I know that I've already posted pictures of the Tilted Duster being worn at Stitches West but I didn't get a chance to post the information that I wanted to about it.

First of all, I am really mostly happy with how it turned out for me. I used 13 skeins of Filatura Di Crosa Zara Plus which is a machine washable and dryable 100% merino wool. I had already washed the sweater before wearing it and it held up perfectly in the washer and dryer!! I am so excited to have an easy care hand knit sweater! I hate washing sweaters in the bathtub! I am also so happy that this entire sweater cost me only approx $26 because I used some sale yarn that I got 75% off! Pretty awesome huh?

I also like how fast it was to knit up. If you have followed the blog you'll know that I started it months ago, knit the fronts and the back and then set it down. I didn't get back to it for a long while due to other knitting obligations. When I picked it back up it only took me 9 days to knit the sleeves, the collar, the skirt and seam it up! This is definitely a sweater that anyone could knit in a month's time.

The Tilted Duster is also versatile. The collar can be worn buttoned up or folded back like a shawl collar.

So now for the dislikes... I tried it on before picking up stitches for the skirt and the top part was too big. And as you can tell in the picture it does pucker up some. The weight of the skirt did help it lay better but I still wish that I had knit the 32" size instead of the 36" Since I measure 34" I thought that it would be safer to go up a size. Well in this case I think it would look neater if it was a little more form fitting at the top. To compensate for the big top I knit the smaller size in the skirt. I was just so afraid that I was going to look like a brown saggy blob in an oversized sweater. I don't know if this was the best idea but it turned out fine in the end. I also knit my sweater one repeat shorter than the pattern called for. Why you may ask? Did I think that it would flatter me more? No... I ran out of time the night before I went to Stitches. I really wanted to wear it and ahh.. well... it was 2:00 in the morning.

I did really find some helpful hints for the duster from the Ready Set Knit podcast. They did a Tilted Duster knit-a-long and posted some good tips here.

All in all, it was a good project. My sweater is really comfy... too bad it is getting hot outside.

We just got back from Stitches. It was quite an experience! It was so completely overwhelming. There was soooo sooo much to look at and so many people. I thought that I'd want to be there all day for two days but after a few hours I found myself dizzy, tired and ready to go!

There were so many fun and beautiful yarns to look at and I bought my share of them....

"Yay...Sale yarn!"

There is like a trillion pictures of me here... sorry....

I was really expecting to see some knitters wearing Tilted Dusters because I know how popular the pattern is. I wanted to take a picture with one of them or something. I did end up seeing one the second day but of course by then I wasn't wearing mine. I did, however, see a ton of people wearing the Clapotis shawl. I also saw several several booths that had Clapotis knitted up as samples. I was really proud to wear my Tilted Duster though. I was so pleased by how it turned out!

Well...you don't see that sorta knitting every day!! Check out the size of those needles!

I love yarn....

Pretty view outside our hotel room..

New Stuff

1,000 yards of Dream in Color "Classy" I have this in mind for the Forecast sweater but I'm not sure if it will work with a variegated color...

This yarn I bought on sale. A whole bag of Elsebeth Lavold Angora. I know that you might think that this is the most disgusting color manufactured but I happen to love it..

I think that this would be perfect for the Lush and Lacy Cardigan.

These buttons are actually dyed nut slices. Cool huh? I thought maybe I could use them for the Angora sweater or Dream in Color sweater.

I also purchased two lace weights. A 100% silk in cream, and silk/wool blend in green. It appears that I like the color green.

I have plans for someday knitting some of the shawls I like out of "Victorian Lace Today".

This is Malabrigo Lace yarn that I got as a sample. Isn't it pretty?

I am sooo excited about these Stitch Diva patterns! I want to cast on for the Giselle Knitted Blouse immediately!!! But I really shouldn't.

The Tilted Duster is done! I am leaving for Stitches right now. I am SOOO excited!

Pictures at Stitches West and the "official Tilted Duster photo shoot" soon to come!

I have been doing a lot of knitting lately. This month I have so far seamed a sweater, made a pair of Felt Clogs, worked on the dreaded stand mixer cover, knit the heel of my sock, made two samples of the new pattern I am submitting to Knitty.com, started a Clapotis, and knitted a whole bunch on this Tilted Duster! I have been knitting crazy fast on this because I have this little fantasy of wearing it this weekend when I go to Stitches! This will be my first time attending and I guess that I just want to look "cool" wearing a hand knit sweater, and a new one at that. I think that I can finish it by Friday night if I knit like a crazy person.

On the way to Stitches in the car and while I am there I am planning to complete at least one more sample for my new Knitty submission. I have to turn that in by March 1st. So many deadlines!! If I finish that up with time to spare I HAVE GOT TO finish that stand mixer cover!!! I have of course neglected it again to get all of these um... important (?) knitting projects done.

