Gloves

The past few months have been intense. Important family affairs took much of my attention, time and energy, so I had little to give to this blog. My crafts slowed down but did not halt, as I would be lost without them.

Coming to knitting, I got some comission work for the first time in my life. I used to dread knitting to someone else's specifications, but it was surprisingly pleasant. I knit some things, I would not normally knit and it was refreshing and fun.

As for the actual projects, these were fingerless gloves_ four pairs. The first was straightforward enough, a DROPS pattern which went fast and quick.

The other three I had to reverse-engineer from some photo the client sent me. There were two pairs of same design in different sizes.

The last one was unique in that main and contrasting colors were revesed for the two gloves of the pair and there were pompoms. Now while I know how to make pompoms, I have not had much practice. So it was an interesting experiment and I got them right in the second try.

Here is the completed comission in full. I am happy to report that it was well-received.

The glove saga does not end here, as last week, my son handed  me some yarn (he has some of his own, isn't that cool?) and asked me to make a pair for him. He drew out the design for me. This one was simple enough to knit, but six rows of duplicate stitch took almost three hours. He is well-pleased with his design.

Hopefully these are all the gloves for this season. I'm eager to work on something new and have just cast on a different kind of project.

Dreams Of Aran Pullover

 

Three weeks ago, I made a tall claim of getting this sweater done in a week. But seasonal illnesses took most of December away from me and I was only able to really knit during the last week.

 Still, I cannot help but be thrilled about being able to post a FO (finished object) on the first day of the new year. Especially, since it means that I have finally finished a project that I started in October 2014, and that I was mostly successful in getting it done by the end of December (It was all done except the neckband).
You can tell by the length of time it was on the needles, that it was not an easy project. Like all knitting project for men, it took too long to grow. The cables slowed the knitting even further. Then I ran out of yarn, with both sleeves to go, and could not find the color in the same yarn wight. So after much misgiving, I knit the sleeves with two strands of much thinner yarn, held together, and am happy to report that the difference between two yarns is barely noticeable.

 

The pattern, like most DROPS patterns, was a bit difficult to decipher at places, but was well-worth the effort. In the end, I am totally pleased with the sweater and the fact that it got done in time for my son to wear during the winter season. My son rates it an eight out of ten, which is not bad at all, considering he compares it to his Neville sweater, which is totally awesome.

Grandpa Cardigan

In an amazing turn of events, I actually met the deadline of finishing this cardigan by the weekend. Perhaps the facts that pattern was easy to memorize, the WIP (work in progress) looked promising, and that I desperately needed for a new cardigan to wear around the house, helped move things along faster.
On the other hand, the tubular bind-off all over this cardigan, took much longer than the simpler bind-offs. Thankfully, I am not averse to Kitchener st, and managed to get it done.

 The finished cardigan looks quite nice with all the cables and has a nice fit too. The pattern was well-written and easy to understand. Sleeve construction technique was new for me but it went smoothly. I am a bit skeptical about the tubular bind-off, that it might stretch out of shape. It has not happened yet, after one evening of wear, but I am watching out for it. The other thing, I have doubts about is the collar, which amounts to only a semi-shawl collar. It works fine for me, but in case anyone wants a true shawl collar, one should add more short rows.

My little assistant helping with the photo shoot.

The yarn is our old faithful acrylic, warm enough for our weather and easy to care, (not to mention, inexpensive and readily available).
Next up, before I get back to the boring aran pullover, I hope to knit a pair of gloves. No more cables for now, It is time for some colorwork.

KAL Update

 

All the slog over the past two weeks has paid off, and I am happy to report that I am done with the body of the grandpa cardigan and nearly half the way through the first sleeve. The tubular bind-off, at the lower edge of the body, took its time but gave satisfactory result. I hope to get this cardigan done by the next weekend, inshaAllah.

Gretel

This week, I decided to put aside the slow-growing sweater and instead cast on a hat. A hat is a much smaller project than a sweater, even if it has a lot of cabling and it seemed to fly after so much time on the pullover, which continues to be bane of my knitting existence. Anyway, I got the hat finished in four days, which is saying something these days.

  The pattern is Gretel. I had the book version of the pattern, which is only in one regular size and only comes with written instructions. The instructions are a bit vague at certain points, but still I managed to complete the hat without any major hiccup.

 

This is for my eldest daughter and goes with her cable yoke pullover. It fits nicely and looks really well. I was ready to knit another for her in her school color, when she misplaced her old one, this week. But then, the old hat turned up the next day, and I have now resigned myself to go back to the miserable sweater.

Slow And Not So Steady

Since completing my last project two weeks ago, I have been diligently working on this pullover for my son, at every possible knitting time that I could find. But between the facts that it has a lot of cabling, it hurts my hands, and that I have very little knitting time at the end of the day, the progress has been slow. I have barely managed ten inches of the body (it is in round, if that is any consolation).

A bit disheartened by the slow going, I decided to have a little project on the side_ a hat. But just then, certain family circumstances arose that require my time and attention for the next month or so. So, my already strained knitting time is further depleted and lately I find myself too tired at the end of the day, to even pick up my needles.
However, it seems that though my hands may be tired and my time short, but my desire to knit is still strong. I find myself planning another upcycling project besides the hat. And I plan to persevere with the sweater. At least in my mind.