The Winter's Knitting

Based on the photos, you can conclude that there is a baby coming.  When we found out about Baby Johnson's happily expected arrival, I, Konswan, sorted through my yarn stash to find the softest natural fibers with which to knit the following cardigans.  My favorite yarn so far has been Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend, 30% silk, 70% extrafine merino wool, super soft and cushy.  I bought from http://www.hulucrafts.co.uk/ the colorways Pisces, Andromeda, and Augusta.  The prices were better than those I saw in the states.  I originally bought the skeins for myself to make moebius scarves, but when I found out about Baby Johnson, I changed my mind.  Baby things are much cuter.  Some of the other yarns I've had for a year, mostly one-hundred-gram skeins, intended to be sock projects. It seems that most of them were perfect for baby sweaters, mostly knit in stockinette stitch, since more complicated motifs, such as cables and braids, require much more yarn. For those who are not knit savvy, stockinette stitch is the most basic, with knits on one side of the "fabric" and purls on the other side.

The button bands were done in either seed stitch or garter stitch, to give a little more definition and a bit of decorative relief from the plainer stockinette stitch. I had ordered some lovely mother of pearl shell buttons from both the UK and from Hong Kong, via eBay. They arrived after I had 5 cardies, and 2 pants knitted. So, upon button arrival, I had a button sewing marathon.

The hoodie shown above is a project I started two weeks ago, in Kertzer´s On Your Toes Bamboo Sock Yarn. It is based on the Cardigan for Merry pattern, found at http://www.jujubeandlolo.com/patterns/cardiganformerry.php, but I changed a few things. It is knitted seamless as most raglan seamless cardigans, but starting from the top of the hoodie. It is not kitchenered/grafted at the top, nor bound off by three needles. I used a figure 8 cast-on technique (a nice photo tutorial at http://www.helloyarn.com/wp/?p=390), casting half the number of stitches required for the hood, working the top loops, then ROTATING the workpiece to work the bottoms loops as one complete row (the right side row)WITHOUT YET TURNING THE WORK.  The next row is begun by actually turning the work, then working the wrong side rows.  Basically, one complete row is the top loop stitches and the bottom loop stitches.  Because I start the hoodie in this way, I do not have to graft the top of the hood closed at the end, because it was closed already at the beginning.  Laziness or cleverness?

The button band on the original Cardigan for Merry is a reversible cable braid.  But one has to pay for a download in order to get the instructions and chart for it.  I did not wish to pay so I did a non-reversible version instead.  I also did a button band rather than the i-cord loops and toggles.  I think the cables look better without interruption of i-cords.  The raglan "seam" at the shoulder is done in seed stitch, to reflect that on the button bands.  Sadly, I ran out of yarn before finishing the project.  As before mentioned, it is Kertzer's On Your Toes yarn, 75% bamboo, 25% nylon, in Tranquil Blue, lot # 2258, 300 meters per hundred gram ball.  (The photo does the color no justice.)  I did not enjoy it as a sock yarn, it does not hold it's elasticity well, always slouching down.  But as a cardigan for late summer nights, it should be nice.  I am on the hunt for more of it, but having some set backs.  Who would imagine that Tranquil Blue would be out of stock at http://www.yarnmarket.com/.?  I have until end of August to finish the project, since I sized it for newborn.  If anyone has any above-named yarn in their stash they would like to trade or sell, please contact me.  I will take remnants if there are no complete skeins available.  However, if I cannot find anymore of the Tranquil Blue, I will have to frog the work, ripping out the stitches and start all over again.  Magnus cannot bear to watch me do it, needing to avert his eyes from the traumatic event.  But that is the life of an obsessive compulsive knitter.