January jerkin

I had a couple of false starts with this one as my 'vision' kept changing.

Finally, the sub zero temperatures and severe wind chill factor convinced me to use the yarn double but that would probably mean not having enough yarn for long sleeves.

So, a cap sleeve cardigan it was to be.

The yarn is a DK organic lambswool with alpaca from West Yeo Farm. The construction is top-down and made without a single seam - it would be a doddle to rip back should I ever be so inclined. I also removed the recycled plastic buttons from the Swing Jacket to use on this because I've just purchased some rather swish horn buttons to use on the jacket.

It worked up much bigger than I intended (should've doublechecked tension) and quite stretchy (should've used as a size smaller needles) but overall I'm not too disappointed with the result. It seems to have turned out more of a jerkin than a cardigan as it fits quite comfortably over even my thickest jumpers; great for nipping out to see to the chickens first thing on a bitterly cold January morning...

Alternatively I could try bunging it in the washing machine for a bit of intentional shrinkage, but that could be a risky strategy...

I've come to a conclusion though about top-down knitting. The amount of ease I require for a seamless garments can be reduced compared with that for a conventionally constructed, seamed garment. Seams are rigid and restrict 'stretchability' and therefore garments need a certain amount of ease to compensate. This is not the case with seamless garments which can quite easily stretch in any given direction.

I'll put this theory to the test with my next project.

Solstice Sweater

So called, because I started it on the Monday 21 December, the day of the winter solstice.

I couldn't make up my mind initially whether to call this a 'sweater' or a 'jumper' which got me thinking what the difference was, if any, between the two terms.

A quick trawl of the internet suggests that both a sweater and a jumper are "knitted or crocheted garments which cover the upper part of the body", the term jumper being used more in Britain and Australia than the US where sweater is preferred.

More than one definition suggests that they can have a front opening or not, which is interesting as I've always thought of sweaters and jumpers as pullover-type garments.

It's rather obvious how some garments get their name, such as pullover or sweater, but I could never figure out how jumper came about - presumably nothing to do with jumping. Evidently jumper might derive from jump, an obsolete name for a type of man's loose jacket which, in turn, might have its origins in the Old French jupe (or jubbah in Arabic).

So, there you have it. Personally, I'm partial to the word jumper but I think Solstice Sweater sounds better.

As with the Swing Jacket, it's of top-down construction, the collar being knitted first and then the stitches for the collar being picked up along one side. I gave it some gentle A-line shaping throughout the body and finished the lower edges by simply casting off for a rolled edge (although having blocked it, the edges don't seem to want to roll particularly - not that I mind).

The wool is Shetland DK in a natural moorit brown from Welland Down Farm, the same yarn as I used for the Swing Jacket, Rib Warmer and Shrug Jacket. Although this yarn is actually quite soft, I don't like close-fitting collars around the neck, so I made this one deliberately quite wide, boat-neck style.

Happy knitting in 2010!

Swing Jacket

I might not have posted for a while but I'm still knitting...

I bought some wool at Crediton farmers' market earlier this month - 10 balls of natural dark brown Shetland wool from Dodie Huxter of Welland Down Farm. Her wool is processed at the Natural Fibre Company in Cornwall, so its eco credentials are good.

I liked the colour but didn't have the faintest idea what I wanted to do with it. In the end a trawl through the pages of Ravelry gave me plenty of inspiration and I decided on a cropped swing jacket with three-quarter sleeves.

No pattern, of course, just an idea.

It even turned our pretty much as I hoped. The jacket is in stocking stitch with moss stitch borders. However, I couldn't decide whether I wanted one large button or several smaller ones, so I decided to dispense with buttonholes all together and use metal snap fasteners instead (cheating, I know but if M&S can do it...) In the end I went for several smaller buttons as a decorative feature.

I would normally use 4.5 mm needles for this type of yarn but I wanted a denser fabric so I used 4 mm needles instead. Even so, it knitted up quite quickly - just over a week from start to finish.

I'm really quite pleased with the way this has turned out. It's quite a smart jacket (not something I tend to associate with the more 'rustic' style of Shetland wool) but looks good with jeans too.

I washed the jacket when I finished it and soaked it in some Ecover fabric softener so it's now soft, warm and smells heavenly. Snow? Bring it on, I say.

Oh yes, a welcome and indulgent addition to the Crediton farmers' market is the lady who sells those wonderful little cupcakes, Cakeadoodledo. Just can't resist them!

Perfect Day

That's exactly what it was - a perfect day.

Birthday Boy decided he wanted to get some sea air in his lungs, so we headed for the North Devon coast.

Blue skies, warm sun, gentle breeze, pub lunch, stroll along an uncrowded beach...

and, yes, he's wearing the Weskit!

As I said, a perfect day.

Weskit

Evidently the origins of the waistcoat go back to King Charles II when it was introduced as part of the correct dress during the restoration of the British monarchy. Originally called a vest, the garment was much longer and only became known as a waistcoat or weskit when it was shortened to waist length.

History lesson aside, today is MDH's birthday and, this year I've knitted him a waistcoat. MDH loves waistcoats and this isn't the first one I've knitted for him. The last one was a multi-coloured Kaffe Fasset design, so this one couldn't be more different.

I'm using up the last of my stash of Kate Palmer's organic wool, (produced from sheep reared on pastures less than six miles from where we live) and decided to go for a classic, traditional-style waistcoat as I thought this complemented the yarn.

I started by knitting the two pointy bits at the lower front, then joined them at the bottom edge to knit the body all in one piece up to the underarms before dividing for the front and back. This means the only sewing up involved is the shoulder seams.

