#tck12sweaters2015 - 12 sweaters in 2015

Near the end of 2014 Tin Can Knits announced a year long knit-along to try to knit 12 sweaters in 2015.  In 2014 I ended up knitting 10 sweaters without planning it in advance so I decided to join in.  And I managed to do it!  I knit 12 sweaters in 2015.  Here they are.

(If you want more details here  are my projects on Ravelry.  They are tagged tck12sewaters2015)

# 1  Rainbow Sweater

# 2  Tristan's green sweater

# 3 Chuck Pullover

# 4 Curling Sweetheart Pullover

# 5  Not a Shrug

# 6  Flax for Tristan

# 7 Bubble Sweater


# 8 Flax for Claire

# 9 Brown Owligan

# 10 Coppertone Vianne

#11. Schoolboy Vest

#12 R R Hoodie - a.k.a The Elsa sweater for Claire

Here's to a great 2016 and lots more knitting and sewing time!!  Happy New Year!

November already!

I keep writing all sorts of blog posts in my head . .. . but never get them onto the computer.  So instead of several individual posts that are never going to happen here is a summary of some of my knitting and sewing since August.

1. Margrathea Shawl by Martina Behm - yarn merino/silk by YarnInk

2. Flax for T, by Tincan Knits - yarn James C. Brett Marble Chunky

3. Flax for C, by Tincan Knits, and Owligan by Kate Davies - yarn James C. Brett Marble Chunky

And it is too short.  I've ordered another ball of yarn to add 3 inches of length!

4.Sewing for me!  The Indiesew Fall pattern collection - Laurelhurst cardigan, Cabin Tunic and Sloan Leggings (Faux leather panels!)

I love the pockets in the tunic.  The cardigan is cozy but feels so dressy when I wear it and the whole outfit feels as comfortable as pyjamas!


5. Finally finished my quilt! (3 years)  I begged my 93 year old grandmother to quilt it for me!  She finally agreed.  She said she wouldn't finish till after Christmas and she had it done in 2 weeks!  Thank you, Nana. I sewed on the binding and now I'm set for a cozy winter!

6. Halloween Costumes - Anna dress and cape for my daughter and her cousin wore an Elsa costume made by my sister-in-law

And my son wore the owl costume I made last year.

I finished a few other things but didn't manage to get any decent pictures yet.  Maybe in the next update. 

Curling Sweetheart

 I love to watch to watch curling. I've only curled about twice in my life but I love to watch curling and knit.  I think I like it because it is a slow paced game but there is always something to listen to. Perfect for doing while knitting so I decided to call this my Curling Sweetheart.

 I started knitting this at the beginning of the Canadian Women's Curling Championship, called the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.  I knit through the Men's Championships, the Brier and continued to knit through the Women's World Championship and finished up before the end of the Men's World Championship.

Pattern: Sweetheart Pullover
Yarn: Swish Bare Bulky by Knitpicks

 I think my favourite part is the neckline.  I like how wide it is and the details.

 It's really comfortable.  I love the yarn.  If I was to make it again I might add an inch or two in length but overall I really like it.

I made some modifications for the edgings and raised the neckline.  Here's my Ravelry page.   I thought it would be too warm to wear at this time of the year but actually with the 3/4 length sleeves it's just the perfect layer.

This is sweater number 4 that I've finished this year. I think my favourite thing to knit is sweaters? Anyone else love to knit sweater?

Rainbow Yarn - an Adventure in dyeing with Food Colouring

Have you seen the yarn from YarnInk.  She's a Canadian hand dyer.  I follow her on Instagram and everyday she puts up yarn that I have to resist buying.  I really hope that I'm getting some sock and shawl yarn from her this Christmas.  I gave my husband my list  . . . and he's pretty good at getting me stuff I like!

I keep looking at the Rainbow yarns she does.  My daughter would love a rainbow sweater, but at $27 a skein for DK weight yarn . . . .that's not happening.  So I decided to dye some myself.

