Athena Dreams

Knitted Jackets .:. The Winner

With our very hi-tech calculator* we have found a winner! Heide from Serendipitous Opportuknitty has won a copy of Cheryl Oberle's amazing book: Knitted Jackets. Heide send me an e-mail with your mailing address and I will get the book out to you next week.

Thanks everyone for all your comments about shoulders and garment construction, and thank you so much Cheryl for stopping by and adding to the mix!

*Hi-Tech Calculator is asking my best friend's 5 year old what his favourite number is today. 

Cocooning with Sundance

I admit to having a love affair with the Sundance catalogue. The clothes, the jewelery, the über wonderful furniture - none of which I can actually afford, but there has been a sale or two where I have gotten a pair of flip flops or a little t-shirt that I had coveted in a previous catalogue.

The latest catalogue has this little lovely:

It's called the Cocoon Sweater, and I would love to have it. 

Even more, I would love to make something like this... Has anyone out there seen a pattern similar to this, kind of an overgrown shrug, with a shawl collar and full sleeves. Sure looks cozy and wonderful! Yummy... and I don't have the slightest idea how to even begin to create a pattern for something like this.

Oh, I would wear it all winter long, and even on some foggy spring and summer evenings...

Jackets, Cardigan, Shoulders .:. and a Giveaway

Half way through February, and I am almost done with my first cardigan project: Espresso from A Fine Fleece, and having a grand time. There have been a few do overs on the sleeves, as the increases didn't add up to what the finished width should have been - almost 4" wider than the pattern stated - but with the help of some very generous people on Ravelry (in the A Fine Fleece Group and from other sources), I am finishing up the first sleeve (for the third time) and am fairly confident that the second sleeve will follow quickly. it has been an interesting process. 

Typically I get entirely and thoroughly irritated when I have to rip way back or entirely frog a piece that I am almost finished with. So irritated in fact, that I will often start another project, or go back to one that has been hanging about, rather than keep working on the source of my irritation. This time I have worked through the grrr's and kept going. A sign of maturity? Naah I think not, perhaps more a sign of wanting to wear this cardigan before it gets warm again.

Espresso

Yarn: Queensland Kathmandu Tweed DK

Colour: Blackberry

Designer: Lisa Lloyd from the book A Fine Fleece

There are quite a few sweaters I have queued from this same book, so I am hoping (but can't bring myself to type, confident) that this will truly be the year of the cardigan. Amanda has also been started, though left languishing while I finish Espresso up. 

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Another favourite book of the winter for me has been Cheryl Oberle's Knitted Jackets. In no particular order, these are the jackets I have queued up both on Ravelry (and in my mind):

The Wrapper .:. Three Sisters .:. Puzzle Me This .:. Box Top

My family and friends know me so well that even though this book did not appear on any wish list, it was gifted to me for Christmas, twice. And so, we come to the Give-Away part of this post. 

One of the things I have been thinking about as I have read through both A Fine Fleece and Knitted Jackets, and looked at the construction of the cardigans and jackets in both, is: the use of a fitted sleeve versus a drop shoulder. Since I am not a knitwear designer, I don't know the why's and wherefore's of choosing one over the other for overall construction, fit and look. I know that I have looked at several of the cardigans/jackets, and wished that the designer had chosen a fitted sleeve over the drop shoulder type, but as to knowledge of why, don't have it.

And so, here comes the give-away trade off: I would love to hear from you all about what you know about shoulder/sleeve construction and the whys of choosing one type of shoulder vs the other. What are your favourites and why, AND have you ever successfully changed a pattern that has, say a drop shoulder to a more fitted sleeve? 

I am sure there are books I can read and that EZ and other expert knitters/designers have thoroughly covered all this material, but I learn less from books, and more from what other people's experiences have been, and I love a story, so send me some sleeve stories!

I will be picking a random commenter next saturday the 21st, and sending them their very own copy of Knitted Jackets. 

And now, back to Espresso... we are having a much needed week of rain around here, I am fighting a cold, and so, it is the perfect knitting weekend. Happy Saturday!