Jen Arnall-Culliford Knitwear

FO: Warm Jacket with an Unusual Bubble Stitch Yoke

Ta da!!

It's done. I've finished my Warm Jacket with an Unusual Bubble Stitch Yoke from A Stitch in Time 2. Jim took this picture last night on my iPhone, and I was still flushed with the success of completing the project. I had hoped to get some better pictures this morning, but it was so dark and dismal, that I figured that these would do.

This close-up shows the bubble stitch pattern on the yoke. There were nearly 700 stitches at the centre of that first set of bubbles. There was a point when I thought it would never end!! But it did end, and I am SO pleased with the results. I can't see myself taking this off much!

The cardigan has short row shaping on the fronts and back, to give the curved shape for the yoke. There's no wrapping and turning to do, as the yoke is knitted over the top, and starts with a few rows of reverse stocking stitch, which hide any small gaps there might have been.

I spent ages poring over buttons at Millie Moon, before I settled on these cute snails. As a former gardener, I'm not a fan of the snail, but they were just so appealing that I couldn't really resist them!

I used Jamieson & Smith 2ply jumperweight for my cardigan, in a discontinued shade of red (9097), and I made the second size, and used nearly 16 balls of yarn.

WIPs and the not as endless as anticipated 1x1 rib

I've been remarkably faithful to my various knitting projects over the Christmas break. I wound yarn for a new project to take with me when we went away, but I didn't end up casting on as I was enjoying the projects I had on the go already.

First up was my Warm Jacket with an Unusual Bubble Stitch Yoke, from A Stitch in Time 2. I knew when I started this project that it would take me a while as I find 1x1 rib quite hard on my hands, but I've been very pleasantly surprised by how quickly it has knitted up. The picture above shows the first sleeve and the back, all done and waiting. This has been the perfect sociable knitting project. It doesn't take much in the way of concentration, so I've worked on it pretty much everywhere. I'm nearly finished with the second sleeve, and then I'll be onto the fronts.

I'm so looking forward to wearing this cardigan - if we get a cold snap in the New Year, this will be perfect for keeping me warm at my desk!

For more interesting knitting, I've been making good progress on my Golden Wheat Shawl. This one has been on my needles for 18 months, but not surprisingly, if you don't actually knit on it, it doesn't get any bigger! So I've now been working pretty regularly on it for a few weeks, and I'm delighted to discover that I can now move my progress bar from 5% to 10%. Better keep at it though...

Finally, I thought I had better have a project for when my hands were tired of 1x1 rib, but my brain was too tired for lace, so I cast on Flukra by Gudrun Johnston. I'm using some lovely Blue-Faced Leicester Lace yarn that I won in a giveaway from Yarnscape earlier in the year. The colour is perfect, and the pattern starts with a garter stitch triangle, so it's pretty brainless for the moment. As you can see, I didn't end up needing it that much, so it's still quite small - the 1x1 rib cardigan was easier than anticipated. But I'm looking forward to it becoming my main project once the cardigan is done.

And that's it! Just 3 projects on the go, and all of them are making some progress. Next in line are the Kai-Mei socks from Sock Innovation by Cookie A, but I'll probably try to wait until I've cast off at least one of these projects before getting going on them.

FO: Quick Work in Thick Wool

I'm absolutely delighted with my first finished garment from A Stitch in Time volume 2. It's the aptly named Quick Work in Thick Wool jumper, and would indeed have been even quicker to knit if I had been faithful to it! Getting good photos is a bit of a problem at this time of year, so I took a trip down Catherine Hill this morning, and asked Rachel in Millie Moon if she would mind snapping a picture of the finished jumper. She kindly obliged (and I'm modelling next to my quilt which is on display there at the moment!).

I'm delighted with everything about it really... The fit is great. I found the right buttons for it (at Millie Moon yesterday). I don't even mind that I ended up sticking with shorter sleeves, as I like layering and this will be fine over a long-sleeved top. My favourite part is the scooped neckline - I adore it!