I have 7 balls of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes that I had bought to make myself a white sweater.  After making another sweater for myself in Knit Picks Swish Worsted I decided I wanted to save up for a better quality yarn for something for myself.  For kids knits Knit Picks is great.

I wound 5 of the balls into skeins and followed the directions in this Knitty tutorial for how to dye using food colouring.

I got all my supplies organized before my son's nap and I had it ready to go in the oven just as he woke up.

 I left it in the oven until it reached 82 degrees Celsius.  The water looked all clear. 

I let it cool and rinsed it.  Hardly any colour came out.

Rainbow yarn skein yumminess!!  I'm so thrilled with how they turned out.  If I was to do this again I would use a bit less yellow dye . .  . to make it a bit mellower.  For the purple I used Kool aid, which I've done before but I would like to try purple food colouring and see if I get get a bit more variation in the purple.

For a sweater for a 3 1/2 year old girl!!  Perfect.

And I've already cast on  for her.  A pre-school size Baby Sunnyside Sweater. (It's the same pattern as I knit my last sweater, the Lady Sunnyside)  .  I'll have to call them Thunder and Rainbow sweaters since mine is grey.

The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn so I'm knitting the 3-6 month size using worsted weight yarn and 4.5 mm needles.  So far it looks to be the perfect size.  Happy Knitting.

Lady Sunnyside

This is me when I first finished the sweater just in time for then end of the KAL being hosted by Tanis

Better daylight pictures

Lady Sunnyside Sweater by Tanis Lavallee
Yarn: Green Label Aran "Granite" by Tanis Fiber Arts

I got the pattern for free on Ravelry when it was first released. I bought the yarn during an Etsy update of the TFA store.  I love this yarn.  I'm going to have difficulty buying yarn from anywhere else. 

I love this pattern!!  It's like Tanis wrote a custom pattern just for me.  The seamless construction is fantastic.  You start with the cabled neckband and then pick up the sweater stitches from there.  I extended the length to come down to mid-thigh so it would be a nice warm sweater for this winter.

My favourite sweater yet!

I Heart Cardigan Finished

Pattern:  I Heart Cardigan  by Tanis Lavallee
Yarn: Tanis Fiber Arts Yarn - Green Aran Weight - Colour: Plum
Modifications: sleeve length 19" otherwise knit according to the pattern.

I finished this just before the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and I wore it all weekend.  I wore it on the beach, for a hike, to supper.  It is just so comfortable to wear.

My photographer on our beach walk

Back cable detail

Looks a bit short here but I'm wearing a tunic length blouse.

Great Blue Heron on the beach in front of my parent's house.

I absolutely love this sweater!  The pattern is written perfectly for me.  The yarn from TFA is so nice to knit with.  The colour is incredible.  I can see myself making this pattern again . . .maybe with a different cable pattern on it!  

Helen Joyce Cardigan

My first DK weight sweater I've ever knit!  I tend to stick with worsted to bulky weight yarns for how fast they knit up. I found this yarn at my LYS and couldn't help picking up a skein . . . then going back and getting 2 more because I loved the colour so much.

Neckline too low and wide

When I finished it according to the pattern instructions I could barely keep it on my shoulders and it was really low around the back neckline. I tried adding a little panel at the front to pull it across.  I'd see something like this on a shrug and thought it looked neat. NOPE . . . not working. 

Attempt to pull sweater together at front

Pattern: Helen Joyce Cardigan by Taiga Hilliard Designs
Yarn: Sweet Georgia Yarn DK: Coral Rose

 So I pulled out my cast-off and starting increasing the border.  I did several short rows to increase the neckline and the back and add in enough width to have it sit nicely on my shoulders.

I loved the lace pattern at the bottom of the sweater.  I read other people's modifications and lowered the seed stitch band to be below my bust line.  I don't like cropped sweaters so I added length so it sits at my hips.  

Now: perfect, I love it.  It is the perfect weight cardigan, makes a pair of jeans look dressy and goes well with dresses or skirts.  After I knit all the heavy-weight yarn in my stash I need to get some more light-weight yarn. Onto my next sweater: I Heart Cardigan by Tanis Lavallee