I finished the first of the Bottom’s Up Bucket Hats I have planned for the knit along! I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Mariner Blue. The yarn is a tad bit too soft and because of that, the hat is kind of floppy. But that doesn’t really matter, since my son loves his snazzy chapeau. He appreciates how it brings out the blue in his eyes (OK, it’s his mother who appreciates that…) and how it coordinates nicely with his speedy truck.
Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
I’m so excited about how close I am to finishing Elfin:
I just have to finish the cap on the second sleeve and knit the ruffles for the left front band. It’s actually quite a bit more work, but now that the end is in sight, I’ll be knitting as if possessed. One thing is worrying me, though. I’m afraid I might not have enough of the felted tweed left. I don’t know how that happened since I believe I’m still knitting to gauge…weird. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Despite all the grief it’s been giving me, Elfin really is pretty, isn’t it?
I guess beauty exacts a harsh price, i.e. knitting thousands of stitches with wickedly fine and hairy Kid Silk Haze. (Sorry for the goofy photo. I was holding Claire in one arm, balancing the sleeve on the other and trying to operate my camera at the same time. Frankly, I’m impressed that it came out this well.)
I hope to finish this sweater before I return to work at the beginning of June. My timing certainly is funny. I’ll have an incredibly warm cardigan ready for the middle of the summer when temperatures will be climing up to the 90′s. Perfect. However, I can’t imagine working on it when I’ll be working outside the home full time, raising two kids, managing a husband AND obeying a cat. It’s just too much to ask. Any free time I have will be dedicated to knitting small, simple things like felted bags and socks. Who knows, though. Even those projects may be too much for me to tackle. I may be demoted to a washcloth-knitter.
Speaking of taking on too much at once, Robert surprised me the other day by asking me to knit a cardigan for him. This is great, I thought. He’s coming around at last. If I can appease him with a gift, I won’t have to feel so guilty about my ever-growing stash and collection of knitting books.
So, being the good little wifey, I took his measurements and started looking around for a nice cardigan pattern. That’s when I learned something shocking. My husband is unusually big–not fat, just bigger than most other men. (OK, to be honest, I already knew that he was a large guy. How could I not? I just didn’t realize what a problem this was going to pose when planning to knit a cardigan for him.) The largest cardigan pattern I could find was designed to fit a man with a 46″ chest. Robert’s chest measures 49-50 inches. His arms are extremely long too. This means I’m going to have to learn to customize patterns. I’m scared! I’ve never (gulp) deviated from a pattern before. Going out on a limb, risk-taking…it’s just not my style, LOL!
Speaking of men’s sweaters, have any of you taken a look at the following books:
Men in Knits: Sweaters to Knit That He Will Wear by Tara Jon Manning
Simply Beautiful Sweaters for Men: Tricoter by Linden Phelps
If so, what was your impression of them? Good, bad, indifferent?
'I, Amy of quixoticpixels.com, sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-September. I endeavour to wear only handmade items of clothing every day for the duration of September 2010'.
