Completed Sweater

Hey Everyone!

I have been working on a size of sweater for the past few months. I finally got it done. 

For this sweater, I used red heart super saver yarn in Gold, Carrot, Tea Leaf and Coffee. 

Completed Sweater

Hey Everyone!

Today I sewed up the size four sweater I just finished knitting earlier in the week. 

This is a size 4 sweater and I used red heart yarn in Aruba Sea and Calliope. 

This sweater the second of my set that I am working on. I had finally got to having equal numbers knit up of each size so now I am working on sets. 

Over the past few years knitting sweaters for children in need has been a passion of mine. Knitting sweaters for these children is just of the ways I am trying to give back and make a difference. It feels like a small thing compared to going I missions trips to impoverished areas or serving in the peace corps or Doctors Without Borders. Then I remind myself that each sweater helps keep a child warm. 

It feels good to get a sweater done. Most days I don’t stop to think that the sweaters and hats I make are really going to children in need. They are real children with real needs. 

Knitting A Lot

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I have been making progress on my projects this weekend. 

Yesterday the power was out for 8 hours, so besides going and getting food, about all I could do was knit and listen to music. I also spent most of this afternoon knitting as well.

  I am working on getting a chunky, thick scarf knit up at the moment. It is currently (as of writing this post), 68 inches long. I am almost done with the second skein of yarn and have one more skein to use to finish it up. At this point it really doesn’t get cold enough where I live, to really use it. I am looking to find a new job and move somewhere where I would use it, and all my other hand knit winter woolen goods on a regular basis. 

I spent most of the weekend working on knitting my Knit for Kids sweater for World Vision. I got the body of the sweater done. I knit the back and front together, using a stitch marker in the middle the. Knit the sleeves separately. I am to the point where I can cast on the sleeves on the front. I have the hard and longest part of this sweater done. This particular sweater is a size 8. I am using red heart super saver yarn in fall colors.  

 Knitting, yarn and all that goes along with the craft is something I am passionate about. I love it. I am totally intrigued by the whole process from raising and caring for the sheep, goats, alpacas and other animals raised for their wool, to the sheering, or fiber collection as it is shed from the animal. The whole process of cleaning it, carding it, and spinning it to be sold to people like me who knit it up into cute winter wear. It all fascinates me, and if I ever had the opportunity I would love to be more involved in the process, rather than just the consumer. 

Fall is Coming!

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Fall is in the air! The mornings are crisp and the afternoons hot. The air is starting to smell different, and I am getting excited!

I recently invested in more fall colored yarn for knit for kids sweaters. Fall is my favorite season. I love the colors, the scents, the decorations, being able to pull out my long sleeve shirts, my jackets and my hand knit scarves. 

Since I started working full time at my job, I haven’t been able to post like I was able to when I was unemployed. I am thankful for the income, but also miss challenging myself to have content on here 5 days a week. I also liked the challenge of seeing what I could get done in a week to have something to post about. 

I am hoping that with the changing of the seasons, I will use more time on my days off (when it is pouring down rain) knitting and making progress on projects. 

This past week I finished a size 10 sweater which is for sure up in my Facebook page, and I started a size 8 sweater, using all red heart super saver yarn in fall colors. I will list the colors when I write about the finished project.  I am between 1/3 and 1/2 way done with the body of this sweater. I am loving how it is shaping up. I keep thinking “The ’70’s called and want their sweater back”. 

 

Goals for the rest of 2015

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Now that I have gifts taken care of, I figure that it is time to really figure out what I want to get done in the way of charity knitting for this year.

This year I will complete five sweaters, including the one I am currently working on. I will also use up the balls of yarn I have sitting on my floor, as well as what is left over from the sweaters I knit this year, for hats for children in India.

I am currently working on a size ten sweater. I am working to cumulatively have the same number of each size sweater made. I will need to make one more size 6 sweater, two size 8 sweaters and one more size 10 sweater (in addition to the one I am currently working on) to have fourteen of each size of sweater. From there I want to go to making sets (a sweater of each size), and keep my sweater totals the same across the board.

I have several good size balls of yarn sitting around that are really too small for sweaters, but work great for making hats, which is what I plan to use them for. I am wanting to get them used up and made into something that will be sent to children living in poverty.

Love helping children

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I have made a bit of progress on my size 10 knit for kids sweater. I am about 3 inches away from casting on sleeves on the front of my sweater.

I still love knitting garments for kids in need, that has not changed. The kids I knit for are important to me. This year I have been working on more personal projects, because I also want cute knitwear for myself. If you have been reading my blog for any length of time now you will know I knit almost as many sweaters last year as I did in the first decade I had made sweaters. Helping children living in poverty is something I love doing, it is right up there with being outdoors and going on adventures.

Finding the Time to complete a Project

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This past week I finished up the size 8 sweater I has been working on, using a Caron one pound skein in Rose. I finished that sweater on Thursday, and shortly there after started a size 10 sweater using Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn in Pastel Green.

For the size ten I am working on I am using a pattern that puts garter stitch ribbing up the front of the sweater.

I am happy that I got the size 8 sweater done with how busy I have been the past two and a half weeks. Very Little knitting actually got done in that time period.

This is the size 8 sweater, using a Caron one pound skein of yarn in Rose that I completed this past Thursday.

Just sitting

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I made it to the back sleeves of my size 8 knit for kids sweater.

This sweater has given me something to work on when I don’t want to focus on my current personal project.

This past week has been a busy one, and has kept me on my toes. The next two weeks will continue to keep me busy.

Double S Cable

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Welcome to the fifth cable pattern post, in my cable pattern series. This week’s cable pattern is the double S cable. This pattern is based off the single s cable pattern that I wrote about in last week’s post. what I did was that I took the basic s cable and then mirrored it for the second one. So one is always doing the opposite of what the other is doing. It looks pretty cool.

I have used this pattern in making one of my fishermen’s wool scarves. I like that it adds something to the otherwise boring but functional garment, yet is still casual enough for everyday (during the cold season) wear.

I enjoy trying new patterns, and seeing how projects turn out. If you are anything like me, simple patterns that look nice are what I spend hours on Pinterest, ravelry, knitty and other sites looking for. The patterns that I use on a regular basis were hard finds, and I did not come by them easily. Since I found them, I want to share what I found and maybe help some of you who haven’t been knitting as long find some great knitting patterns.

 

Started a New Sweater

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I completed the size 6 sweater that I had spent all of last week, and a bit of the week before working. I completed that this past Friday night. After having finished that I started a size 8 sweater.

For the size 8 sweater that I am working on I am using a Caron one pound skein in Rose that I had picked up at Joann fabric and craft a couple months back. I chose to use this skein for this particular sweater, as I am still working the complicated scarf. Working with one color, and having a big skein mean that I don’t have to think about changing skeins, and changing colors. It makes things fairly easy while I spend more time working on my personal project.

Beings that I am using a solid color I am putting a braid up the middle. I know I posted the pattern just this past Thursday. That is a coincidence that I had scheduled that post a while back, and then a few days after it went up, I start using it in a sweater. (so yes, as for some of my patterns I wrote the post and scheduled it ahead of time).