There’s something about knitting a chunky cable knit sweater which just feels so Autumnal. I cast on Lia when there was barely a chill in the air, and now the days are so short and drizzly, it feels amazing to wrap myself in piles and piles of chunky cables.
Lia isn’t a new pattern: it’s from a 2010 issue of Knitty. When I was first learning to knit and crochet, I read every back issue of Knitty. It seemed so amazing! Everyone was so skillful. Now I would feel confident attempting… well, at least half of the patterns in every issue, I’m going back and making some of my favourites.
Lia was one of them.
I love the cable detail on the belly, the way it acts as waist shaping. In retrospect, I could have used some more waist shaping. I said the same thing about my Stopover, so I guess I better take that as a lesson learned: the next sweater I knit I’ll add shaping! I did wonder when choosing sizes if I was picking the right one, but thought that an oversized chunky cable knit sweater wouldn’t be a bad thing. And I am pleased with the finished product!
I wore it to work, and to Nerd Nite, and only one person asked if I’d made it. I take that as a good sign, that it looked professional. I don’t have a problem with my hand showing in work. Not many people can make something that’s as perfect as a machine, and that’s okay. But i do want to create work to a high standard, and that’s a sign I succeeded. (The only person that asked if I’d made the jumper was Rabia, who is highly attuned to my crafting, because of the blanket I made her!)
What I’m less happy with is the yarn: it’s pilling already, and the cable details aren’t as crisp as I’d like. Oh well – it’s hardly a tragedy to have a “sloppy” sweater for weekends. And i can take the lessons learned forwards to my next chunky cable knit sweater project!
Living far from family means missing things. We’ve missed weddings, births, birthdays, hospital stays, a funeral. That’s part of the deal: we choose to live far away, we choose to miss out. But oh it hurts sometimes. At least we can Skype. And there’s always the option of knitting gifts as well. My mother in […]
I’m so excited to share my first published pattern: Might Be Macrame Crochet Plant Hangers in Crochet Now Magazine Issue 28. The team at Crochet Now were so lovely to work with, and I feel honoured to be included in such a fantastic mag. After all, Crochet Now is the UK’s number magazine for crochet […]
When my niece was little (well, littler), my sister dressed her in a sweet baby Aran sweater. It was densely cabled and handknit by some “local knitting ladies” for the charity shop. At village fetes they had a stall, piled sky-high with sweaters and booties in pastel acrylic. “Those local knitting ladies are my rivals,” […]
I last updated you on my granny hexagon crochet blanket (AKA The Big Ugly) almost two years ago. Since then, I’ve been chipping away at it… slowly. It sits on the end of our bed, and adds a lot of warmth, despite being unfinished. (I’m never going to iron our duvet cover – you’ll just […]
I knit a pair of Evil Eye Gloves for the March for our Lives, because how inspiring are these young people? Like the Pussy Hat, Evil Eye Gloves are a form of protest. And, they’re from the creator of the Pussy Hat too. As Krista Suh says on her website: The evil eye symbology goes way back. […]
