On The Needles: Sophisticated Hoodie in Tatamy

This is another (hopefully) inspiring post about an ill-fated project that has found a new lease on life.

Remember Carrie's quest for a black hooded cardigan? This was her first attempt, but after getting pretty far into the project, she realized she didn't like it. (Don't you HATE when that happens?)

So, the original version got frogged and now the yarn is getting a second chance. This time around, the pattern is Sally Melville's Sophisticated Hoodie.

Sophisticated Hoodie from Mother-Daughter Knits

 

Here's Carrie's hoodie in progress. To refresh your memory, the yarn is Kraemer's Tatamy, a soft yet crisp DK-weight cotton/acrylic blend that we absolutely love.

Tatamy's stitch definition really shows off the texture of this pattern.

Carrie says, "I've searched a long time for just the right pattern, and I think I've finally found it. This one had everything I wanted. I don't normally do projects that have to be seamed, but I like the construction of this so much that I'm willing to try it!"

On The Needles: Featherweight in Zephyr

This is a bad news/good news kind of post. Remember this sweater? Two weeks ago it looked like this:

Nearly done!

Well, guess what it looked like a few days after that. Give up? It looked like this:

Yikes!

Fellow knitters, did you just break into a cold sweat when you saw that? It's okay, really. Here's what Stacy has to say:

"Everything was done on Cloudette except for one sleeve. At that point I tried it on and I hated it. The proportions were off, so the belt was waaaay below my waist. So instead of looking cute and tailored, it just looked sloppy. I knew I would never wear that sweater, even if I finished it."

But you know, one of the great things about knitting is that it's one of the few areas in life where you can get do-overs. Mistakes can be undone, and even whole garments like this unfortunate one be ripped out and the yarn re-used. So now it looks like this:

A fresh start!

It will grow up to be a Featherweight cardigan, which is a perfect option for this Zephyr laceweight wool/silk yarn.

Stacy says, "I've made two Featherweights before, and I wear them all the time. I keep thinking I need more of them in other colors, so...green Featherweight coming up! This is something I know will look good and get worn all the time."

On The Needles: Cloudette Cardigan in Zephyr

Ever have one of those projects that just will. not. end? This is one of those.

Meet Cloudette. Designed by Claudia Geiger, she appeared in the Summer 2012 issue of Jane Austen Knits. Stacy's knitting this in JaggerSpun Zephyr (laceweight wool/silk) in Bottle Green.

Stacy says, "I cast on for this sweater pretty much as soon as I saw it. And that was almost a year ago. It's not the sweater's fault--I just keep getting distracted by other projects! Also, I decided to make the sleeves longer than the original, and now I'm kind of regretting that decision. OH WELL."

Do you have a project that's been in progress forever? What's causing it to take so long?

On The Needles: Hoodie in Tatamy

Maybe we should call this one "On The Hook." For those of you who think crochet is only good for baby blankets and doilies, take a look at this....

Click to enlarge

Carrie just started this Lightweight Hoodie To Crochet, designed by Val Love for Dovetail Designs. The yarn is Tatamy in color 1718 (black). Yes, we've been hitting the Tatamy DK pretty hard around here lately. What can we say? We love this yarn.

Carrie says, "I need a black cardigan and I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in knitting, so I decided to branch out and crochet. I'm using a bigger yarn than the pattern calls for, so I'm using the directions for the size medium and it should come out the right measurements for the size large. I did a gauge swatch first!"

Want to try making this project yourself? The pattern is available as a downloadable PDF through our Ravelry in-store pattern program!

Springing forward with Wanda Nell

Hi, everybody! It's been too long. Winter has been a busy time for us. December 2011 was our best month in the history of Sheepish! We're so grateful to all of you who helped make that happen.

We kicked off 2012 by taking the plunge and getting a new point of sale system. It's been quite a process, entering all of our inventory into the database, but overall we're very pleased with our new system.

With these big milestones behind us, we're ready to look ahead and get back into the habit of blogging!

What's everyone knitting for spring? Stacy recently finished the Wanda Nell Cardigan designed by Jennifer Hagan (Figheadh Yarnworks). Take a look:

The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn and size 4 (US) needles. Stacy used Smooshy from Dream In Color.

We have the Wanda Nell pattern in stock, along with plenty of others for cardigans, tees, and tanks to get you ready for spring!

Irene's Jali cardigan

We love it when customers come in and show off their finished projects!  Here's Irene modeling her freshly blocked Jali cardigan from last summer's issue of Interweave Knits.  It's made from Kashmir DK, which Irene snagged when it went on our clearance rack.  Score! :)   Isn't this sweater beautiful?  Click the photo to view it larger.  Great job, Irene!