Unraveled Wednesday: Twenty

March 20, 2024March 27, 2024 Vicki8 Comments

On this day, 20 years ago, which was the First Day of Spring, I wrote my first blog post.

In 2014, I managed a pretty epic (if I may be so bold) 10-part series to celebrate my 10th blogiversary.

This year, I thought I’d celebrate by sharing 20 of my favorite knits, since knitting was the #1 reason for starting a blog in the first place. That idea came to me in the middle of the night, but I guess it’s not all that new — I shared 10 favorites as part of the 2014 series (and there are some repeats)!

So, in a bit of a departure from the usual Wednesday unraveling, today I’m joining Kat & the Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday with 20 of my favorite knits! I’m not going to link to individual project pages, but y’all can find anything you’re looking for on my Ravelry page… I am knitorious.

1. Cabled Pullover w/Kangaroo Pockets

aka #11 Turtleneck by Anna Sui in Vogue Knitting, Winter 2003/04. This was finished in 2004, knit with Rowan Polar, a yummy super bulky yarn (now discontinued). Katie wore this sweater a lot back in the day!

2. Alpaca Pure Shawlette

I think this was the first shawl I ever knit… Judy Pascale’s Simply Garter Shapely Shawlette. I knit this in 2004 with yarn that I received in a swap (also my first-ever swap). I would never have chosen that colorway myself, but found a pattern that would work and, lo & behold, it was a favorite/staple of my wardrobe for a long, long time!

3. St. Brigid

I fell in love with this sweater on sight, and it’s the #1 reason I learned to knit cables… and to knit from a chart. At the time, the only place to get the pattern was in Alice Starmore’s Aran Knitting, which was out of print. I think copies were selling for $800s or so. Thankfully, that’s been resolved & there’s a new edition. Anyway, finished right around this time of year in 2005, I knit it in Cascade 220. The photo, inspired by one in the book, was taken at West Kilbride, Scotland, on our first visit to the UK in 2011.

4. Fib

I might consider this my first triumph with color, using seven random hanks of Donegal Tweed that my sister Sharon had left over from a kit or two. Alexandra Virgiel’s Fibonacci was the main inspiration, but it’s really more of a Frankenstein sweater… finished in 2006.

5. Williamsro

I knit this as a member of the US Cable Team for the 2006 Knitting Olympics, which was a blast! (I still have my certificate.) Williamsro was designed by Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton, and the yarn — Noro Blossom & Cash Iroha — was a real splurge.

6. Cecil Cardigan

This was the cover sweater of Vogue Knitting, Spring 2003. Started in 2004, it languished until 2007 when Kate urged me to finish. I’d realized that it wasn’t really suited for me, but it was perfect for her! It was really fun to knit. I purchased the buttons at Tender Buttons when I visited NYC in 2005.

7. Habu Birthday To You

Knit for my mom from an amazing Habu Kit featuring Tsumugi Silk, it took me two years to make it, mainly because… it was weird (those Habu patterns are often… weird). It was knit in pieces, all going in different directions then sewn together, but they were so small… I remember thinking, This is never gonna work! But it did work, after stretching those pieces to within an inch of their lives. It’s an incredible sweater, which I finished in 2010, and my mother loved it so much — it was 100% her style. She loved telling me about the compliments she’d receive, and that she was so proud to tell people that it was knit by her daughter.

8. Parcheesi

My first blanket, and let’s call this my second triumph in color. Knit in 2010, while my sister Sharon was undergoing treatment for cancer, I finished it just a few weeks before she died in December. The pattern is Parcheesi by the wonderful Janine Bajus. You see this blanket every time you visit my blog, as it’s up there in the header. I will always treasure it.

9. Freestyle Cabled Cowl

Inspired by a couple of other cowls that I’d knit, and also by Fiona Ellis, whose taught a “cables” class at Midwest Masters one year (a long time ago), some of the cable motifs are normal, but others go off willy-nilly. I knit this in 2011 with some Plymouth Galway Worsted that I dyed myself.

10. Wisconsin Wedding Shawls

I knit these shawls in 2013 for Ali’s wedding. Her “Wisconsin Wedding” shawl is a pattern by Julia Trice called Mexican Wedding, and mine is also a pattern by Julia, Frambuesa, from the same collection. I used two different yarns, and dyed them both.

