February 05, 2007
Rockin' Dachshund
My little Dobby Ann Stubbins may be a bundle o' crazy, but she is not weatherproof. She only has two sweaters in her wardrobe right now and neither are really toasty. She needs a Chicago-worthy sweater ASAP.
When I was packing more stuff last week, I found lots of knit patterns and notes that I thought were trashed! Among the notes were the measurements and pattern adjustments for Dobby's last sweater (follow the link above). This discovery combined with Chicago's subzero temps this week have kicked my butt into gear to make her a few more sweaters.
I swatched (insert "old dog, new tricks" comment here) for her next sweater using the sock yarn Karrie sent me a while ago. (For my own notekeeping, I used a #3 and got 5.3 stitches and 7.5 rows to the inch.) Now through the magic that is Esther's pattern I will make a perfectly fitting sweater for The Stub. I have christened this project the Rockin' sweater in honor of Karrie.
If you want to see a lot of people's obsessions collide do a flickr search for dog sweater or dog knitting or knit dog sweater, etc. I freely admit to being a crazy dog lady who knits and then names sweaters for her dog who also has a million nicknames. So?
I need to add that Dobs had to have her tail removed for medical reasons, not for vanity. Hence the Stubbins nickname. I have no excuse for all the other names.
When I was packing more stuff last week, I found lots of knit patterns and notes that I thought were trashed! Among the notes were the measurements and pattern adjustments for Dobby's last sweater (follow the link above). This discovery combined with Chicago's subzero temps this week have kicked my butt into gear to make her a few more sweaters.
I swatched (insert "old dog, new tricks" comment here) for her next sweater using the sock yarn Karrie sent me a while ago. (For my own notekeeping, I used a #3 and got 5.3 stitches and 7.5 rows to the inch.) Now through the magic that is Esther's pattern I will make a perfectly fitting sweater for The Stub. I have christened this project the Rockin' sweater in honor of Karrie.
If you want to see a lot of people's obsessions collide do a flickr search for dog sweater or dog knitting or knit dog sweater, etc. I freely admit to being a crazy dog lady who knits and then names sweaters for her dog who also has a million nicknames. So?
I need to add that Dobs had to have her tail removed for medical reasons, not for vanity. Hence the Stubbins nickname. I have no excuse for all the other names.
Labels: swatching
January 28, 2007
Easy to please
A lot of knitbloggers have mentioned how disappointed they are in the last few issues of Vogue Knitting. I have been perfectly happy with them, as usual. Maybe my standards are low or I have bad taste but I'd like to think otherwise. I find more knittable AND wearable patterns in VK than most other magazines or pattern books. To me, those are two important factors for spending my time on something and when those planets align, you definitely have a winner.
Take the shrug, #12, from Winter 06/07. Not the cover shrug--cosmicpluto is making that one and I'm sure she'll do it justice. I want to try the striped circular shrug on page 83. A shrug, I know! I am five shades of boring and predictable.
But I read through the pattern and the construction is smart. Just sleeve seams but of course with my handy circular needle I will avoid those. And with some provisional cast-ons I'm also going to smooth out two areas of bind-off/pick-up. The pattern does not come in an XL (or an XS for that matter) so shame on you, Shiri Mor (or VK, which is more likely). You must be completely average.
That's okay, three or four minutes of quality time with my calculator and I made the pattern work for me. Now, I needed the calculator only because my gauge was different. Of course I'm not using the recommended yarn, but some leftover DB Cathay from my stash. The colors I have are exactly those six on the top of the sample card though I'm tempted to add something like that dusty blue.
I'll keep you posted on the progress, natch. There is a reason they don't show the back of this shrug in the magazine and it will be interesting to see how that unfolds. I know it sounds like I'm picking apart the pattern after I just said VK had nice patterns. But trust me, this is nothing compared to the picking apart I usually do. And I'm still going to use the pattern which is surely a sign of my low standards. :)
Take the shrug, #12, from Winter 06/07. Not the cover shrug--cosmicpluto is making that one and I'm sure she'll do it justice. I want to try the striped circular shrug on page 83. A shrug, I know! I am five shades of boring and predictable.
But I read through the pattern and the construction is smart. Just sleeve seams but of course with my handy circular needle I will avoid those. And with some provisional cast-ons I'm also going to smooth out two areas of bind-off/pick-up. The pattern does not come in an XL (or an XS for that matter) so shame on you, Shiri Mor (or VK, which is more likely). You must be completely average.
That's okay, three or four minutes of quality time with my calculator and I made the pattern work for me. Now, I needed the calculator only because my gauge was different. Of course I'm not using the recommended yarn, but some leftover DB Cathay from my stash. The colors I have are exactly those six on the top of the sample card though I'm tempted to add something like that dusty blue.
I'll keep you posted on the progress, natch. There is a reason they don't show the back of this shrug in the magazine and it will be interesting to see how that unfolds. I know it sounds like I'm picking apart the pattern after I just said VK had nice patterns. But trust me, this is nothing compared to the picking apart I usually do. And I'm still going to use the pattern which is surely a sign of my low standards. :)
Labels: swatching