By the way I am a little sick of always referring to it as the stand mixer cover. The name makes it even seem more boring. Can anyone think of a cool name for it?

This week has been pretty good. I do finishing work for customers, and this week I got two things seamed up. I've also made some progress on my knitting projects but it is a little hard to tell because I have five going at once and I've been working on them equally. So they are growing slowly. I have decided that I am not liking this "five projects at once" thing. It is starting to feel overwhelming. I think I ended up starting so many because they are all sweaters, and none have a real deadline because they are all for me or for Ava. As we all know with sweaters, they can take a while and they get boring, so I just couldn't help but start more and more.

Here is what I have going right now:

Project #1 The Klaralund Sweater from Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Book 2: made with Noro Silk Garden

I like this sweater because there is hardly any shaping so it is really easy to knit. I hate this sweater because it has hardly any shaping so it will probably be entirely unflattering. Obviously I didn't think that one through. To add insult to injury I am stupidly making a size too small. I've thought about frogging the whole thing but I just can't bear to see all that work gone to waste. I'm going to finish it, stretch and block the heck out of it, and hope for the best.

Project #2: Leaves Sweater from Crochet Me: made with Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino

I've changed the pattern a bit for this sweater. The pattern calls for leaves hanging down on the bottom. I chose to go leaf less because in this color I thought it would make me look like Peter Pan. I think the bottom border looks just as good without. When I saw the book I just had to start this project right away. Before seeing it, I could never remember seeing a crocheted adult sweater that I actually would wear! It was also so much fun to do a little crochet. I started on crochet years back and haven't done much since I began knitting. This sweater has made me remember what I like about crochet. It is so easy to fix mistakes! No such thing as a dropped stitch! This pattern is also nice because it is always changing and it hasn't gotten boring. Oh Leaves Sweater how I love you!

Project #3: Seedling Sweater from the book Minnies: made out of Filatura Di Crosa Zara Plus

I started this project out of necessity sort of. You see, The Scarlet Skein had a huge 75% off sale and I just had to buy 60+ balls of Zara Plus. So I ended up with only 4 of this color and that is just enough to make the 12 month size that will fit my daughter for not much longer. So that's how this one got on the needles. It's going pretty quickly. The strange this is that the pattern called for a size 8 needle and I had to go up to a size 10.5 to get gauge. And I'm using the same weight of yarn the pattern calls for. Go figure!

Project #4: Smock Coat from Simply Baby: made with Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere

I also have a love/hate relationship with this project. I love the pattern. I cannot wait to see little Ava running around in a cute little red coat. I love the yarn. I have used this one in the past and I love the drape of the fabric. I HATE knitting it. It is miles and miles of seed stitch on size 4 needles. It is really boring me to tears. The problem is that I have to finish it this season so Ava can wear it while it fits her. So I'm going to have to set up knitting incentives for myself to finish this one up.

Project #5: Tilted Duster out of Interweave Knits: made out of Filatura Di Crosa Zara Plus

More uses for my Zara Plus! I really really really love this pattern. It's just the kind of sweater I would wear all winter long. The Zara is 100% merino so it will be so warm. Zara is also machine wash and dry. I did up a swatch and through it in the washer and dryer and the fabric softened and held up great! So I think I am going to be more than happy with the finished result!

I think what I am going to have to do to make some serious headway here, is pick just two projects for awhile to rotate. Hopefully that will make me actually finish something. I think one of those projects is going to have to be the Smock Coat and the second will either be Leaves Sweater or Tilted Duster because I enjoy those so much.

On top of all that knitting is the knitting I do for the shop. So I just purchased the Felt Clog pattern by Fiber Trends and the Children's Felt Clogs too. Over the past few days I knit up a pair of the children's clogs in Ava's size. Im going to do a pair for me next. My plan is to get that done quickly so I can put them on display at The Scarlet Skein. In January I'd like to offer a class on the pattern and also a fun extra class on embellishing the clogs with needle felting. I'm going to bring all my roving and just let those who sign up come and play with the colors and design.

And as if I needed any more yarn or any more projects, I also bought this:

This is Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb in the Gold Rush colorway. I have big plans to make the Clapotis Shawl. I think that too would make an awesome class for January. It is such a popular pattern right now!

I have no clue how I'm going to get all this done. The good news is that tomorrow my husband and I are leaving for an overnight stay in the Santa Barbara area. That means some extra knitting time for me. I'm planning on bringing the Smock Coat and the materials for the Felted Clogs. I really really want to start the Clapotis but I am trying to be responsible and hold off.
It should be a fun trip, and my very sweet husband recommended that tomorrow will be reserved for yarn stores. I can't wait.