Too Many Hand-knit Sweaters

I'm doing some decluttering and organizing in my home.  I started with the most difficult room--my bedroom.  We don't  have a walk-in closet, but have 3 separate small closets.  (Our bedroom has 10 doors and 1 window.)  Of those doors 5 are closet doors. I started with the closet that I use the least, took everything out, reorganized it and put some back in.  Then I tackled the one where I store my sweaters, other kit tops, jeans, shorts and shoes. Here's what it looked like before.

I took all the hand-knit sweaters out and put them on the bed.

I count 30 here, but that doesn't count the short-sleeved ones and those knit in cotton. Those I had actually organized before I thought abut snapping some photos.  There are only about a dozen of those, so that was easier.

Unfortunately this is the space I had to put them back into. The two stacks on the right are the cotton and short-sleeved sweaters.

But I managed it! They all went back in and should stay that way for a while as I am not wearing wool too much these days.  I have a sweatshirt on today, but in the summer when I'm cold I wear sweatshirts, not wool sweaters.

Today I finished up the other closet and I went through my dresser drawers earlier this week. 

I still may have too many sweaters, but by April I'm starting to get tired of wearing the same 23 sweaters and look for more. That's when I pull out the older ones that I don't wear early in the winter. When you wear wool from September through April you do need a good selection.

On the knitting front, I have completed two shawls and a pair of socks this summer and am starting on a sweater-vest.

Technorati Tags: hand-knit sweaters,decluttering,organizing

Knitting shawls, sweaters, etc.

I can't think of a title for this entry.  I decided to put up some pictures of my knitted projects for this winter and spring.

None of these pictures are very good.  I've lost patience with photographing myself.  I try several different photos and then just give up and use the best of what I have.

This cardigan is called Gnarled oak.  It was designed by Alana Dakos and appears in the book called Coastal Knits, by Alana Dakos and Hannah Fettig. I used some yarn I bought in Finland. Mine came out a bit small, so I decided not to put buttons on it.  That way I can't button it, which would cinch it in and make it look too tight on me. It's okay as an open cardigan.

 

The next one is called Blackberry and Lichen by Candace Eisner Strick. The name refers to the colors she used, but I used completely different colors.  I tried this first with Kauni yarn, which is a gradient color yarn, but it didn't work out, so I tried making up my own color scheme. I'm not completely happy with it, but I think I'll wear it next fall. It is knit in Jamieson Spindrift.

 

Here is a picture of the sleeves before they were cut apart. I knitted both at the same time with steeks between them, then cut them and sewed them up. This makes the stripes come out the same on both and makes it easier to do the increases with the pattern. I've had trouble with that before.

Then I saw a model in a shop for this vest and wanted to try it. I've never done entrelac before. It wasn't hard at all. This yarn, which is what the designer used worked out perfectly.  You never change colors. The yarn does that for you. This also, I think I'll wear in the fall. The pattern is called Gina, as is the yarn. The design is by Sarah Punderson.

 

And then I've completed 2 shawls and have two more on the needles.

The first is called Color Affection by Veera Välimäki. It's an interesting asymmetrical design. I made it a little smaller than the pattern said, but it seems large enough for me.

 

My last completed project is this shawl called Maia, by Rosemary Hill. It's in an ebook called 7 small shawls to knit, but can also be bought separately through Ravelry.

 

Here's the back.

 

That's my knitting update.

 

Technorati Tags: knitting,shawl,sweater,cardigan