Of course, most everyone knows by now that I’m a huge fan of Jared Flood aka brooklyntweed and sometimes I think my mission in life is to knit every single item that he has ever designed or knit. Back in September I cast on the Urban Aran Cardigan and it has been slow going since then. I already had the booklet, Street Smart, from which this pattern is derived, and I’ve made the Must Have Cardigan which I found (surprisingly) easier than the UAC. Unlike the MHC which is easily memorized, for the UAC you have to keep one eye on the pattern at all times. The cables are not as intuitive as with the MHC.

In any case, I persevered and I pushed on. I finally finished the two fronts the other day and immediately set out on the task of piecing this mother together. And oh what a mother! When Elizabeth Zimmerman says that knitters hate to sew, I think know she was talking about me.

To my credit, I have taken the time to baste the entire garment before actually sewing the seams. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending upon your viewpoint), basting has allowed me the chance to try the jacket on and I think it’s too small! I can barely get the fronts across my big boobs! Oh well. I’m not one to give up on a sweater just because it doesn’t fit. I can always find someone to fit my hand knit sweaters. I knew that a ribbed sweater would fit snugly and I do own several already.

And did I mention that it still needs a zipper and that I’ve never installed a zipper before?

Stay tuned. This saga continues.

spiral yoke sweater, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

I finished the sys several weeks ago but wasn’t very happy with it (am I ever?) It was intended as a christmas gift for Max but turned out way too small (sorry Max!). The gals at knitting night tried to convince me that it looked great on me but I didn’t believe them. It felt much too tight and the sleeves were too short.

It did, however, look great on Julie and I convinced her to model it when we were at the beach earlier this month. It was a spectacular day for sweater modeling as you can see.

I followed the pattern in Handknitting with Meg Swansen exactly as written using a size 7 needle and I later realized my mistake. I should have used the dimensions written for the cobblestone sweater which I made for max last year and then I would have [probably] gotten the correct size for him.

The sweater is starting to grow on me now although I would definitely choose a different yarn if I made it again. The left and right pattern twists in the yoke were not easy – but they look nice don’t they?

baby surprise jacket, originally uploaded by alicethelma.

It takes a lot of faith to make a baby surprise jacket (hereafter know as the bsj). Even though I have made one before, it’s still hard to be sure that you’re doing the right thing. You follow the instructions as closely as you can bearing in mind that they’re written in an offbeat conversational way. You knit away and knit away and end up with an oddly shaped piece of knitted fabric. I’ve heard it described as a manta ray. But then you fold it up like origami and voila! Like magic, you have an adorable little baby jacket.

The only sewing up required are the shoulder seams. oh yeah, and the buttons (read previous post). But seeing as how the baby has already been born, I want to be sure he gets this before he graduates from high school.

The details, such as the pretty little border produced with a bind off in purl, are lovely.

And the best part on this particular jacket was the price. The cost of materials, including buttons – less than $5.

I guess I’m too practical to put an infant in expensive fiber only to have him (or her) spit up all over it. I suppose that’s the German in me.

Speaking of Germany, I’m sending a couple of felted…er…knitted gifts along with Alice who is leaving on the 18th. I’ll post a pic soon.