Zimmermania

Monday, February 22, 2010

Chronicles of the Bog - 2

Gosh, I can't believe I can make so many mistakes in just one project.

After finishing seaming the arms I realized... this thing was supposed to be a cardigan and I had just joined the top part. Wow, unbelievable.

So I had to undo the seaming on the arms that I had just taken a decade finishing and frog the piece back to the neck opening. Which I did. Then I tried my hand at different neck styles. However, in the end, EZ's original design was the one I chose, cause its the best.

The teal yarn was over, so I went to Joan and bought a little red. I-cord with it really brings out the colors of the bog.


The yarn is so cuddly and soft that "A" wouldn't take it off so I could sew on the buttons. Look at him he is so happy.

Well finally, when he did decide to take it off, I finished sewing on the buttons. And what I saw was a beauty !!!
Except this beauty was noway a 3-6mths bog, Ha Ha !  More like a 1-3T size. The icing on the cake for all the mistakes on this project - didn't bother to check my gauge.
Oh well ! I can't remember the last time I had so much fun doing a project and not bother about the knitty gritties.
Good Knitting Times !
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© YARNSIDE (More details at end of page.)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Chronicles of the Bog !

I think I get a little too over confident with my knitting at times. And then it very rightly teaches me a lesson. Either the yarn or the stitches make sure that they show me my place. After all who am I, just a mortal who decided to go ahead and think of herself as good at this yarny stuff.

The story this time...
I had my eye on the Bog Jacket for quite sometime now. (Big shout out to EZ (Elizabeth Zimmerman)... You definitely rock my knitting world more than anyone or anything else.)
I think the Bog Jacket is just the simplest and most ingenious  thing that EZ decided to share with us all. How a simple square of a fabric turns into such a gorgeous jacket is just amazing.
I checked out so many projects that people have made on ravelry (and there are more than 60 baby bogs on ravelry) and they all look gorgeous. So I decided I had to make one. I viewed EZs video and also read the pattern, made notes, made calculations and adjusted it to my yarn and gauge.
But me being my overconfident self, had to go ahead and mess the most simplest of patterns using the world's simplest stitch - the garter stitch. I mean how many more kicks do I need before I settle down and admit that it is never over with the learnings.










First, I went ahead and did the very thing the lady asked us not to do. I did not listen to her and once I was done with the entire knitting I realized I left a join where the armhole was supposed to join. Sigh !

I did not give up though. After all, I had to make the whole thing because I loved it and had worked so hard on getting it right. The new yarn color was luckily joint real close to the arm openings. So I thought, well, I'll just undo the yarn joint, frog back to before the arm openings, redo them the correct way and join back to the new yarn.

I did all of that and then some... Was very happy that I was able to fix everything and went ahead and seamed the arms and just then it struck me... Oh no !!!!! No No No !!!!!! I had to work left and right front separately after the neck opening. How could I be so stupid ! After making a note of it specifically before starting the project. 



I totally ruined it. I had knit the front as one piece after the neck. This is what it looks like now. I have finished seaming the arms as I said. (to be continued...)

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© YARNSIDE

Monday, February 08, 2010

Norwegian Mittens




Here are the Norwegian Mittens from Knitting around. The cuff motif is the yacht club burgee my parents belong to. My mother has been asking for mittens like these for years and I finally made them. I bought more yarn to make them for my daughter and me... I just have to find the time to make them!

I found these incredibly quick and a very satisfying knit... I love the result. My mother LOVED them and her reaction has been posted on my blog. I watch it when I am in need of a smile. Her reaction is the reason I knit and crochet (and design). I am so happy I had the "wits about me" to video it!

To watch the video click here