I knitted it using Fyberspates Scrumptious Aran, in a hand-dyed colourway that I bought a couple of years back at the iKnit Weekender, and it used just less than 4 skeins of yarn.

Can you believe that I only have 2 (ahem, really 3, but the Shetland lace I started 3 years ago doesn't really count, does it?) projects on my needles now. There's the Golden Wheat shawl (I did a whole pattern repeat over the weekend) and my Bubble Stitch Yoke cardigan (I'm an inch into the Back). Go me! I've been casting off. Now... what to cast on next?

Dressing Up: A Stitch in Time 2 (part 4)

It's time for the final reveal of my favourite two patterns from A Stitch in Time volume 2. These two have had my heart and hands since Susan took me on my first tour of the chosen designs, back in March this year. They are so much my favourites that they are both already on my needles! Without further ado, I present you with:

2: Quick Work in Thick Wool

It's a magic jumper! It skims and covers, and draws the eye upwards (raglan constructions are good for that). Plus, it's made from one of my all-time favourite yarns: Fyberspates Scrumptious Aran. I already had 7 skeins in a lovely semi-solid navy colour in my stash, so I went ahead and cast it on. I'm just going to make one modification, and that's to make the sleeves longer. I find that I've got quite a few short-sleeved cardigans and jumpers, and I often wish they had longer sleeves. My office is cold in the winter, and the longer sleeves will be much appreciated. The sample I'm wearing above is the 32-34" size, so I've gone for just one size larger for my own jumper.

I will be on a hunt for 6 perfect buttons to complete this jumper, so do let me have your vintage button shop recommendations. I think I'll be looking for something with a bit of a contrast to my navy yarn.

And let's have a rumroll please, as we have reached my favourite! In first place, I present you with...

1: Warm Jacket with an unusual bubble stitch yoke

I wore this cardigan at the trunk show at Marmalade Yarns. I didn't want to take it off. And it has made me suck it up and make a garment in 1 by 1 rib. Yes, almost the whole of this cardigan is worked in 1 by 1 rib. That's how much I love it - enough to work amost a whole garment in one of my least faourite stitches (the other being moss stitch).

The ribbing is just flattering. There's no escaping that fact. It is so stretchy that it shows off my curves without the need for anything more fancy than a few increases from hem to armhole (I'm wearing the 30-32" sized sample here). And the Shetland wool that it's made from is as warm and suggly as garments can be. It didn't hurt that I already had 10 x 25g balls of Jamieson & Smith 2ply Jumper weight in my stash, just asking to be knitted up. And I've managed to secure a few extra balls to complete the project. Happy days!

I also really like how the cardigan is constructed - the fronts, back and sleeves are knitted separately, and then joined together before the yoke is worked over all stitches. It seems like such a modern thing, to work the yoke as one, but this pattern is from the 1940s. I also love that the shaping at the fronts and back (before the yoke) is worked in short rows. This leaves all of the stitches 'live' ready to knit the yoke straight on to them.

I contemplated working the fronts and back together, but ultimately decided that as I've been suffering with a bit of RSI, the weight of them together was best avoided for as long as possible. I've almost completed the first sleeve, and I am just wishing for a few more knitting hours each day so that I can soon be wearing this beauty.

I do hope that you've enjoyed my run-though of my favourite projects from A Stitch in Time 2. It's been great fun sharing these pictures with you. Finally, once again I would like to thank Susan for her lovely pictures (all but the last photo are copyright of Susan Crawford), and both Susan and Gavin for asking my to tech edit the book for you.

Dressing up: A Stitch in Time 2 (part 3)

We are gaining momentum as we work through my top 11 designs from A Stitch in Time 2. Today's post takes us from 5 up to 3. If you missed the earlier posts in the series you will find them here: Dressing up Part 1 and Dressing up Part 2.

There's another twinset in my garment selection today... I didn't realise that I absolutely, totally and utterly, needed a twinset! Apparently I do.

