I've Started My First Sweater!

I finally decided on the sweater pattern for my first knitted sweater. I'm working on my two-tone sweater that I posted the other day. Of the 3 projects that I mentioned, I thought this one had the best pattern instruction to follow. I'm making the smallest size which has a 43" finished chest. It uses a total of 7 skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn (e.g. 3 skeins of Black and 4 skeins of Fig). I am using 24" circular needles in sizes 11 and 13.

I originally bought these yarns (on sale) to make 2 mini cardigans (one in Fig and one in Black). After reading the mini cardi pattern instructions, I decided to use the yarns for this project instead. I was still one skein short of the Fig color. I went back to Michael's and was able to find the yarn in the same dye lot.


Here's what my current sweater looks like. I love the two colors I am using Fig and Black. I have to say that knitting with black yarn in the evenings puts a strain on the eyes, but you know me...black is a great color to use and wear.

Working on the back of my sweater. Knitting in the sleeve area.

I love using my Takumi Velvet circular knitting needle. I haven't had a problem with my stitches sliding off accidently.

Here's my new gadget, hard at work:
My new mini Kacha-Kacha showing 64 rows of knitting completed, so far.

Thank goodness the weekend is here. I hope to finish the back and start working on to the front.

My Favorite Knitting Counter

I've been knitting for only a year and completed a few simple projects along the way. Now that I'm tackling more challenging projects, I've had the need to use a knitting counter to keep track of my rows.

I've used the normal inexpensive knit counter that fits on the knitting needles, but some of them spin or advance the numbers too easy. You get what you pay for, right?

I was at my local Joann's and came across this nifty Clover gadget. It's a Mini Kacha-Kacha or knitting counter. I took a thin piece of yarn and fed it through the loop to wear around my neck. How cleaver is that! The top button lets me advance the number. On the lower left side there's a lock/unlock switch. I lock the counter to keep it from advancing the next number accidently.

I'm currently using this on my first knitted sweater. Glad I found this wonderful gadget. Well worth the $10.

My Wonderful Circular Knitting Needles

My local knitting shop started carrying the Clover Takumi Velvet Bamboo knitting needles. I purchased one to try out. They are absolutely lovely to knit with. They are lightweight and feel wonderful in my hands. They are highly polished needles. I feel as if I'm knitting faster. My yarn just glides off as I make my stitch.

I ended up buying a few 24" circular needles for my future knitting projects.

I have not seen the Takumi Velvet needles at Michael's or AC Moore or Joann's. Those stores only carry the regular Takumi bamboo needles.

I still have my eye on the KnitPicks Harmony Wood Interchangeable Circular needles set. I like the idea of swapping out different lengths of cables with the different size needles.

For the mean time, I'm enjoying my new Takumi Velvets by Clover.

Why Not Add a Third Future Knitted Garment

I found another simple sweater pattern to try. This pattern is rated as Beginner. Which is what I fall into until I knit my first garment.

Two Tone Sweater

I also like this pattern as it uses Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick yarn. It calls for 3 skeins of one color and 4 skeins of another color. Or it can be knitted in a single color. I better keep my eye out on future sale ads to see if anyone has this yarn on sale.


This free pattern is available at Lion Brand's site.

Another Future Knitted Garment

I have another knitted garment on my knitting to do list that I wanted to share. This design is by Stefanie Japel.

Bold and Bulky Mini Cardi by Stefanie Japel

I love this pattern as it uses Wool Ease Thick and Quick yarns. For a 38" bust, the pattern uses 2 skeins of main color (MC) yarn and 1 skein of contrast color (CC) yarn. It uses 3 knitting needle sizes: Size 13 (9mm) circular needles, Size 9 (5.5mm) circular needles and 10.5 (6.5mm) regular needles.

I've been reading that this cardigan runs small. So, I may end up knitting this for 40" bust. Also, some knitters are reporting that they need more than 1 skein of the contrast color (CC) yarn.

This mini cardigan pattern can be found in two places. One is in Stefanie's book:

Fitted Knits: 25 Designs for the Fashionable Knitter by Stefanie Japel


It's also a free pattern at Lion Brand's site and includes some corrections to the instructions.

What I love about this cardigan's potential, is the endless color combination possibilities. I already have my yarn picked out for two different color versions: one will be Fig (MC) which looks like raspberry and denim (CC) and the other will be Black (MC) and Cilantro (CC) which looks like olive color.

I will be knitting a test swatch for this pattern.

Future Knitted Garment

As I am finishing my last fingerless glove, I need to move on to more challenging projects. If I don't, I may lose interest in knitting. Can't let that happen to me. It's cold here and there's snow outside. I want to make myself a sweater. This will be my first knitted garment.

So, I have been searching high and low on the Internet and in my knitting books for that great beginner sweater. I've been reading through lots of knitting instructions til I was cross-eyed and came up with this simple looking pattern.

BHG Basic Knit Sweater. Designed by Anne E Smith

This knitted sweater pattern came from a booklet I have, Better Homes and Gardens: Knitted Sweaters for Her by Leisure Arts. Page 2 shows the basic knit sweater using Lion Brand Homespun yarn. Other patterns include a cardigan, sleeveless turtleneck, twinset, cowl neck sweater, jacket, etc.

BHG booklet from Leisure Arts

The skill level for this sweater is rated Easy. Knitting needles size 8 (5mm) and size 10 (6mm) are used for this sweater. All I need is 4 skeins of yarn to make a size 40" sweater. It will be loose on me, which is fine. The 36" version will be tight on me. I do like this booklet as the majority of yarns they use for their projects are from Lion Brand, which is readily available.

I haven't decided on the yarn color I will be using. I need to go through my yarn stash to find 4 skeins of the same color. So far in my sewing room, I'm coming up short. Every time I pick up a color...I only have 3 skeins. I'll have to check my basement to see if there are any rogue skeins hanging around. Worse case scenario, I can start the project and then go to my local yarn/craft store to pick up the extra skein I'm missing. Chances are, it won't be in the same dye lot. That's okay for this first practice sweater.

Right now, I need to do a swatch/gauge sample to make sure I am not knitting too loose or too tight. I also need to see if all those cast on (CO) stitches will fit on my knitting needle. If not, I will have to head to my local yarn shop and get those lovely velvet bamboo circular knitting needles. Yes, I'm looking for an excuse! LOL!

If the book cannot be found, this pattern is available at BHG's site.

Welcome to My Knitting Blog!

Since I have so many hobbies, I thought it would be fitting to create a blog devoted to knitting and crocheting. Basically, my yarn hobby. Over the next few days, I will be moving previous yarn posts from my 2BSewing blog to here. Stay tuned!