Sweater Idea

Extra Easy, Extra Fabulous Sweater from Lion Brand Yarn Free Pattern Database

You know I really think I could make this, the pattern makes sense, I know how to do Stockinette stitch, when doing the monkey I had to cast off some stitches, hold working stitches on a spare needle and work on others so I think I have all the skills. I would lengthen the sleeves, 3/4s drive me nuts and I'm not so sure about the buttons but they could look cool. I think that color looks cool but would probably go for a black or brown as I am always terrified about staining white and off-white clothes and it would be soo depressing to stain my first sweater. I like how it looks and I'm sure it would be warm so I think I would be prepared to put in the heaps of time required.

The pattern is by Lion Brand Yarn and I'm not sure if they sell it in New Zealand but I'll see. The yarn used in this pattern is Wool-Ease Thick & Quick which is a super bulky roving yarn. From listening to Cast-On I have heard of various types of yarn - fingering, roving, aran but I had no idea what they meant till I found this:

STANDARDS & GUIDELINES FOR CROCHET AND KNITTING

Standard Yarn Weight System

Categories of yarn, gauge ranges,
and recommended needle and hook sizes

Yarn Weight Symbol & Category Names
Type of Yarns in Category	Fingering 10-count crochet thread	Sock, Fingering, Baby	Sport, Baby	DK, Light Worsted	Worsted, Afghan, Aran	Chunky, Craft, Rug	Bulky, Roving
Knit Gauge Range* in Stockinette Stitch to 4 inches	33–40** sts	27–32 sts	23–26 sts	21–24 st	16–20 sts	12–15 sts	6–11 sts
Recommended Needle in Metric Size Range	1.5–2.25 mm	2.25— 3.25 mm	3.25— 3.75 mm	3.75— 4.5 mm	4.5— 5.5 mm	5.5— 8 mm	8 mm and larger
Recommended Needle U.S. Size Range	000–1	1 to 3	3 to 5	5 to 7	7 to 9	9 to 11	11 and larger

And Yarn Forward - Tension and Wool Works FAQ which explained that roving has no ply (that's how yarn is categorised in NZ & Australia). The yarn used in this pattern is equivalent to 14 ply so now I will know what to look for to substitute for the Lion Brand when I visit a yarn shop to buy yarn for my first sweater.

At the moment however I have given in to making a new monkey in stockinette using my Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran 330014 Royal Purple and I love it because the yarn is so soft and the colour is gorgeous. The yarn falls so much easier off my Art Vivas and I'm knitting a lot faster than last time.

I'm a new knitter!

When I was young our neighbour taught me to knit. I was truly truly awful, I just couldn't get my hands to do it. I'd drop stitches, make tangles and create a lopsided piece. I couldn't get the tension in my hands right so it would always turn out uneven both in the sense that I got a parallelogram that was lumpy! I only learnt 'knit' knitting rather than 'pearl' knitting so I thought that knitting was ugly as it always had those tell-tale horizontal lines. I ended up with a 10 stitch wide long scarf which I sewed up into a sleeping bag with arm holes for my owl toy and a 30 stitch wide scarf with 20 stitch long sections of mutant wool. So frankly I thought I would never knit again.

But now that I've got into cross stitch and other needle crafts it makes sense to make something with my hands that is useful, not just decorative. So I decided to knit again! I went to a Beginners Knit class at Nancy's Embroidery Shop and learnt how to cast-on, knit, pearl, pick up dropped stitches and cast-off in the two hours. I managed everything except picking up the dropped stitches which would have been really useful because I still drop stitches all the time! Amusingly I bought the same wool colour and feel as what I made my little owl sleeping bag out of.

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran 330014 Royal Purple

It's a Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran Yarn that felt the nicest of the yarn I fondled in Nancy's with the little time I had after the class before they shut the shop. I got it in shade 14, grape. I love purple, I loved it as a child and then it wasn't cool so I didn't wear it. A couple of winters ago it became cool again and now I wear it all the time. I have 3 purple scarves so why not make one more (if I ever get that good at knitting)! I didn't realise that aran is a heavy yarn but it gets so cold here so I don't mind.

I wanted some pretty needles and these just said have me! They are wooden needles made from Tasmanian Oak made by a Tasmanian company called Art Viva. The timber is sourced from environmentally sustainable forest practices and are topped with hand painted spotty beads. Unfortunately I got size 20cm long, 4mm needles when my yarn is for 5mm but I don't think that's too much of a problem. They are slightly uneven which might annoy someone used to straight needles but I love the unevenness as I can think "slightly bending one knit, really bendy one pearl". They are not really bendy its just a comparison, they sort of fit into my hand. They are my friendly needles.