11. TTL Mystery Shawl ’14

I also dyed the yarn for this shawl — my first gradient. The pattern is Algiers by Kirsten Kapur. The MKAL started on June 1st, and my mom was admitted to the hospital on June 4th, then transferred to ICU a few days later. There was a wonderful group of “old gang” bloggers who formed an FB group for this knit-along, and it was a balm each night to check in with them. Mom died on June 23rd.

I’m sure I’ve written once or twice about how knitting has seen me through tough times — loneliness, worry, loss. I truly don’t know what I’d have done without it sometimes.

12. 2016 Rhinebeck Shawl

There was no time to knit a Rhinebeck Sweater in 2016, so I knit a Rhinebeck Shawl, instead. I love the pattern — Close To You by Justyna Lorkowska — and have knit it at least once more, and my sister Ann has knit it a couple of times, too. Also yarn that I dyed myself. As chance would have it, I’m wearing that shawl today! (It looks like winter is going to be making a couple of appearances over the next week.)

13. Making Her Own Arrows

This is a lovely “adventure” pattern from 2017 by Larissa Brown called We Make Our Own Arrows. It was potato chip knitting — so fun to pick it up everyday and see how it would go! Another scrap project, another triumph in color, I knit this for myself but ended up giving it to a friend.

14. Oblique

Oblique! A ten-year project (and not the only one), 2007-2017, start to finish. After 10 years, it didn’t fit me, but Maddy LOVES it! I’d like to knit another sometime. Oblique by Veronik Avery, knit it Cascade 220.

15. Gnomes

No list of favorites would be complete without mentioning gnomes! Susan B. Anderson and Sarah Schira are my designers of choice. I made my first little gnome(s) in 2018, a bunch more in 2020 while recovering from Covid, and a few mystery gnomes… another one to start pretty soon!

16. Safe At Home

Talk about Covid projects… this is Margaret Holzmann’s Safe at Home blanket, highly modified. This was knit for Davy (who’s going to be 4 in September!).

17. Hexie Love

This is crochet, so technically not knitting, and it’s also a WIP, as I have yet to master the border situation. And more color! The pattern is Hexie Love Actually by Greenletterday, which I started in 2021. The colors are Madelinetosh Unicorn Tails, and the background is Tosh Merino Light. I’m pretty sure this is destined to be Addie’s graduation blanket… which gives me another year-and-a-half to finish (I won’t wait that long)!

18. 5 Point Bomber

Last year’s wonderful project for Modern Daily Knitting | I Made It with Atlas! It was so fun to knit this project for the kids — with their input. Designer Holli Yeoh now includes coloring pages with the 5 Point Bomber pattern.

19. A Light in the Window for Mack

A fun little riff on Kay Gardiner’s A Light in the Window, this was knit for Mack’s high school graduation. There’s a lot of play on ONE color — mostly dye test skeins that I’d purchased a few years ago. I think he likes it.

20. Family Temperature Blanket

Another WIP, more color, more riffing… and tonight I’ll knit the last few rows of Ali’s panel and get started on Maddy’s — the last one!! I’ve already been working on this for over two years. I’m excited to wrap it up this summer. (Whatever will I do next…?? ha.)

BONUS MATERIAL

A gallery of little projects…

It’s hard to pick just 20 out of 133 projects! That doesn’t count the multiples… gnomes, dishcloths, hats, etc.

And, of course, THANK YOU!! Thanks for reading, laughing, encouraging, enabling, crying, comiserating, and just for being there. It’s changed in many ways, but I’d have never lasted 20 years without our community.

Knitting Olympics 2006/Williamsro · Knitting Olympics 2010/Finishing · Knitting Olympics 2018/Habu for Me (not Morvarch)

3TT: Throwback

February 8, 2018February 8, 2019 Vicki7 Comments

For the Olympics in 2006, I knit Williamsro.

That one earned a gold medal, which is still hanging on my fridge! Hm, I haven't worn this sweater in a while…

In 2010, there was a pile o' finishing to do.

I finished a couple of them then, too! They've all been finished now, in one way or another* (though perhaps not until 2017 — Oblique!), except for the one on top. Will it ever??

{I don't remember why, but the 2014 games were skipped altogether.}

This year, I am gearing up to knit during PyeongChang 2018!

Team Rules Schmules… it works whether you're in it to win it, or just in it for the camaraderie & fun! Feel free to join in!! Official cast on is tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. CST.

I think I'm in it to win it this year (so some of the rules apply), but we'll see… traveling for 5 or so days with a not very travel-friendly project may change that! But for now my yarn is wound, I played around with the cast on and 14" DPNs last night (and dug out some shorter ones because those long ones aren't needed right away), and need to find my knitting belt.