The edging is worked in double crochet. Elizabeth Zimmerman wouldn't approve (she didn't like the idea of mixing knitting and crochet) but I find working edging like this so much easier and neater than picking up stitches and knitting them.

The Rowan buttons are from the recycled button box - not exactly 'recycled' in this case because they've never been used. They came with an unbelievably complicated Rowan multi-coloured cardigan kit (a Paisley design - I ask you!) that I bought many years ago. I managed about four inches and gave up.

Anyway, as I'm nearing the end of my stash of Kate's yarn, I guess my 'grey phase' is all but over. Now spring is just round the corner, I shall be able to get out into the workshop and do some more dyeing, so colour will be back on the menu soon!

Asymmetry

The knitting projects are stacking up now. There's the Seamless Hybrid Sweater that I want to make from the recycled wool and then there's MDH's birthday present (only one week away - eek!) which has to be top priority. So it's just as well that I've just finished my latest project. Hot off the needles, this is another 'not for me' item - an asymmetrical cardigan.

I love garments that have unconventional construction or quirky features. This pattern by Sirdar has a modicum of quirkiness with the right front knit sideways. The garment however has totally conventional construction. You know the sort of thing - a back, two side pieces, two arms and a collar all knitted separately and requiring sewing up.

As I was knitting this I kept thinking it could have been made virtually without seams and if ever I were to knit this again I would certainly adapt the pattern to make it so. Seamless garments have so many advantages: not having to sew up the garment being the most obvious one. I hate sewing up knitwear and, by all accounts, I'm not alone in this. It takes care to get right.

Also, as Elizabeth Zimmerman (who so strongly promoted the idea of working seamlessly) pointed out, there are no seams to split apart or come undone. The finished garment looks neater, there are no loose ends to weave in and it's so much easier to give your garment a professional finish.

And last but not least, in these eco-conscious days, ripping back the garment to reuse the wool becomes a breeze!

ADDIction!

I'm a huge fan of circular knitting needles and don't use anything else these days. In particular I love my Addi Turbo circular knitting needles. For me they live up to their name, the smooth metal needle tips and the ultra flexible cords really help the knitting to glide along.

Knitting the throw last month would have been much harder work on straight needles as it got so heavy and bulky towards the end. By using a circular needle the weight of the knitting was distributed evenly and caused much less strain on the hands - making for easier, quicker knitting.

The one downside of circular needles is that, depending on the size of project, you not only need different sizes of needle tip but also different lengths of cord. This can add up to an awful lot of circular needles and, if using Addi, a big dent in the bank balance.

Enter the interchangeable circular needle - a set of needle tips in different sizes interchangeable with a number of cords of differing lengths.

There are several sets on the market and Addi, bless 'em, brought out their own version last autumn, Addi Click, which uses Turbo needle tips. How could I refuse such temptation? Well, I did hold out for a while on account of already owning a set of Denise Interchangeable needles, but a few weeks back I finally succumbed and now, having used both sets I thought I'd share with you my view on the pros and cons of each.

The Denise set retails in the UK for under £40 (I got mine from Kangaroo Yarns) and contains 10 sets of needle tips, 6 cords and 2 connector pieces, allowing you to join cords to make even longer cords. It also contains 4 end pieces. These allow you to use needle tips and cords as 'straight' needles should you wish to do so or to use the cords as stitch holders, a feature that I find really useful. All this is very neatly packaged in a case 22 cm x 33.5 cm (7" x 8.5") making the set easily portable.

The Addi Click set also contains 10 sets of needle tips (but not the same range of sizes as the Denise set, see below), 3 cords and 1 connector. There are no end pieces but the set does contain a dinky little gold heart pin - to my mind a bit of an unnecessary gimmick. The set comes in a black box which is smart but rather bigger than it needs to be (sort of A4 size) and, at £89, it doesn't come cheap either.

With both sets of needles the connecting mechanism is fairly straightforward if a little fiddly at first.

So which do I prefer?

Without doubt the Denise set is well packaged, extremely versatile and offers good value for money. But (and this is a big 'but' for me) everything in the set is plastic including the cord and needle tips. Some people like knitting with plastic needles - indeed, some people even prefer plastic. I don't. Quite simply I find that plastic has a 'drag factor' which slows down the flow of knitting. Plus the cords are quite rigid and tend to retain the kinked shape out of the box.

On the other hand the Addi Click needles are just like Turbo needles - same smooth metal tips, same ultra flexible cords. A completely different knitting experience!

So by preference Addi will always be my first choice, but, as the Denise set gives you more options, I won't be putting it up for sale on eBay just yet!

Here are some 'knitty' gritty details for you.

The Denise set contains the following needle sizes: 3.75 mm, 4 mm, 4.5 mm, 5 mm, 5.5 mm, 6 mm, 6.5 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm and 10 mm. There are no 3.5 mm or 7 mm needle tips.

The Addi set contains: 3.5 mm, 4 mm, 4.5 mm, 5 mm, 5.5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm and 10 mm. There are no 3.75 mm or 6.5 mm needle tips.

The cords in the Denise set are the following lengths: 6" (15 cm), 9" (23 cm), 12" (30 cm), 14" (35.5 cm), 16" (41 cm) and 19" (48 cm). The Denise needles are made in the US so all sizes are in inches. I've given the nearest metric equivalent.

The cords in the Addi set are as follows: 60 cm (24"), 80 cm (32") and 100 cm (40").

The Denise needle tips are 4.5" (11 cm) in length and the Addi needle tips 13 cm (5").

One final thought - the shorter needle tip of the Denise set allows for the use of a shorter cord. This means that you have the option of using a circular needle for working sleeves in the round, something not available with the Addi set where the shortest cord is 60 cm.