Texturized Tweed Coat and The Buttons

Casted on for the Texturized Tweed Coat on Christmas Day. Discovered a mistake in the seed stitch about the time I had put the sleeve stitches on a holder. Ripped it back and started over on January 5th. On January 12th sitting in an Emergency Room with my mom for 12 hours I turned the wait into a one woman knit marathon and made huge progress on this sweater.

After I had knitted the sweater, Grant and I hunted for the buttons, I found the buttons, and I finished putting the buttons on last night. NOW, on February 3rd, I could announce that my Texturized Tweed Coat is FINISHED! TADAAAA!!!

It is a very striking sweater and rich in texture. The pattern was very well written and easy to follow. The design flattering and the collar.....what can I say....I just LOVE IT!!



Here it is, modeled by Janeva......can you tell she is irritated that I am making her model a wool sweater on a day where the temperature in Southern California hit 85 degrees?

Today, was the first day that I didn't work on this sweater ........I honestly miss working on this sweater! It was a fun knit.

Buttons Buttons I Found the Buttons!!

Remember a few days ago, I ran Grant ragged looking around town for buttons? I was beginning to worry I'd have to settle for any button I could find in the quantity and size just to complete my project.

Well two days ago I found a treasure trove of buttons right here in town!!

As Cute As A Button is located in Point Loma (San Diego) California. They are an online source for buttons but if you want to go to the shop you can call ahead and set up an appointment. I had the shop to myself and was able to lay out all kinds of different buttons on my project before finding the PERFECT buttons for my Texturized Tweed Coat.

More about the project tomorrow, right now we are talking buttons! Kim, the owner of "As Cute As A Button" was kind enough to let me take some pictures of their selection!

As you can see, my photos don't really do the buttons justice, but you can kinda get an idea of the volume and selection that they have.

If you are needing buttons for a project, take a moment to look at the link above and see if you can't save yourself a lot of time, gas, and a big fatty headache by finding the perfect button in the comfort of your home shopping in your PJs!!!

Recycled Yarn?

RECYCLED YARN?? This sweater was once a completed vest. But the vest was not a big hit with any of the three girls in this household...including me. So NOT a hit that I have no "before" pictures of the vest before I ripped it all out.

I frogged the completed vest after it sat for a year unworn and unappreciated and recycled the yarn to make this sweater for Janeva. HUGE HIT! The sweater pattern came from Stephanie Japels "Fitted Knits" book. The sweater is called Boatneck Bluebell......but in our home it has been renamed to "Janeva's Freshman Sweater".

Not only was this sweater a fun knit for me but also fits Janeva beautifully and she loves it. It also appeals to my sense of frugal knitting (not something I'm known for!) and the fact that I didn't just let a finished project sit off to the side to be forgotten.

I won all the way around with this project!

Weekend Knitting

Since this is actually a "Knitters" blog, I figure I should have a post now and then about some actual knitting.

This weekend I felt completely burned out from the week before so I pretty much stayed close to home and did some knitting on a FEW of my WIPs (works in progress). I just realized that all of these projects have one thing in common, they are knitted from the top down, in the round, and with a raglan sleeve style. I had never knitted anything from the top down till about 5 weeks ago and so far, I think this is my preferred method for the moment. It requires little finishing work when the knitting is done and that is a HUGE BONUS. You can literally finish knitting in the afternoon and typically walk out in the evening wearing any one of these projects.

One of the fastest and most engaging knits I have going on right now is a pattern named "Fifi". I got the pattern through The Sexy Knitters Club who is using this pattern as one of the Summer Knit Alongs. I have worked on this sweater for a little over a week now and it is moving along swiftly. I am going to modify the pattern to make 3/4 sleeves instead of the cap sleeve as written in the pattern. The yarn I'm using is the yarn recommended by the pattern, Rowan Calmer. Calmer is a soft cotton with an incredible memory and one of the few cotton yarns that behaves like wool and makes this particular pattern a joy to knit.




The next pattern, has been a great knit as well. It is a pattern named "Wicked" which I found online at Zephyr Style. The picture doesn't show the detail of the neck edging which will be repeated on the sleeve cuffs. Other than the neck and cuff detail it is mostly a straight knit which makes it a great project for mindless knitting in front of the TV or in the car. I have been working on this knit for a little over 3 weeks now. (I can get 3/4 of a row done at a long Traffic Light!! 8-) )



Last but not least, is a pattern named Boatneck Bluebell, from the Fitted Knits book by Stefanie Japel. When I got this book I truly hit a jackpot. I have several projects going from this book and the detailing and the fitting on the patterns are fantastic. I used Cascade 220 wool for this knit and it is all but done with the exception of a little sewing up of the 2nd sleeve and then it needs to be blocked. This sweater took about 1 1/2 weeks to knit up, but has been sitting in my knitting bag for about 3 weeks begging to have the finishing done on the sleeves. I have enough of this yarn left over to knit a vest for Janeva for her back to school wardrobe!! (an added plus)



Aside from this knitting, I cleaned out some drawers, and Janeva and I baked a cake to practice for our Cake Decorating class that we are taking together.

All in all, a very quiet weekend and sometimes I think those are the BEST!!!