*Man, that Peace Fleece (bottom) is gorgeous, isn't it? Coup d'Etat was frogged, but I still like that design…

Knitting Olympics 2006/Williamsro · Knitting-Baby · Knitting-Fibonacci Sweater

Of sweaters and quilts

April 15, 2007 Vicki10 Comments

On Friday night, I wore Williamsro to the art opening — there are fiber artists in that cooperative, they hold the knitting in high esteem — and yesterday, I wore Fibonacci to the quilt show. I was a little warm yesterday and am both happy and sad that the days are numbered as far as the woolens are concerned.

Have I mentioned, by the way, how much happier I am with Williamsro since I ripped and re-knit the bottom (Noro Blossom) part of the body? I had picked up too many stitches the first time — it was okay at first, but then it began to stretch and I could even see it pulling the other part (Noro Cash Iroha) of the sweater out of shape. What was once a rhetorical question ("Does this sweater make my butt look big?") was not so rhetorical anymore and I didn't like the answer. I'm happy I didn't let that one sit for too long.

Fibonacci, having been knit entirely using left-overs from another sweater, seemed appropriate attire for Mary Lee Bendolph, Gee's Bend Quilts, and Beyond at The Paine Art Center in Oshkosh — even if the colors are more fall-like than spring. (It's been on my mind to knit another, in different colors, for the warm seasons — maybe in cotton?)

Alison met us (Mom and me) and then we all went to lunch afterwards. Ali was really more interested in just lunch and could have foregone the quilts, but I made her see the show and I think she was amazed. We all were. I knew a little more what to expect, but Mom & Ali had no clue.

"Quilts," I'd say. "We're going to a quilt show, but they're different…"

It's so hard to describe these quilts and their design — how free and fresh and inspiring and inspired and traditional and artistic and cutting-edge and colorful and resourceful and moving — without sounding a little more than passionate — without sounding a little nuts. And I'm not even a quilter! They make you passionate, indeed. The show was quite busy and (not surprised) no cameras were allowed. One word: GO! If you have the opportunity to see this show (or a variation), just go.

We toured the mansion, also (amazing), and there is a children's discovery area in the lower level. It was so wonderful to see Gee's Bend-inspired quilt designs on the wall, very nicely done (fabric patches glued to paper) by some local 5th graders. It was a big highlight of the show, for me — fun to see the fabric of their lives — lots of sports-minded prints, including the Packers, some Pokemon, lots of denim, but also some glitzy glittery fabrics. There was one so definitely inspired by the Work Clothes quilts and very meticulously done so that all the frayed edges of the denim were exposed.

The Paine is also known for their gardens. This corkscrewy bush (for lack of knowing what it's really called) is right next to the museum entrance. So intriguing. There's nothing much blooming yet, except for some snowdrops, but the tulips and daffodils are promising — soon! Still, even at this stage, the gardens are beautiful. I went on a stitcher's retreat to Colonial Williamsburg one December and was amazed at how beautiful the gardens were at the dormant time of year — truly something to aspire to with my own gardens. Right now, though, "Baby A" and I would just be happy to see sprouting peas. Sweater details in the "Completed in 2007" sidebar photo album.

Knitting Olympics 2006/Williamsro

The jolly guy in red

December 6, 2006 Vicki7 Comments

"St. Nicholas" filled the stockings tied to the stairway last night. In a very practical mood, she left slippers for the girls and insoles for DH — he’s been complaining of sore feet. ; ) The girls each get an ornament from St. Nick every year and this year it’s the angels above, which are ~~reminiscent of~~ just like our horn-playing tree-top angel, except that it wasn’t discovered ’til the very last minute that only one of these ornaments actually has a horn — the others have cymbals or harp!

Is it pathetic that I fill my own stocking? I don’t give myself a gift because, well, I’ve actually been quite wild and free of late with the "add to cart" buttons — nothing huge, but a pamphlet here, a booklet there, a magazine, a book… now I’ve got to find that Noro book with the Blossom vest pattern that I mentioned yesterday. It’s not yarn that makes my finger twitch, it’s the patterns! So, let’s pretend there’s a back issue or two of Wool Gathering sticking out the top there.

