Long Vest (VK S/S 2008) Details

OK, so I finally got my Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting. I have noticed that the details of my Long Vest (#6) are not very easily seen. This is unfortunately by the nature and color of the yarn. When I took my pictures at first with flash to portray the true color of the vest, I could not see the detailing either. Then I turned the flash off, and the detail became visible and those are the picturess you can see here; though, the color appears more as a plum brown. The color in reality is just like you can see in the magazine.


The yarn used in this sample is Conjoined Creations Dance Party.
The retailers in your area carrying this yarn are listed here. I would recommend using this yarn. Please make a swatch. Measure your gauge before you wet block it; then measure your gauge after you wet block it. This yarn stretched about 30% lengthwise for me. After checking your after-blocking gauge, use the row gauge for measuring the lengths given in the pattern. E.g. if you after-blocking your gauge is 4.5 rows per 1" (2.5 cm), and the pattern says work until piece measures 7 3/4", it would mean you knit until you have worked 7.75*4.5 rows = 34 rows. This might not measure the 7 3/4" at the time of knitting; but it will once you wet-block it.

Lace Cardigan Details

Oh I forgot; some of you guys asked me if I can post some more pictures of the Lace Cardigan and the Long Vest. Here are couple of pictures of my Lace Cardi (the Vest is coming in following post), so you can see the details of it. I have not gotten my Spring/Summer 2008 issue of the Vogue Knitting, yet. I think it should be on the stands on April 1 for those of you who want to make it. If I have not said it already, the yarn (Blue Sky Alpaca: Alpaca & Silk) is a dream to knit with.

Happy Spring!

Happy Spring!

Happy first full day of Spring everyone! I am very excited about this time of year when everything is getting ready to bloom and warmer weather is just around the corner. I love getting up with a sun filling my room and the birds singing when we are having breakfast. It reminds me of my childhood, of careless days, of everything fresh and new.

Today our spring break starts and it's nice to have the kids at home and not having to rush anywhere. The kids enjoy playing with their dolls and playhouses and most importantly they HAVE the time to do that. My eldest is a very creative one. She had bought herself a plaid painting kit and some canvas the other day to learn to make her own pictures and I think that's what she's going to do today, to practice so she can create some art for her room. I can't wait to see what she'll create. Kids imagination is vast. As adults, our minds are filled with so many "important" things we need to do in a day that there's not as much time left for creativity as some of us would like to. Thanks for having knitting in our lives; it can be squeezed into a few minutes here and there everyday and make our creativity unleash even in our hectic lives.

Currently I've been working on a project for a magazine and that's what I will do today. We will take it easy and enjoy the day without having to do anything. When I knit I like to listen to my kids reading. We take some of my childhood books in Czech and I let the kids read them to me. It serves a few purposes: They practice reading in Czech, since they don't get to speak it as much as I'd like them to; and it broadens their vocabulary. They enjoy speaking in English more since it is the language of their friends and at this point Czech is the "unpopular" language with them. Further, this gives us an opportunity to spend some quiet time together. Sometimes we knit together and get to talk. These are times I have to treasure and remember before they hit the teenage years and it will be "boring" to do this with Mom.

Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2008 preview

The fashion preview of the new designs of the Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2008 issue is up on their website. You can see it here. I have 2 patterns of mine featured in this issue (see pictures above). It is the Lacy Cardi (the white one) and the Cabled Long Cardi (the brown one).

The Lacy Cardi is worked in soft and lovable Blue Sky Alpaca Alpaca & Silk yarn. It is a dream yarn to work with. It's very soft and after it is blocked it's even softer and reveals any lace (open) work beautifully. Be sure , though, to measure your gauge after blocking your swatch, because the gauge changes after blocking. If you skip that step, you are going to end up with a garment bigger than you intended after you wash it. You can read my review and some details about the yarn here.

The same goes for the Cabled Long Cardi . It is worked in Conjoined Creations Dance Party yarn and the gauge changes after washing and blocking the swatch. So please do NOT skip on this step before you start knitting to ensure a good fit. But I am sure you guys know all that it is crucial if you are working on a wearable garment. You can get away with skipping this step if he finished measurements of your FO don't matter (e.g. blanket). I have talked more about the Dance Party yarn in my previous post here.

Project, Project and Yarn

I have taken a little break from blogging, since I've been quite busy. I know, who isn't. I have gotten 2 projects to work on for mags, yey. I really enjoy this process of creating and seeing my sketches to come to life, what can I say.

Cape Collar Jacket
I have finished knitting the Vladimir Teriokhin's Cape Collar Jacket and blocked it, though I had not had a chance to sew it together yet, so it's just sitting there and waiting. But that's OK, I will get to it when I have time. I can't wait to try it on.

New Store
I have been also trying to figure out what website to use for selling my patterns other than Etsy store. Ravelry (you are on Raverly, right?) will be offering a direct PDF download upon payment, so the customer does not have to wait 24 hrs to have their pattern e-mailed to them. I am pretty good about sending the pattern within a few hours of a customer's purchasing (sometimes even minutes); though it is not the best way. Further, I am limited on what size of a document I may send via e-mail, so I cannot send a document having as many pictures as I'd like, or I have to compromise on the quality of the document. I like to include many pictures with my patterns so one can see the details of what they are working on. That's what I want in a pattern - to see what I am doing. So now I am working on formatting my patterns to a same layout, so when a customer purchases multiple patterns they can put it in a binder and easily find what they are looking for. As for the store, I think at this point I will just create my own website to offer patterns for sale. It is somewhat time consuming, but it will be worth it in a long run.