5: Fair Isle Twinset

I really like the squareness of the neckline on the jumper part of this twinset. The box sleeveheads are fabulous as well! This set has the handy advantage of having interchangeable sleeves. So if you want a long-sleeved jumper or short-sleeved cardigan, you can just swap them around (just being aware that adding longer sleeves will require more yarn). I'm wearing the 32-34" sample, which is a little short on me, so I'll choose the 36-38" size when I come to make this for myself.

This picture reminds me of first days at school - all standing to attention in new clothes!! Clearly, I need a larger size in the cardigan when I come to make this. Sitting in my office today, and it's pretty cold in here, I am dreaming of having two layers of lovely warm wool to keep me snug. Better get knitting.

4: Tri-Cable Stitch Jumper

Oh be still my heart, how I love these top 4 patterns...

I would absolutely not have said that I was a girl who wore bows. I don't wear bows. I am in many, many ways a really un-girly girl. I never wear make-up, I live in my jeans, and I played with Lego as a child.

But I can't avoid the fact that this cardigan stole my heart, and I wouldn't change anything about it. I'm wearing the size 32-34" sample, and if for nothing other than the extra length, I would probably go for the 36-38" for me. There's plenty of stretch in these stitch patterns though, isn't there?

I'm working on a project from A Stitch in Time 2 in that picture - more on that on Friday... I love how the red of the J&S jumper weight looks against the green of this beautiful cardigan, which is knitted in Shilasdair 4ply (link to Loop in London). I recently used this on my nephew's baby blanket. It was beautiful to knit with, and comes in a range of really pretty semi-solid colours.

3: Lady's Jumper Cardigan

I want this cardigan, I want it now, and I want it in this exact yarn: Excelala 4ply in Persian Grey. I want to wear it tomorrow, and I'm not sure I want to take it off to go to bed. (You wouldn't believe how hard I'm trying not to be too-crazy-gushy about these patterns.)

The sample is the 30-32" chest, and you can see that I'm experiencing some pretty major stretch to get it over my 38 inches! But I love how well it fits around my neck and shoulders. I think I'll be taking some tips from the 'Fit and Finish' chapter to get the best fit in all areas. I will start from the second size pattern (34-36") and work in some extra ease in the bust region.

This was one of those patterns that provided some grading challenges when we were working on the book. The stitch pattern is wide, and we wanted to keep to using whole repeats to maintain the integrity of the design. The solution we reached means that the first, third and fifth sizes are graded in the normal way, by adding extra stitches. The second and fourth sizes are graded for the inbetween points by larger needles. The Excelana yarn works really well for this type of solution, as its wooliness means that the stitches puff and fill out, meaning that a wider than normal range of needle size works really well.

So, we are nearly there folks! There are just two patterns left to share with you. I'll be posting about them on Friday, as tomorrow will be the first post in the Curiouser and Curiouser Quiltalong series.

Many thanks to Susan for her lovely photographs of me (All photos are copyright of Susan Crawford). If you want to get your hands on a copy of the book, you can find it here: A Stitch in Time 2.

Dressing up: A Stitch in Time 2 (part 2)

Following on from yesterday's first part of my A Stitch in Time run-down, I present to you, positions 8 through 6.

8: Trimmed with Roses Twinset

Is it cheating to have a twinset, and only to count it as one entry on the list? I don't think so!

This sample is to fit 34-36" bust, so really doesn't fit me too badly at all. I think that this is the size I would knit for myself - perhaps just moving to larger needles for the bust area to give a little more space there. I was really surprised by how well the higher neckline garments suited me. I've been completely brainwashed by What Not to Wear, into thinking that I can only wear garments with v-necks, or deep scoop necks. I really like the round-necked jumpers I tried on, and would definitely knit lots of the samples I tested.

7: Kasha

This short-sleeved cardigan is without doubt one of the most stunning pieces in A Stitch in Time 2.

