Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas everyone and thank you so much for reading my blog over the year (currently at the rate of 1,500 hits a month!).  If you read my last post you will realise why it's been a bit quiet on the blogging front here at chopkinsknits for the past couple of months.  However, despite a big chunk of sadness we have been working hard to decorate the house, wrap presents and bake Christmas goodies and so I think we are now ready

AND, still I had time for some jolly Christmas knitting.  Most of it is wrapped up under the tree but I can tell you about one very frivolous item.  At the beginning of November DD2 casually asked if I could knit her a Christmas sweater for 'wear a novelty jumper to school day' at the end of term.  I should say DD2 is not a student she is an art teacher.  So it goes without saying that she needed something, while not tasteful certainly not even on the cheeky side of rude but it needed to make a splash.  

Well my friend Alli suggested something based on a Primark sweater and involving lots of felt, pompoms, glitter and a glue gun.  But I just couldn't bring myself NOT to knit.  So with little delay I found this pattern on ravelry that uses super chunky Drops Eskimo.

so easy to order on-line

I added a few more decorations

reindeers around the yoke

red noses added later

caption as requested by DD2

and a little extra sparkle added on the day

By all accounts the sweater was well received (and the batteries in the lights lasted all day!).

Now I'm off for mince pies with a glass of good wine and wish you all...

A very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year.

xx

c

Happy Christmas...

everyone

xx

c

17 December

I never thought of knitting  bauble before, despite this book but next year I may make some more

xx

c

Knitting for all occasions and circumstances

There comes a stage in knitting a sweater, shawl or afghan when it is simply too bulky for carrying in one's handbag, to take up in snatched moments on the train, waiting in the dentist or even between meetings.  That is when you must begin something else.  Others may criticise you for always having too many projects on the go but we knitters know, just as there is no such thing as a stash too large, there is no such thing as too much work in progress.  And so it was last Thursday that I realised that the two Christmas projects...

The Elizabeth Zimmerman sweater

and the mohair shawl

had simply got too big for knitting on public transport without the danger of overwhelming the person sitting next to me.

On the shawl's last outing I did get into an interesting conversation with a lovely lady next to me who asked why I brought the yarn forward every so often.  There followed a short explanation on lace knitting being based on an infinite variety of k2tog yfwd combinations...

before we got onto more mutually interesting things.  We were so deep in conversation that I had to hurriedly bundle my work into its bag with one row only half completed as the train drew into my stop.

So the possible inconvenience to my fellow passengers (of being nudged by needles and irritated by fluff) is the excuse for starting yet another project.  At least it is in the (slow moving) Christmas queue.  A tiny shrug from Debbie Bliss' Knits to Give for the Little Model

I'm using almost the same shade of Angel as illustrated in the book

And beginning with the sleeves, knitted magic loop fashion

I am still working hard on the other projects in the evenings and weekends.  I estimate that if I get these three done by mid November I shall just have time for the other projects I have in mind.


The Elizabeth Zimmerman Project - part 5

I mentioned in part 2 how I needed to add 10 stitches to the sleeves to make them roomy enough for wearing a thick shirt underneath.  This meant that at the point at which you decrease each end of the sleeve section until 16 stitches remain for the saddle I had to make a decision.  Do I continue for another 5 rounds to get to the correct number of stitches for the saddle, or do I keep more than 16 stitches for the saddle?

I decided to compromise, and decrease down to 18 stitches.  It worked out fine.  And the sweater is finished!  It looked a bit rough before blocking.

But now, all done and modelled by JTH, it is fine and ready to wrap and put under the tree when the time comes.

Lessons learned

1. obey the rules on gauge/tension
2. knit loosely
3. keep knitting following EZ's chat and it will work out well in the end
4. sleeves knitted exactly as per the instructions are a little narrow, reduce the number stitches cast on for the rib (by 10%) and increase across the last ribbing row to get a more modern look 

How are everyone else's Christmas presents coming along?

xx

C