Coup d’Etat is off the needles! I short-rowed and did a three-needle bind off at the shoulders and there’s just no other way… totally love that technique. I also did full-fashion decreases and increases throughout and I’m anxious to seam. My blocking board is already in use at the moment, but perhaps later today I can give all the pieces a bath and pin them out. It’s going to be button time soon!

I saw Katie for the first time yesterday when I came home last night and she noticed that I was wearing Williamsro. Not only did she notice, she told me how wonderful it looked, that it was her favorite of all the sweaters I’ve made, why don’t I wear it more. I proceeded to tell her/consult regarding that bottom Blossom part and she confirmed the conclusion I’d come to after wearing it for the whole day. Yes, there’s the whole horizontal stripes can make anyone’s anything look big, but I don’t think the horizontal-ness is the problem here. Can’t get much more horizontal than Fib, which is also one of my favorite sweaters, so I obviously have no issues with the horizontal. The biggest thing with Williamsro is that there are too many stitches picked up for that bottom part — so many that it is actually distorted — and there’s no elasticity to the Cash Iroha so no resistance and it just let’s itself be pulled. There’s a bit of a flare, a swing — even bulbous quality — to that Blossom section that maybe isn’t so evident in the photos, but it’ll make a huge overall difference if I can find the magic number.

I think that the rest of my December knitting is going to be devoted to The Fix & Finish. I’ve got Shirley Shrugs and Williamsro in need of attention, there’s Coup d’Etat seaming in the wings, along with a button band and many buttons to be sewn… there are buttons to be sewn on sweaters that haven’t seen the light of day in so long, I’m sure you’ve forgotten.

Knitting Olympics 2006/Williamsro

Flashback to February

December 5, 2006 Vicki10 Comments

I had a flashback on Friday night when I tuned in to Ice Wars for the visual and auditory accompaniment to my knitting — right back to February, Williamsro, and the excitement of the Olympics, knitting and otherwise. ; ) I tuned in late, but may I just say that Brian Boitano is still elegance and perfection on skates; that Kurt Browning is one of the most charismatic, talented and entertaining showmen who ever strapped on a blade; and that I wish that darn way-back machine would work because Scott Hamilton never failed to both amuse and inspire, but he’s a pretty good announcer, too. Dick Button has gotten on a nerve or two of late, but I can’t really imagine figure skating without him — he’s been the voice since I began watching as a little girl.

It’s been almost 10 months, then, since I asked that age-old question: Does this sweater make my butt look big?

It’s very timely, too, that an email from blogless, lurking, fellow Wisconsinite Angie arrived wherein she asked about Williamsro.

Truthfully, after my short-lived (life got in the way), celebratory, post-Olympic party, flushed with victory and wondering what to do next, I became more and more unhappy with Williamsro each time I pulled it on. I’d been warned about the tendency of Cash Iroha to relax and grow and that certainly did happen. I’d always been just a little bit unhappy with the number of stitches picked up for that bottom part knit in the Blossom, too. I’ve talked about doing it over, possibly even knitting it just a wee bit shorter. I don’t think it made my butt look big in February, but I think it does now (granted, I think my but actually is a little bigger now).

I am wearing it today. It’s the coldest day of the year so far — wind chill in the single-digit-below-zero area this morning and thank god there wasn’t much wind — and I do believe it’s the warmest sweater I have. (I wore St. Brigid yesterday — I try to wear it once a week, unless I have an opportunity to wear it more where I won’t be running into the same people. I wear it as much as I can, would wear it everyday if I could, and I may need to knit myself another Aran soon.) It’s not as bad as I remembered. It may be that more than just my butt are a little bigger, despite the months-long dalliance with Weight Watchers. Whatever. That’s obviously not bothering me enough to do anything about it except for the occasional whine.

In conclusion: I am warm and toasty today; the Cash Iroha pills a bit more than I think an expensive yarn should; I’d still like to re-knit the bottom Blossom part (that’ll be a big pain in my big ol’ butt to frog); I think Williamsro would be wonderful in a 100% wool yarn; I have the rejected, redder Blossom that I bought in NYC that ~~would love to~~ must knit into the vest I saw at Julia’s yesterday that I can’t believe I never, ever saw anywhere before!

You can see in today’s (in the bathroom) picture that there’s still a bandaged finger — a different one than yesterday. I can still knit, though sometimes clumsy, and it’s due to nothing other than our recent, sudden, but not unexpected cold, dry weather. Cracking, peeling, splitting, ouch. I can knit well enough that I should have all the pieces to Coup d’Etat set to block tomorrow. ; )