Birthday Shrug

I whipped up this shrug for my friend's daughter's 6th birthday. I used a pattern that I found on the DIY website from the show Uncommon Threads. The episode was entitled Hooked on Shrugs. I used one skein of Lion Brand Colorwaves and some Patons Allure, both from my stash. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

Freeform Sweater Close-Ups

Here are the close-up views of the freeform sweater with links to larger pictures.

Fronts
Back
Right Sleeve
Left Sleeve

Juice Pouch Bag

I whipped up this bag for a friend. I made her another one with juice pouch straps, but it didn't hold up. I substituted the straps this time around and made the bag 1 row of pouches wider.

My First Freeform Garment

I finally finished my first freeform garment--a cropped sweater for my infant daughter Keira in size 12 months. It should fit her in a few months when she turns 1. I started the sweater before Keira was born, took a break from it, and then went full-speed ahead until I finished it.

I drew out a template for the sleeves, fronts, and back based on a knitting schematic so I'd get the correct sizing. I had to make the sweater a little wider and the sleeves a little shorter in the end to make sure it would fit my daughter. It was easy to do since all I did was add some freeform bits to the width of the sides in front and back after I had already sewn the sleeves on. That widened the body and shortened the sleeves at the same time. After seaming up the sides, I added a sc border to the sleeves and sweater edge, which added a nice finishing touch. It also gave me an opportunity to add a buttonhole for a button I had in my stash.

I'd say I gravitate towards the circular shapes, shells, and garter stitch shapes the most in my freeform, probably because they're easy, quick, and look good. I also love to throw in bullions here and there, too. I tend to overthink the color and texture blending while freeforming, which slows me down, so it's good that I can at least make up some motifs quickly once I finally decide on the yarn to use.
I'll have to post more pictures of it being worn once my daughter is big enough for it.

Labor of Love

I finally finished the Vogue Knitting Baby Cardigan. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. For a baby knit, this sure did take a long time. I started this last summer before my daughter was born. I lost interest in it after she was born, mostly because of the weird shoulder shaping that I just couldn't seem to figure out, and the second sleeve became monotonous.

I finally got a chance to use my embroidery stitch book since I had really never hand embroidered before at all. The french knot was the most difficult for me to master, but I found a great video tutorial that helped me figure it out.

The sweater took longer to complete in the finishing stage, too. I ripped out the colloar and redid the back neckline because I didn't like how it dipped in the back. It made the back piece look shorter than the front even though they were the same length. If I were ever to make this sweater again, I would not place the middle back section on a stitch holder until I were finished with all the shoulder shaping. After that was said and done, I noticed that my buttons were placed too low, so I fixed them.

Here are the sweater variations:

• Yarn substituted: Knitpicks Shine Sport in pink
• Modified the back neckline and added 2 extra buttonholes

I'm glad I perservered and finished this even with all the setbacks and changes. It definitely was a labor of love, and Keira should be able to fit into it soon.