Tag: Helix Knitting

MacKenzie Speaks: We’re making a Zweig!

Hi. I’m MacKenzie.

Cat on sweater.
I’ve been hanging out with the Mother of Cats for days working on our new sweater.

This sweater is really nice. The yarn that the Mother of Cats is using is part cashmere and silk: my favorite to take a nap on. Every time she puts it down I move right in for a quick nap!

Cranky cat.
But she always get cranky and chases me off. Why does the Mother of Cats act like this? She is so inconsiderate and possessive of her things.

I must say, even though she puts the knitting down pretty often (nap time!), we have been making pretty good progress. Look at where we are this morning…

Seater in progress.
Ta-da!! We are now working our way down the first sleeve!

I’m really not a fan of the sleeve knitting: every time the Mother of Cats turns the knitting the whole sweater whaps me in the head. It really gets a little old after a while. She should be more careful, don’t you think? Still, this is a really nice sweater, even when it is whapping me in the head instead of being left on the couch for me to take a nap on. Here are some of my favorite details:

Lace detail of the knitting.
Look a this lace yoke and the strip of colorwork.
Stitch detail.
The body of the sweater has this funky X-stitch pattern. The Mother of Cats followed the directions and learned how to knit this without the cable needle.

This afternoon the Mother of Cats plans to do some binge watching on Netflix while she continues on the sleeve. Drat. Maybe I will spend my time watching for birds and the enemy cat in the back window. My poor head is getting really tired of all the abuse. As soon as she gets up to make dinner, though, the sweater is mine! Cat naps will be happening again.

I’m such a good boy.

Can I have some cookies now?

>^..^<

Notes from the Mother of Cats:

  • This sweater is Zweig by Caitlin Hunter. The yarns that I am using and other information can be found in my project notes on Ravelry.
  • I blended the skeins of yarn together using helix knitting for about 2 inches at the transitions. This is the video (posted by Pepperly) that I used to figure out how to do the changes, and I actually knitted an entire round with each yarn and then just made the switch and tensioned the way she described it in the video. Worked great, the switch is smooth, and the knitted fabric feels great.
  • I started this sweater on the first day of fall. I hoped to get it done before the first snow, but that happened last week before I even got to the bottom of the sweater’s body. It is nice and warm today, and with some luck the sweater will be done before our next serious cold snap.

Bunny Love

Have you ever found some yarn that is so alluring, happy and compelling that you find yourself spending way too much time mulling over what to make of it? Searching through the stash to find some yarn that would like to play nice with it? Parking it in the bedroom so you can glance at it from time to time while reading late at night as you consider options in the back of your mind?

Yarn
Here it is., happiness in a tightly wound package. The yarn is actually brighter and more cheerful in life than in this picture because today is a dark and gloomy day.  And cold. Knitting weather!!

The purple yarn was the original purchase a week ago. It’s call “Colorful October” and has a happy orange section bracketed by black and dark brown swimming in the fabulous purple. Since it was a monthly edition of the yarn, I felt like I had to snatch it up right away before it sold out. I mean, look at that purple!!!

Well, I would like socks or maybe arm warmers made out of this yarn. I’m worried about pooling, so I wanted something really peppy to go with it that I could use to break up the color a little for some snappy helix knitting or maybe simple colorwork like the highlights of Jelly Rolls. When I went to my LYS yesterday that skein on the left came home with me. The colorway is “Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast”. How can I walk away from a yarn with a name like that?

I’m just trying to explain why this yarn is sleeping right beside me on my bedside table. I’m pretty sure it will eventually become arm warmers, socks, and maybe even some cat toys. Arm warmers. Maybe with corrugated ribbing and some helix knitting. This is going to be fun!

The other bunny that I’m thinking about is this extremely cute bunny designed by my BKB (Best Knitting Buddy) Deb. Isn’t this the cutest thing?

Bunny
Photo credit: Deb Baker

This bunny was made with Deb’s daughter Erin in mind. Erin is autistic and loves to shake floppy toys (or her shirt sleeve) for hours; this bunny totally meets that need. I have the cat version of the pattern, and every time I see it perched on my bookshelf it makes me happy; these little guys are designed to sit up perfectly and are really stable. Deb just wrote this pattern up and it is now available for download on Ravelry for FREE while she works with test knitters to work out all the kinks in the pattern. The pattern is called ERIN’s BUNNY; I know that Deb would love to have you test knit or just give her feedback.

Hey, I could make a bunny out of the leftover Chasing Rabbits yarn! After the socks and arm warmers, I mean.

Goodnight everyone.

I’m off to sleep sweet dreams in the bright colors of my new yarn.