of making some extra cash from home.  No-one was more surprised than I was to find that very quickly I was presenting my designs to luminaries such as Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein and they were placing orders! It was a meteoric learning curve. The business quickly mushroomed and I developed my own line alongside the design and production I was doing for US stores and designers. We ultimately had two thousand knitters in the UK – all stemming from my need to express myself creatively.

Wendy: Sweet Shawlettes is such a unique collection because there are so many different techniques covered in the patterns — lace, texture, colorwork. Do you have a favorite, or do you enjoy all more or less equally?

Jean: I was asked to write Sweet Shawlettes out of the blue by Erica Sanders-Foege, a senior editor at The Taunton Press. I immediately loved the idea as previously most of my books have concentrated on sweaters, and this gave me the opportunity to explore a totally different form.  Shawls, capes, cowls, furbelows or anything that can be worn around the neck was the brief and I was excited to explore as many ways of interpreting it as I could.

My mind spun with the millions of options, so I knew I would have to edit, edit, edit. I started the task of narrowing them down with a book plan: the skeleton of the four chapters – Country, Couture, Folk and Vintage - what would inspire them and also the yarns, colours, techniques which would be showcased in each. I reasoned that small projects could be fantastic tasters for new skills, without the commitment of a larger piece, either in time or yarn.  So when I started to flesh out the chapters, I had the intention of including various techniques I particularly enjoy. However, the realisation quickly dawned that I’m an absolute technique junkie, as I found it hard to exclude anything, so I decided I’d go for it and include as many as I could, which hopefully would also give the book another dimension.

Not sure whether you’re asking about my favourite technique or project, but these days my knitting is usually restricted to swatches for new designs and no-brainers for winding down, although I do love working with colour, so the odd bit of fair isle often slips in as well as various modular knits.  I have to admit that I’m just as much a product as a process knitter so I always ask myself whether or not I’d like to wear a piece I’m designing and if the answer is no then I lose interest. I’ve loved each project in turn as I’ve designed them. However, the project I chose to knit for friends this Xmas was Drift from the Couture chapter.  I love big cables and this easy cowl has the bonus that it’s quick to knit and fabulously wearable – I’ve rarely had such  positive feedback from everyone who received it!

Wendy: Do you still sing with the Purly Kings?

Jean: The Purly Kings was an impromptu band, put together to make the CD More Yarn Will Do The Trick, a trio of yarn related songs.  It came about as my friend, Paul Darby, was already in a band called the Dubious Brothers, a man-band with definitely no women, so I asked them to do a one-off recording as session musicians.  Paul and I go back a long way and our musical tastes are fairly similar, so I was confident it would be doable.  Sadly I’m bandless as the moment, but one of my New Year’s resolutions is to get out and play more music, so if you know anyone who wants to join me, do let me know.

Giveaway!

Would you like to win a copy of this lovely book? Leave a comment on this blog post by Sunday, January 8, 2012 at 11:00am eastern time. A winner will be chosen at random at that time.

This review is only one stop on the Sweet Shawlettes blog tour. The full tour schedule is below:

SWEET SHAWLETTES blog tour

Mon 2 Jan More Yarn Will Do The Trick – Jean Moss
Tues 3 Jan  Wendy Knits – Wendy Johnson
Wed 4 Jan Knitgrrl – Shannon Okey
Thurs 5 Jan Yarnagogo – Rachael Herron
Fri 6 Jan The Knitter – Rosee Woodland
Sat 7 Jan Rhythm of the Needles – Joanne Conklin
Sun 8 Jan Knit Purl Gurl – Karrie Steinmetz
Mon 9 Jan CraftSanity – Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood
Tues 10 Jan Planet Purl – Beth Moriarty
Wed 11 Jan Sunset Cat – Stephannie Tallent
Thurs 12 Jan A Really Good Yarn – Julie Schilthuis
Fri 13 Jan knit 1 chicago – Lynn Coe
Sat 14 Jan Go Knit In Your Hat – Carol Sulcoski
Sun 15 Jan Redshirt Knitting – Erika Barcott
Mon 16 Jan In The Loop – Cheryl & Ellen
Tues 17 Jan WEBS – Kathy Elkins
Wed 18 Jan Zeneedle – Margene Smith
Thurs 19 Jan Knitspot – Anne Hanson
Fri 20 Jan Urban Yarns – Alexa Ludeman
Sat 21 Jan A Friend to knit with – Leslie Friend
Mon 23 Jan Tentenknits – Margaux Hufnagel
Tues 24 Jan Fancy Tiger Crafts – Amber Corcoran
Thurs 26 Jan The Panopticon – Franklin Habit
Tbc Chic Knits – Bonne Marie Burns

Lucy sez:

I’ve always felt that more yarn will do the trick.

Well, it’s a bit further along than that photo.

I am, however, making it shorter than directed in the pattern. This is because I plan to add a sewn-on cuff to match the sewn-on border I am planning for the bottom of the sweater. After I finish this sleeve, I am going to knit the border before I start the second sleeve. So I’ll have a photo of it for the next blog post.

The next blog post will be my first post for 2012.

Lucy is resting up for the big New Year’s celebration.

See you next year!