Connected

I knit nonstop this weekend, so I could finish the sleeves and attach them to the body. Knitting the sleeves is a little tight right now because there isn't a lot of leeway in the small area that was bound off on the body. Hopefully, once I start doing more raglan decreases, things will get easier.

Lotus Top

I finished the Lotus top last night. This was an easy pattern to follow. In fact, the directions are extremely clear and there are lots of illustrations. This was my second Amy Butler pattern (my first was the Cabo halter), and I had forgotten how detailed the instructions were. Things I really like about the pattern: the contrasting sections, especially the sleeve binding, the shaping, and the buttoned back.

PS For the locals...Fabric Depot has rearranged some stuff and now there's an entire wall holding rolls of the new Alexander Henry home dec fabrics by the north entrance. It's fabulous! I need to make something using some of that!

Stockinette Marathon

I finally finished the 16" of the Avast body on Saturday night while watching La Vie En Rose and 3:10 to Yuma. It didn't seem to take too long since I was occupied with the stories of the films (both thumbs ups!). Last night, I cut out the fabric for the Amy Butler Lotus top. I'm in the process of sewing that up right now.

A Long Road Ahead

Here's my progress so far with the Avast cardigan. Once I got the cabled band finished at the hem, I had to pick up 221 stitches! Needless to say, all this stockinette stitch is taking forever and it looks like I'm only halfway to the required 16 inches before starting the sleeves.

Shopping is Fun!

I started an activewear elective class last week as part of the fashion design program I'm in and my homework included creating this theme/inspiration board for the line we have to create. I decided to focus on running wear, so I could actually use the pieces that I will sew up. I've been trying to think of a title for the board, and I came up with Classic & Graphic. The classic part is reflected in the silhouettes of the clothes (some atypical for running gear) that will also have interesting decorative touches. The graphic part comes in with the fabrics I want to use. The swatches on the board are more reflective of the color schemes I like. The line will be composed of about 10-12 pieces, with two pieces being patterned out and sewn up. I spent most of yesterday afternoon drawing sketches. The class will be a lot of work, but it should be a lot of fun too. I'll post periodic progess reports and photos.

Prior to starting my activewear class, I had been thinking a lot about draping and sewing up some dresses. Unfortunately, I never got around to it. Instead of making dresses, I headed out to some fantastic sales at some favorite local boutiques to see if I could find anything. I found these two Orion dresses (see more here) at Amalee, where everything is currrently on sale through the end of January. The black dress is made from a vintage "lace" fabric, which I really love. I also like the button detail at the neck and the pleated inset added at the bottom. I'm not much into kimono-styled anything, but this dress looked great when I put it on. I was also drawn to the contrast of fabrics used for the self and the trim. Now I just need to find occasions to wear these!

Cabled Border

Here's the cabled border of the sweater. I have two more pattern repeats to do before it's finished. Then I will pick up stitches on one of the long sides to knit on the body.

Another Cardigan on the Horizon

I've decided on my next knitting project. It's the Avast men's cardigan from the fall 2006 issue of Knitty. It's a nice raglan-sleeved zip-up sweater with a subtle cable design at the hem. The sweater is for B and will replace a holey, ratty cardigan that he constantly wears now. I am going to use some Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in a super dark navy called Bulldog Blue.

Central Park Hoodie is Done!

Yesterday I finished weaving in the ends on the sweater, sewing on the buttons, and crocheting the button loops. The original pattern didn't have any type of closure on the sweater, but I knew that I would want something to stay cozy and warm. I added the optional button loops and bought some of those genuine leather shank buttons. The fit turned out great and I really liked knitting this project up. It was quick and fun. I made the second to smallest size, which was a 36" bust. I did find a couple of errors in the pattern. They are below.

Corrections to CPH Pattern
Under back, the first sentence after armholes should be:

Armholes: BO 4 (5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8) sts at beg of next 2 rows, then 2 sts at beg of foll 2 rows-66 (72, 78, 84, 90, 102, 118, 126) sts rem. Dec row (RS) K2, ssk, work in patt to last 4 sts, k2tog, k2-2 sts dec'd. Work 1 WS row. Rep last 2 rows 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 3, 5, 7) more time(s), then work Dec row every other RS row 0 (0, 0, 0, 0, 7, 7, 7) times-62 (68, 74, 80, 86, 80, 92, 96) sts rem.

And the rib should be worked as follows on the right front, for the 5 smallest sizes:

Sizes 32 (36, 40, 44, 48)" only:
Row 1 (RS) *P2, k2; rep from * to end of row.
Row 2 (WS) *P2, k2, rep from * to end of row.

It's a Hood

I finished knitting on the hood last night. I had to rip out about 20 rows because I noticed that a couple of the cables were off. I continued the cable from the front edges on the edge of the hood, as well as the double cable from the center back. I'll steam block the hood later, after sewing in the sleeves and seaming the sides.