Yarn Review
I wanted to share a review on a new yarn I got my hands on. It's a Classic Elite Yarns Duchess. I just love it. It is a bulky yarn: it knits up on US 10.5 (6.5 mm) needles producing a gauge of 3 1/2 sts to an inch (14 sts = 4"/10cm) and makes a knitting project fast. But that's not why I like it. Its composition is 40% Merino, 28% Viscose, 10% Cashmere, 7% Angora, 15% Nylon. It has 75 yd (69 m) in 1¾ oz(50g) and it feels very nice against the skin. When knitting it seems to produce rather a stiff fabric, which scared me at first. But when it's washed and blocked it softens and feels nice and soft. It is easy to knit with; it does not split at all, and looks as a single ply yarn. In my opinion, it is a great yarn for a beginner. I will definitely use it again.

My daughter's AG skirt

This is my middle daughter's first real project - a skirt for her American Girl doll. She learned on this piece how to purl! Since her tension is not yet always the same, that created a nice element to her skirt where some of the sts are longer thus giving a feel of a lace panel in the skirt. I was very proud of her. She is a quite a fast knitter; she made it in a matter of a few hours on Friday. Our schools were closed because of bad weather; and she did not waste her time and made her doll a nice piece of a wardrobe. Later she styled her doll into a swim wear and found herself a piece of fabric she knitted last weekend and used it for a towel. She is my little fashion stylist.

Project info:
For the skirt she used US #8 (5.00mm) needles and Bernat Soy Natural Blend yarn.

Cape Collar Jacket by Vladimir Teriokhin

For past couple weeks I have been working on a jacket designed by Vladimir Teriokhin issued in the Winter 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting. I have chosen to modify the collar a bit so it fits my body frame better; though I like the original collar design, I don't think it would look good on me. I have heard about some errors involve with this pattern by other folks, who contacted me to get help, so in the future post I might try to sum up some of the errors with the pattern as I and others see it.

Right now, I just wanted to share some pictures of the jacket. These pictures were taken about a week ago and since then I have joined the collar and sewn the shoulder seams and the back neck seem. I also worked the support for the collar, which I did not really fully understood from the instructions. But I had to modify that support since I have made a different collar. I made the support more like a lining for the collar and I'll see how it'll work. Also I have finished both of the sleeves and I am wet blocking all the pieces but the final sewn-on 18-st cable, which I am still working on at the moment. Now I have lots of sewing to work on. I guess I will turn some fun music on and try to do it in as short time as possible. Sewing is not my favorite thing to do, I confess.

Bell Sleeve Shrug #3

Yes, I have just finished another Bell Sleeve Shrug! So now each of my girls have one of their own. They really like to wear them a lot, even though my girl in this pictures was not in the mood of taking pictures, can you tell? This time I used different yarn yet again. See the info below.

Bell Sleeve Shrug #3
Pattern: Bell Sleeve Shrug
Size: 8 yrs (she's 7 yrs old)
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft - 1 ball!
Needles: Us #8 (5 mm)

Couple of days ago I have sent a few proposal to a mag publisher for summer issue. I love the swatching and sketching and designing part, but I always dread doing the administrative part of it: the actual scanning of everything into the computer, filing and making comprehensive proposals themselves, printing, packaging - in short, the office work. So I am always happy when that's done; and now I can hope that they like one or two of the designs.

I have finished all three shrugs for my girls. I have also finished the Men's Ladder socks - though I have not finished writing the pattern yet. I am still debating if I should send it to Knitty or not. I am itching to post the pictures and put the pattern on Etsy. I'll see what kind of pictures we can take of it because, honestly, I think you have to have awesome pictures (plus of course a great pattern to go with it) in order to be considered for being published in Knitty. But there's still time, I think the due date for submission is March or so. I should check it out, just to make sure not to miss the deadline.





Teriokhin Cape Jacket
Now I have started working on my next project for me. I really like a few designs in the new Vogue Knitting magazine. I chose to work on the Cape Collar Jacket (#16) by Vladimir Teriokhin. I love the silhouette and the style of the design. I like the collar on the model; but not for me, so I will modify it to make it not so wide, more traditional width. I am about 20% through the project and it's coming along rather quick, since I am actually following a written pattern! So this is a fun and pleasure knitting for me. I am using different yarn; I bought Bernat Soy Natural Blend. I love the drape of it. I am using US #8 (5 mm) needles and I am getting the same 19 st per 4" gauge as they are with #4 needles. I guess the yarn they used in the sample must be very soft, fluffy yarn, since it's also medium weight yarn; or the sample knitter knits very loosely. At left you can see some pictures of the jacket in progress.

Knitters # 90 - Vote on the Cover

The new Vote on the Cover feature for the new spring issue of Knitters magazine #90 is up on the Knitting Universe website. If you want, you can check it out here and vote. This time it's none of my designs on the cover, but they all look pretty exciting. What's your favorite? So go and vote and see what the editors are going to choose at the end.

Bell Sleeve Shrug #2

This weekend I was testing the new pattern Bell Sleeve Shrug. I made it for my youngest daughter in size 6yrs. She is only 4 years old but wears size 5/6.









Bell Sleeve Shrug #2
Size: 6
Yarn: Red Heart Ltd. Soft Yarn Solids
Needles: US#8 (5mm)

Now I am going to work on the size 8 yrs because my middle daughter want one too.