Both patterns were knit flat in garter stitch and seamed at the end. I loved how simple they both were. There were no increases or decreases and it was so easy to just work until a certain length.
I really liked the way the pattern was written for the sweater. The instructions were in a chart, with different sizes in their own column. It made it easier to keep track of the sizes. The back of the sweater was a bit confusing with the button, but I checked some others’ project pictures and it was easy to figure out.
The pattern for the hat had options for knitting flat or in the round. I went with flat because I didn’t want to deal with purling this time. For the pompoms, I knitted two balls instead since I always worry about pompoms falling apart.
Can’t wait to give them to the recipient in the summer!
I started working on Good Old Raglan by Twisted Knitwear a while back. It started off just as a side thing for a few weeks, but it finally got my full attention last week. I just finished it and wanted to share about it.
I really liked the way the neck and shoulders were constructed. It looked so satisfying laid out like this. There were some short rows for the back part and then increases every other row for the shoulders.
The body went by so quickly. I like working with stripes (and just colorwork general). I think most of the things I’ve knitted have some kind of colorwork.
For the sleeves, I decided to work them both at the same time. I started making socks recently and decided to make them two at a time. I liked not getting second sock syndrome, so I figured it could work for sleeves as well. It did work, but with four balls of yarn, I had to spend some extra time untangling.
And here’s the finished product! Can’t wait to give it to the recipient!
I finished the Down Time Pullover! I still need to write up some feedback and upload some pictures, but I feel good about finishing this.
It was a fun experience. I wish I had done more test knitting before. I feel like I didn’t update enough though. Normally, I update my progress pretty regularly on Ravelry, but lately I haven’t really been able to get around to it.
I liked that this project had me trying a few new things: the uneven hem, making drawstrings and their casings, working duplicate stitch, and way more seaming than I was used to. I thought the way the hood drawstring casing was done was quite creative. I wouldn’t have thought to make it that way.
I would definitely participate in a test knit again. In the future, I’d make it my focus though and I’d plan on updating more often.
I’ve been gone for a while. Life’s been busy and I was feeling overwhelmed so I had to take a break. But I’m back now, so let me fill you in on what I’ve been working on.
Back in September, I decided to participate in a test knit for a pullover sweater. At the time, I was also working on a cardigan for myself. So I ended up working on two bigger projects at the same time while also making some smaller things on the side, in addition to running a test knit for my blanket. As a result, I had a really hard time focusing and getting things done.
There’s a joke among the crafter and artist communities that we are always working on multiple projects at the same time. I’ve never really done that. I usually work on one thing at a time, but I might have a small side project or two if I know I can finish it in a few days. This was the first time I decided to knit two sweaters at the same time and I really didn’t like it. It was too hard for me to decide which one I wanted to work on. I sometimes felt like I spent more time trying to decide which one I wanted to knit rather than actually knitting. There were days where I just couldn’t pick either one up.
When I finished the body of my Down Time Pullover, I decided I would stop this one here. I was going to put it down and work on my Stripes Gone Crazy cardigan until it was done. It was hard though. There was a nagging feeling for me to work on the pullover, but I also really wanted to finish this cardigan.
I finally finished the cardigan this weekend! It took me just over three months, which seems so long to me. I had made the exact same one in the same size a few years ago and it only took a month. I think working on two projects at the same time really slowed me down.
Since I finished my cardigan, I can now focus on the pullover test knit. Hopefully, it will go faster now that it has my full attention. And from now on, I will focus on one thing at a time.
I started the hood this weekend and I’m excited about how it looks. I haven’t really been taking as many pictures of my projects and updating them on Ravelry as much lately, but I’ll try to improve on this.
I was supposed to finish the test knit for my blanket about three weeks ago. I ended up extending the deadline by two weeks to give the test knitters some more time, but also because I wasn’t ready to deal with the next steps. To be honest, I’m still not ready. But at this point, most of the test knitters have finished and I don’t really have anything that I’m waiting for, so I’ve set a deadline for myself. This week, I will find some time to read through the feedback from my test knitters. By next weekend, I will edit and finalize the pattern so that I can publish it before the end of the month. And if I don’t get to these things, I will update this blog post to hide my failure.
Since I put out a call for test knitters to knit my design, I decided to be a test knitter, so I could see both sides of this process. It just so happened that CraftsEverywhere was looking for test knitters for a hooded pullover. It was an interesting pattern with a flexible deadline in December, so I applied.
I just finished the two bottom hems (made a minor change to avoid seaming) and joined them together. So far, it’s been fun. Will update on how it goes!
Kun Yin Knits 