One Week Sweater Knitting Challenge

As predicted, I wasn't able to complete the challenge. I just got the body of the cardigan done. I love the color combination - don't you think it's cool?

I still have the sleeves to be completed, which I think I'd pick up only tomorrow. I couldn't knit it today as I developed shoulder pain on the final day. As I mentioned before, I somehow developed this stupid habit of bunching my shoulders up which put strain on my shoulders and sometimes on my pectoral muscles. I am working hard to unlearn this habit but I somehow do it when I knit unconsciously watching something. I hope I learn not to do this soon, because it really affects my muscles and in turn slows down my knitting... I slowly cast off the bottom trying not to strain myself. Now that the pain has eased, I hope to pick it up tomorrow and hopefully complete it in two days. I'll keep you posted.

One Week Sweater Knitting Challenge - Penultimate Day

Well, it's almost clear that I am not going to be able to complete this challenge within the time but let me see how long it extends. Here's what I have completed till now. I have at least 3 more inches to go, plus the border, aaaaaand the sleeves.

As if this challenge wasn't enough I was tempted to introduced a teenie cable pattern at the back. I recently learned to do this closed cable after what seemed like ages. I've been trying to do this closed cable for long, but I just couldn't get the M1, M3, M1 (M3 is the make three stitch thingy - can't remember the abbreviation for that). I realized that I was knitting too tight (the reason why I developed shoulder pain) that making this 5 stitch increase from 1 stitch was almost impossible.

Every time, I'd somehow manage to do the M1, M3, but the next M1 seems almost not possible. Recently I started a new scarf and tried the closed cable again and this time I was successful at it. I was so excited that I just had to try that in a real project so I did. As my blog title suggests, I just LOVE cables. If it were possible, I'd love to just knit cables all over a sweater. In fact that'd be my next project. I am already working on my own cable pattern swatch and hopefully, I start that soon. Wish me luck again. Hope this Lazy Knitter shrugs off his laziness some while the winter lasts.

One Week Sweater Knitting Challenge - Update

I think I should have named my blog, Lazy Knitter. As expected, the progress on the cardigan that I started three days ago is painfully slow. I just reached the armhole on day three. It is a very simple pattern of plain stockinette stitch with horizontal stripes.

Here's the link to the pattern on ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/f488-baby-and-toddler-striped-cardigan

I am using acrylic yarn with 4 mm circular needles for this project. I'd suggest this pattern for those who are beginning to knit sweaters/cardigans.

Let's see if I succeed in this challenge :D Wish me luck!

Lazy Knitter

Have you ever met the most laziest knitter in the world? Well, you are reading the post of one such knitter :D.

In my last post (I know it's been ages) I promised that I'd publish the pattern of the pullover which I knit with sock yarn but I forgot to note down the pattern halfway through and even forgot to take snapshots of the finished project. I usually knit watching something and in the middle my mind would sway elsewhere in the Internet and forget about knitting. I'd force myself to come back to knitting and realize that I didn't note down the stitch count! Arrgh! I am so bad when it comes to being organized.

After I completed that pullover, I began another cardigan for my nephew with worsted woolen yarn. I was so captivated by a cable pattern that I saw online but I couldn't find the pattern as it was part of some magazine. I decided to try that out and it did come out well, but as usual, I got carried away with my laziness and when I was almost reaching the armhole, I realized that the chest was two inches extra! That was a real disaster (Like it's new to me, duh!) I just couldn't continue knitting as it would be just too big for my nephew if I continued.

So, I did what I almost always do with a project that I design - Frogging! I think I inherited this habit from my grandmother. She'd usually begin a project and would be more than halfway through. She'd realize that she had made a small mistake that was peeking out like an ugly monster and she'd pull it all without further thought! Though a lazy knitter, I never hesitated to frog my projects. With a painful sigh at the lovely cable, I began a new project -  a subtle diamonds scarf for my friend in Germany.

Yesterday, I began knitting another cardigan for my nephew (not my own pattern) and I thought I'd challenge the lazy knitter in me to complete it within a week. Will I able able to do it? Let's see...

