Ribbed Vest Complete For Christmas Giving

I did it! My marathon knitting to finish my Rib Knit Vest is over.

All I need to do is wrap it for Christmas morning. I hope my mom likes it. After years of her knitting me sweaters, I have finally knit her one.

Andrea is waiting for you over at Wonder Why Alpaca Farm. Enjoy Fiber Arts Friday.

Happy Knitting!

Christmas Crunch: Trying to Finish My Ribbed Vest

I've been busy all week with everyone else's life and trying to finish this ribbed vest by Patons before my Mom arrives for Christmas next weekend.

Not much to look at yet. This is the front. I'm just about finished the back. Then I'll have to sew in the ends and block both pieces. The finished vest should look like this.

I'm hoping to be knitting the collar, knitting the armhole bands and seaming (not all  at once!) this weekend.

My hands are getting sore from knitting. I promise I'll never wait this late again to knit a present even if  the pattern is in chunky yarn and has no sleeves.

There has got to be more Christmas knitting this FAF over at Andrea's at Wonder Why Alpaca Farm. Or, how about at Creative Friday?

Happy Finished Objects!

On Your Mark, Get Set, Starting Jared Flood's Urban Aran Cardigan

I'm excited to finally begin knitting the Urban Aran Cardigan as done by Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed. This is the beginning of the back.

I'd been looking for a sweater to knit my hubby for a while and this one turned my knitting crank.

The pattern is from Patons and originally designed for a woman. Jared Flood turned this pullover into a zippered cardigan modifying the pattern to suit a man's physique.

While he talks about his modifications on his blog, they are not detailed in terms of exact changes in shaping and how to accomplish them. You are kinda on your own for that, although there is a Ravelry forum that offers some advice.

I decided to knit a woman's medium. My first modification is to add 2 inches to the length to accommodate hubby's longer torso. I'm adding 1 inch before I start the diagonal side cables. Then, I 'll add the next inch once they are complete. I didn't want to move these diagonal side cables too far down the torso of the cardigan, or they might loose their design effect.

I'm a bit worried about the width. I'm  hoping the cables will draw the knitting in and narrow it.

Wish me luck!

Happy Knitting!

I'm Gonna Knit This Sexy Sweater!

I finally discovered a sweater hubby likes and that I want to knit. A sweater worthy of my knitting needles is the tasty Urban Aran Cardigan adapted by Jared Flood from a Patons' pattern.

If you're not familiar with this pattern, the original Patons' pattern is for a woman's sweater. Jared Flood adapted the pattern to turn the sweater into a man's zippered cardigan. There are great pics at Jared's blog Brooklyn Tweed.

I'm not going to rely on my LYS for the wool. I'm going to order on-line to get a better yarn than can be bought in my small town. My first choice is Elann Peruvian Highland Chunky in mocha heather. I haven't told consulted hubby about the color selection.

One potential problem is that I do not have the pattern which is in the Patons' book "Street Smart". However, I'm optimistic I can get that on-line too!

Happy knitting!