Is it wrong that I’ve started knitting for December? I feel a twinge of embarrassment so I guess I know the answer! I picked up two skeins of sweetgeorgia superwash worsted and thought they would be perfect for Knitting Pure & Simple’s Children’s Neck Down Bolero #275. This will go to a little girl whose nickname is “Leaping Lill”. The vibrant colour should suit her nicely!

The button was an Etsy purchase from Buttonalia. I may just have to order these cherry red buttons as well!

[Ravelled]

I started this cardigan way back in September. During the many months between then and now, I came full circle on bottom-up seamless construction.  It was my Moch Cardi, another bottom-up sweater, that turned it all around. I loved the neatness of the underarm seams and how effortless the yoke felt after finishing row upon row of the body. So I picked it back up and finished the sleeves and yoke, and I’m happy I did. I love it – the smocking, the I-cord edging and cuffs, and the Rowan Felted Tweed that I used. The pattern is Ysolda Teague’s Coraline – highly recommended!

[Ravelled]

Gudrun Johnston’s Moch Cardi pattern is a great one. This was my first bottom-up sweater (seamless, yay) and it made for some good travel knitting over the holidays. I used Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label in Stormy; yarn that was originally intended for a February Lady Sweater knitalong. The Lady and I weren’t to be, so I frogged it and used the yarn for this instead. I love this cardi but think I would love it even more in a solid colour. Maybe I’ll just have to make another one!

[Photos courtesy of Chris]

[Ravelled]

Designer Ysolda Teague has come out with a second self-published book of patterns – Whimsical Little Knits 2. New patterns are being released weekly and the printed version is coming out in November. I’m a big fan of Ysolda’s patterns – I couldn’t wait to make Smith the hedgehog. Her toy patterns are always so fun to make. Seamless and sweet!

This is my first project using my own handspun. A friend gave me a huge bag of miscellaneous fibre from a farm in Durham. Most of it is the rich, natural brown that I used for the spikes on Smith. It was some of the first fibre I spun with my wheel and the variations actually work well for this type of project. I love the warmth of the natural brown, and it knit up really well. So soft, despite the bits of grass that were in the fibre! I think I’ll spin up the rest for a blanket.

[Ravelled]

My version of Hannah Fettig’s wildly popular Whisper Cardigan is finally finished and blocked! There are more than 800 versions of this cardigan on Ravelry, and that’s just since the spring issue of Interweave Knits came out in February. The pattern calls for laceweight yarn, which makes for a nice light cardigan for spring. However, if I were to do it all over again I would knit it in a sport/ sock weight yarn instead. I found it challenging to get a nice fabric with the gauge given. I ended up knitting the largest size on small needles in order to make the cardi less webby and more whispery.

The cardigan is knit primarily in stockinette stitch, with ribbing at the collar and to shape the waist. It’s seamless, which is a real plus when it comes to finishing! Hannah posted a schematic on her blog if you’d like a closer look at the construction.

Another sweet, seamless pattern by Tora Frøseth! My first Tora knit was the Magda Tunic and I fell in love with the top-down construction. I used the same yarn in this Sweetheart Dress for Anaya – Cadenza by Estelle. Merino and tussah silk! Not too warm for an L.A. baby I hope.

The heart detail around the yoke is too cute. The body of the dress is worked in stockinette stitch, with rows of garter stitch at the bottom to stop it from curling. This project had me thinking about a me-sized knit dress, and then I remembered this lace dress from Védis Jónsdottir’s book Einband. Hmmm.

You can just make out this handsome Pottageville horse in the background of the top photo. As you can see, we were more interested in him than he was in us!

Photos courtesy of Interweave Press

It seems a bit early to start thinking about spring – at least in Toronto where the snow is lingering! But I can imagine a time, in the not so distant future, when I will be able to leave my winter coat and boots behind. To help with some warm weather inspiration, I picked up the Spring 2009 issue of Interweave Knits at The Purple Purl. I love Andrea Pomerantz’s Diminishing Rib Cardigan, pictured above. Clean, simple lines and the ribbing gives it just a bit of flounce. A black merino blend perhaps?

Photos courtesy of Interweave Press

Another great pattern is Hannah Fettig’s Whisper Cardigan. Knit in a laceweight yarn, it has a beautiful drape. Hannah has a helpful schematic on her blog, as well as some tips on the seamless construction. I’m addicted to seamless cardigans. All it took was one! I can hardly wait to make this – I’m thinking about using an alpaca lace. So maybe more of an autumn knit than a spring one!

Photos courtesy of Interweave Press

Vivian Høxbro’s Net Duffel Bag is the perfect market bag. And a good opportunity to learn how to knit mitered squares. The pattern suggests using a strong linen yarn, but I think I might try a hemp yarn instead. Maybe a sprout green? So I may get a spring knit out of this issue after all!

Pictured, my second attempt at this sweater. The first time around I tried to convince myself it was right, even when it became painfully obvious that it was wrong. My garter yoke cardigan (Melissa LaBarre’s design from knit.1’s Fall/Winter 2008) was large to begin with, and even larger after blocking. Two lessons learned here. One: don’t make a sweater two sizes too big. Two: when a yarn label says “Don’t soak”, don’t soak! So, after sitting on the finished product for 24 hours I started ripping.

While I was lamenting my stupidity, my friend Sara reminded me that this is just one way knitting is different from so many other things. You can start over. That’s it. Just start over. The material is still the same, albeit a bit crimped, and you’ve likely learned something from the experience. For example, I will never again pretend I have a 38″ bust.

I couldn’t help but think of my knitting partner for life when I received this book. I associate feminine, French style with her. She was the only person I knew in my early 20s that had spent a year in Paris. She came back to British Columbia with many wonderful stories of food and fashion.

French Girl Knits was written by Kathleen Griffin-Grimes, aka French Girl and published by Interweave Press. Kathleen launched her pattern line in 2005 and runs a knitting retreat in the Languedoc region of France. Sounds pretty perfect to me!

Photo courtesy of French Girl Knits

One of my favourite patterns from the book is pictured above – Niobe, a lacy pullover. I think this will be my first project from French Girl Knits – worked in a laceweight mohair/silk yarn, how can I resist!

The patterns are presented by theme: la Boutique Parisienne, Enfant Sauvage, la Créatrice and Dans la Rue. From romantic and vintage-inspired to rustic folk designs, the common thread is definitely feminine design.

Most of the patterns are constructed seamlessly, which is something I’ve grown to appreciate very much!  The book includes useful construction overviews of techniques such as top-down seamless raglan and side-to-side seamless construction.

There’s a lot of prettiness in this book and I recommend taking a look. Even if the patterns aren’t necessarily your taste there’s a lot of inspiration and techniques to benefit from.

Okay, not entirely finished but I couldn’t resist. Still drying, here’s my garter yoke cardigan. It was designed by Melissa LaBarre (a.k.a knitting school dropout) and the pattern was published in knit.1 Magazine’s Fall/Winter 2008 issue. This was really fun to knit – top-down and seamless! You start with the yoke – garter stitch rows shaped with short row wrapping – and the rest is raglan shaping and stockinette stich.

I love these buttons – courtesy of Jane. They make me happy just looking at them sparkle.

I really like knitting with DROPS extra fine merino but it did seem to stretch out a fair bit when I blocked the sweater last night. I’m feeling less nervous now as it’s drying and shrinking back down to a normal size…