Finally, own designs!

After lots of knitting and frogging, I successfully knit three baby cardigans, two set-in sleeves and one raglan. Hurray!

That was fun-filled winter. To add to the delight, a lovely friend of mine from Germany brought me sock wool and cotton yarn! I was so excited and began a sock project for her husband. Since his feet was extra large, I had to do a custom design, but when I reached the heel, I got distracted with some other work and put the project down.

(The socks being converted to pullover)

I was reminded of it a month later and I totally forgot how to proceed! I know, disaster right? Since I didn't follow any pattern I had no other option but to frog it all. I wasn't enthusiastic on doing the socks again. I was reminded of the cardigan that I designed months before which I never wrote down. So, I decided to knit a pullover for my nephew for the coming winter with the sock yarn as well as write the pattern down. Though it's horribly hot here, the heat couldn't put off the fire in me. I began on the pullover and this time I am writing down the pattern. I hope to publish the pattern soon - in a few days. This one is for a two-year old. When completed, I'll also try to write the same pattern for other baby sizes too. Wish me luck!

Crazy 2011

Hello everyone,

First of all I apologize for not posting anything for long... As the title says, 2011 has been a crazy year. Many things happened, good or bad.

When it concerns knitting, I learn really lot. The fluorescent colored cardigan and the brown one in the previous post were a failure. The brown one is lying in a corner as a huge ball and the fluorescent one's gonna follow soon.

Anyways, about projects that were effective, I knitted a scarf for my sister's friend in Germany which my nephew was sweet enough to model for.

I knitted a vest for my nephew with acrylic yarn which came out okay. It was the first ever garment that I designed myself.

I love doing cables and had to make something for my nephew for the winter, so I came up with this. I wasn't completely satisfied with the outcome, but it came out okay. I learnt a really lot about designing garments while making this one. Especially, the top down sleeve - it looks so great, instead to knitting sleeve separately and joining it.

Always wanting to try a top down design, I tried this beautiful design from f.pea's blog. It's a clever design but I wasn't satisfied with the overall look when I was done with it.

It got me really hooked up and I started learning about top down designs and I made another sweater for my nephew and a smaller version for a friend of mine who gave birth to a lovely baby girl last month and am also working on a ribbed bonnet (not my own design - it's from Garnstudio). Will post the pictures of both once I'm done with the bonnet.

I'll also post the pattern for the sweater soon. Hope I start posting regularly. Wish me luck.

WIPs

Finally I have something solid to talk about. I’ve been working on a cardigan that I picked off he garnstudio’s website. It was really cool and the moment I saw the photo, I decided that I gotta knit it. It’s a pretty simple design, nothing complex, but the huge cables make it look fantabulous.
(http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=109&d_id=54&lang=us)
I started this cardigan way back in December when I finally dared to knit a garment and I screwed up the pattern many times. Had to rip off the back and knit again twice and my knitting speed didn’t help either. It’s like 80 or so stitches in three minutes and I don’t get time to knit a lot. I hardly send half-hour or sometimes an hour per day. I’d drop this project and start knitting something else just to improve my knitting skills (I learnt a lot – like intarsia, fair isle/stranded knitting, lace knitting, etc.) and return back to knit a few more rows. Then came the huge hit – I was out of yarn!!!!

I know, I know, I was stupid enough not to calculate the amount of yarn required. I had to wait almost a month to continue with it as the shopkeeper had no stock of the color. If you look at the photo closely, you’d see that the color of the yarn would be different in between, but I hope it looks okay.

I hope to finish it by next week.

(Couldn't resist :D)

I also have this cardigan that I designed, in progress. I really like the pattern that I made at the bottom and I had to have a dragon in it, so I charted his baby dragon’s face.

If all goes well, I should have it ready by two weeks. Let’s see… I hope to start several other projects like crocheted hats, scarves, socks, etc., and also start putting them in ravelry. I have no idea how I’d do it. I gotta learn – go google…