The sample that I'm modelling is for a size 30-34" bust, and it's really only the section around my waist that didn't really fit me that well. I would definitely go for the second size in this piece. This pattern had to be graded by changing needle size and yarn, as the pattern repeat is large, and all of the garment shaping works so carfeully with the shape of the diamond panels. I wrote a blog post for Susan about this issue earlier in the year: Vintage Garments in One Size

This wouldn't be a garment to work on at knitting night, but it would be so enjoyable for quiet evenings at home. The Skein Queen Blush yarn is also just a delight to touch. I've knitted with it in the past, and it has the perfect combination of softness and spring. Strangely enough, as someone who has never really felt comfortable with yellows/golds/oranges, I actually really like how this colour looks on me! Oh, for a few more knitting hours each day.

6: Blouse with Gathered Neckline

This would make a brilliant top to wear in the warmer months. I think if I had been writing this post in spring rather than autumn, then it would have been much higher on the list. But given how cold it is in my office, the warmer jumpers have taken precedence!

Again, I'm wearing the smallest size (32-34" bust), so the sample is coming up quite short on me, due to the widthwise stretch required to fit round me (38" bust). I plan to make the 3rd size (36-38") later in the year. I've not completely decided on yarn yet, but I'm thinking of either the beautiful Posh Yarn Valerie used here, or maybe some Fyberspates Nef Lace. I think that the slight variegation of a hand-dyed yarn really adds extra depth in this pretty top.

I love the length of the sleeves and the detail on the edgings. It's just a really pretty design in all areas.

This picture really makes me giggle - you can't see the lovely top at all well, but the colour of the chard is pretty, isn't it? It looks like I have been out hunting for wild animals in my back garden.

All photos are copyright Susan Crawford. If you'd like to see more of the designs from A Stitch in Time 2, then you can visit the book's page on Ravelry. I'll be back tomorrow with positions 5 to 3 - any guesses which patterns I will be choosing?

Dressing up: A Stitch in Time 2 (part 1)

Having Susan and Gavin Crawford to stay last week was a giggle from start to finish. One of the many highlights was the opportunity to try on lots of the garments from A Stitch in Time volume 2.

I was overwhelmed to be asked to work on the project with them, and it has been a fantastic experience from start to finish. Receiving my copy of the book last week was amazing, as I really hadn't seen many of the photographs or the 'Fit and Finish' chapter etc... Having had a chance to mull over all of the garments, I've compiled my top 11 patterns (I tried to cut it to 10, but just couldn't!), and I'll be running down the list over the course of the week.

Without further ado, here are spots 11, 10 and 9.

11: Springtime Bolero

I'm channelling my inner Hollywood siren in this picture - it's about the only serious picture Susan managed to take of me! The fronts of the bolero are knitted using short rows and decreases, so that you work from the front opening edge in towards the armholes. The back is straighforward moss stitch and worked in the normal direction. I really like how this fits (the sample is the size 30"-32" and I'm small across the shoulders, but with bust 38").

10: Lady's Evening Jumper

This is the only sample that I wasn't able to actually try on. It was just too small. :( I love the stitch pattern on this design, and I think it works really, really well with the Scrumptious Lace yarn.

This jumper has a fascinating construction - there are darts sewn into the front, back and sleeves. You cast off some stitches on one row, and then cast on more stitches on the next row (like making a huge buttonhole). These are then sewn together when finishing, and create the gathered dart features. It's really flattering, and I'd love to make one of these for smart summer events.

9: Pretty for Every Day

I've loved this jumper since seeing the sample in person for the first time at Woolfest back in June. The sample doesn't fit too badly - except that the stretch at the bust (the sample is the size 30-32" and I'm 38") means that the jumper is far too short for me! Hence the artfully placed trug. You so wouldn't want to see me in this without the trug!! We had fun shooting this one...

It's amazing how stretchy some of these stitch patterns are - but the shortening in length, when you stretch the garments widthwise, is astonishing. So it's always best to choose the 'To fit' size that's closest to your actual size.

And finally, just in case you thought I managed to stay sensible throughout the shots of the Springtime Bolero...

I simply can't help the giggles! All photos are © Susan Crawford. Many thanks!