Catching Up On The Knitting Front

I've had a busy weekend. Saturday morning I went to church. As the unofficial photog, I took a lot of pictures of the kids, couples, and families during Sabbath school and church service. As a side job, I plan on creating a church directory. I've given myself 6 months to complete this task including taking over 200 pics of all the church family members. Yes, I'm behind already. After a couple of hours at church, I came home and crashed. I was one tired puppy.


I went to my LYS (With Yarn in Front) in Centreville to see if they had a pattern I've been looking for. Well, what do you think caught my eye? These cool looking purse handles made by Clover. What will I do with them? I plan on sewing a knitting bag for myself. I've seen so many cute ones, but I have had to resist...big time! I know I can sew one that would cost a lot less. I also have a huge fabric stash that would benefit from a 1-1/2 yard reduction. Additional information on my knitting bag will be posted on my sewing blog.

My new handles for my future knitting bag


My Cropped Cardi Vest is coming along. I started to knit the front right piece.

The back of my Cropped Cardi Vest is completed


I can't do anything sewing related (e.g. trace a pattern, cut out fabric, etc) until my Two-Tone Sweater is completed. It's currently taken up space on my cutting table. I finished seaming the second sleeve. I went ahead and tried it on to find that: 1) I can get the sweater over my head and 2) the sleeve lengths are perfect. I did intentionally reduce the number of knitted rows. When I finish this sweater, I will post a review here. Oh, I would like to add that this sweater is BULKY! I love the Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarns, but my goodness...where am I going to store this sweater????

Almost done with my Two-Tone sweater. Just need to sew the side seams.


Finally, here's a picture of me modeling my finished shrug.

I feel like a neon sign...the pink is awfully bright

My First Knitted Garment - It's Done!

Here it is! I have to mention this was my third knitting project that ended up being finished first. What can I say? It was the color of the yarn I used and the speed of my needles that got this done before the other WIPs.

Plymouth N026 Vest on SusieQ

Here's my knitted garment review I thought I would share with my fellow knitters and those of you who might have an inkling to learn to knit. Enjoy!


Name of Pattern:
Plymouth N026 Vest

Designed by:
Sarah Punderson

Pattern/Garment Description:
Shawl collared vest with tapered fronts and elegantly draped back. Knit as a single piece and then seamed at the sides.

Size(s):
Per instructions, knitted in 40". CO with 120 stitches.

Yarns Used:
Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande. Color: Dark Salmon. Purchased 4 skeins (440 yards total). Actually, used about 3-3/4 skeins of yarn.

A very soft yarn with a lot of give.

Knitting Tools Used:
- Clover Takumi Velvet Bamboo Size 11 (8mm) circular knitting needles, 24" long.
- Mini Kacha-Kacha row counter pendant
- Regular Kacha Kacha counter - help me count the 120 cast on stitches.

Things I learned:
Here are some stitches I learned in this project:
K2Tog, P2Tog, M1, Pfb

I also had a dropped stitch in the body of the vest. I learned to fix this. Not as bad as I thought.

I learned to bind off with the pattern.

About halfway through this project, my knitting speed increased.

What I Like About this Pattern:
This vest is knitted as one single piece. There are two 9" seams to sew on the sides. I love the shape of the vest when worn. Especially, the back view. The K2, P2 ribbing in the back gracefully shapes the back.

What I Dislike About this Pattern:
There is a lot of K2, P2 and then K1, P1 ribbing in this project. Can get a bit tedious.

My Pattern Rating (Beginner, Easy, Intermediate, Hard):

Overall, I classify this as Easy. A beginner knitter with some knitted scarf experience could tackle this project without any problems.

I recommend having a good knitting book, like The Knitter's Companion, to help explain some of the techniques.

Conclusion/Additional Comments:

Pattern can be adjusted for larger size (increase CO stitches) or smaller size (decrease CO stitches). Can also lengthen the vest by increasing the amount of rows for the body. Can adjust the side seams accordingly for the armhole.

I think it's important to follow the instructions on this pattern. I literally followed it line by line. This pattern also included descriptions of the stitches used (e.g. M1, Pfb) that I followed. I used my knitting book to help with the visuals.

I found this Baby Alpaca Grande yarn very easy to knit to with. It's sooooo soft.

A knitter at my LYS, "With Yarn in Front", mentioned not to hang this vest, but to fold and store it in my drawer. Apparently, the vest will "grow" when left on a hanger. I will leave it on SusieQ for a few days and see what happens with mine. I wouldn't mind it being a little bit longer.

I decided to make another vest, but in a black color. Can't wait to get this one started.

I also found another Plymouth vest/shrug pattern very similar to this pattern that uses Plymouth Royal Llama Silk yarn...a firmer yarn.

Additional pictures:

Pinning the side seams

Look how pretty the back is

Side view on SusieQ

Three-Day Weekend and Some Slow Knitting

Since it's President's Day tomorrow (and I'm off from work), I plan on visiting another yarn shop in the next county. I heard this LYS is a must see. It's called Uniquities. Unfortunately, they don't have a website. I've been there before, but that was in my crocheting days. Tomorrow, I'm going without blinders on and feel their yarns.

On the knitting front:
I have come to realize that I'm not a fast knitter. I've heard that a lady had made this same shrug in 6 hours! I still have 4 inches of the body to knit (K1,P1) and then I start increasing from 60 to 120 stitches and another 7-1/2 inches of (K2,P2) ribbing.

I have spent too much time on the computer today and not enough time with my sewing and knitting.

I've been going through my yarn stash, organizing and grouping similar yarns together. That's the yarns in my sewing room and closets. I have yet to go through the bins in the basement.

So, this yarn sorting task has led me to ask a question. How do you store your yarns/stash?

The Beginnings of a Shrug or a Necklace?

So, I'm working on my 3rd knitting project. I love the feel of this alpaca yarn (soft!) and the color is gorgeous and bright. I'm almost done knitting 7-1/2 inches of the K2, P2 ribbing (120 stitches). Then I will proceed with the base of the vest/shrug and decreasing down to 60 stitches. DH saw me knitting away and thought this was a long necklace. LOL!
DH thought this was going to be a necklace. It's the beginnings of a vest/shrug


Here is a picture of what I'm knitting. This pattern is from Plymouth. I saw the actual knitted vest/shrug at my local yarn shop. I guess you knitters would call that LYS. See, I'm learning the lingo. The nice sales lady, Malika, let me try it on and I fell in love with the garment and the fit. She sure knows how to make a sale.
Plymouth N026 Vest/Shrug