Knit From Your Books
Perhaps I should have titled this post 'I Must Be Crazy'. Ever since I hit upon the idea of Knit From Your Books I've told myself it's too big, would take too long, and it would be crazy to corner myself into continuing to knit something after it turns out to be a bad pattern or torture to knit.
But then I keep finding myself going through the books, considering - no choosing - patterns to knit. And then googling the patterns and noting substitute yarns. And then googling the yarns to find the best price. And then ordering yarn.
When I put my list of patterns on the sidebar, I knew I was doomed. I'm just going to have to start this. Who knows, maybe I'll finish?
So here are my rules:
1. I must knit one pattern from each of the books I've bought but never knit a pattern from.
1.a. However, if I have more than one book by the same designer, I can consider all those books as a single 'book'.
1.b. Stitch dictionaries and how-to books are exempt. So are non-knitting books or sub-categories of knitting (like knitting with wire).
2. I can take as long as I need.
3. I can change my mind on which pattern to knit.
4. I can adjust patterns as much as I want.
5. I can knit other projects between patterns.
6. I am not allowed to buy any books of this kind until all projects have been completed.
6. However, I am allowed to receive gifts of books of this kind.
Being a compulsive planner, I've not only chosen which pattern I'm going to knit from each book, but which order I'm knitting them in (anticipating a hot summer ahead).
Here are the books:
Jo Sharp's Contemporary Knitting will be the 'representative' book of the three I have. Then there's No Sheep For You, Domiknitrix, Knitting Nature, Textured Knits and Folk Vests.
Here are the patterns:
Simply Garter Vest from Folk Vests. Probably the simplest vest in the book, but I have two reasons for choosing it over a fancier vest: I reckon that the camel yarn I dyed recently would be perfect for this; and nearly all of the patterns in this book are much too big for me, even in the smallest size. The garter vest should be the easiest to adjust.
Tomatoe from No Sheep For You. I've just ordered the specified yarn (only one shop in Australia sells it) and all I can say is, at more than $80 for a t-shirt it better be good! I've made a few cotton summer tops before, but they're all sleeveless. I might lengthen the sleeves on this, actually. Tomatoe will also be the first pattern I've knit top down instead of converting one myself. I'm going to leave off the herringbone stripe. I'm not overly keen on it, and at over $14 a ball, I'm not buying an extra one in another colour just for a stripe that doesn't thrill me.
Diagonal Stitch Cardigan from Textured Knits. It's the pattern I bought the book for. (It's another one of those pattern books where the best pattern is on the cover and the rest are so-so, but hey, it was in a bargain bin.) I've also ordered the yarn for this, mainly because I found it really cheap on eBay! I'm not confident about substituting cotton yarns because there are so many ways manufacturers can 'construct' cotton to counteract the lack of elasticity. I found only one example of this knitted up by a blogger, and it was in wool, but it still looked good.
Ribbed Wrap Cardigan from Contemporary Knitting. Again, the pattern I bought the book for. I'd say there's a 99% chance I'll substitute the yarn - probably with Bendy Rustic.
Sweetheart from Domiknitrix. I may change my mind on this, because there's a vest in this book that I really like as well. Or I might knit it before the ribbed cardy, because I already have enough Bendigo Classic to make it. Oh, and I'll probably overstitch the bow graphic on. And maybe use a different graphic. Because, really, it's the shape of this jumper I love.
Snapping Turtle Skirt from Knitting Nature. I'm leaving this to last because, though it's my favourite pattern in the book, I may change my mind. Or chicken out. And if I knit it in Bendigo Rustic as I'm planning to, it'll be VERY warm to knit.
So there they are. Six projects for my Knit From Your Books challenge. I've blogged about them, so I'm well and truly dedicated to the challenge now. I was going to wait until the sock challenge was done, but my hands are telling me I need something larger than sock yarn and needles to work with to ease the strain.
Hmm, and I guess I better come up with a button for the sidebar.
But then I keep finding myself going through the books, considering - no choosing - patterns to knit. And then googling the patterns and noting substitute yarns. And then googling the yarns to find the best price. And then ordering yarn.
When I put my list of patterns on the sidebar, I knew I was doomed. I'm just going to have to start this. Who knows, maybe I'll finish?
So here are my rules:
1. I must knit one pattern from each of the books I've bought but never knit a pattern from.
1.a. However, if I have more than one book by the same designer, I can consider all those books as a single 'book'.
1.b. Stitch dictionaries and how-to books are exempt. So are non-knitting books or sub-categories of knitting (like knitting with wire).
2. I can take as long as I need.
3. I can change my mind on which pattern to knit.
4. I can adjust patterns as much as I want.
5. I can knit other projects between patterns.
6. I am not allowed to buy any books of this kind until all projects have been completed.
6. However, I am allowed to receive gifts of books of this kind.
Being a compulsive planner, I've not only chosen which pattern I'm going to knit from each book, but which order I'm knitting them in (anticipating a hot summer ahead).
Here are the books:
Jo Sharp's Contemporary Knitting will be the 'representative' book of the three I have. Then there's No Sheep For You, Domiknitrix, Knitting Nature, Textured Knits and Folk Vests.
Here are the patterns:
Simply Garter Vest from Folk Vests. Probably the simplest vest in the book, but I have two reasons for choosing it over a fancier vest: I reckon that the camel yarn I dyed recently would be perfect for this; and nearly all of the patterns in this book are much too big for me, even in the smallest size. The garter vest should be the easiest to adjust.
Tomatoe from No Sheep For You. I've just ordered the specified yarn (only one shop in Australia sells it) and all I can say is, at more than $80 for a t-shirt it better be good! I've made a few cotton summer tops before, but they're all sleeveless. I might lengthen the sleeves on this, actually. Tomatoe will also be the first pattern I've knit top down instead of converting one myself. I'm going to leave off the herringbone stripe. I'm not overly keen on it, and at over $14 a ball, I'm not buying an extra one in another colour just for a stripe that doesn't thrill me.
Diagonal Stitch Cardigan from Textured Knits. It's the pattern I bought the book for. (It's another one of those pattern books where the best pattern is on the cover and the rest are so-so, but hey, it was in a bargain bin.) I've also ordered the yarn for this, mainly because I found it really cheap on eBay! I'm not confident about substituting cotton yarns because there are so many ways manufacturers can 'construct' cotton to counteract the lack of elasticity. I found only one example of this knitted up by a blogger, and it was in wool, but it still looked good.
Ribbed Wrap Cardigan from Contemporary Knitting. Again, the pattern I bought the book for. I'd say there's a 99% chance I'll substitute the yarn - probably with Bendy Rustic.
Sweetheart from Domiknitrix. I may change my mind on this, because there's a vest in this book that I really like as well. Or I might knit it before the ribbed cardy, because I already have enough Bendigo Classic to make it. Oh, and I'll probably overstitch the bow graphic on. And maybe use a different graphic. Because, really, it's the shape of this jumper I love.
Snapping Turtle Skirt from Knitting Nature. I'm leaving this to last because, though it's my favourite pattern in the book, I may change my mind. Or chicken out. And if I knit it in Bendigo Rustic as I'm planning to, it'll be VERY warm to knit.
So there they are. Six projects for my Knit From Your Books challenge. I've blogged about them, so I'm well and truly dedicated to the challenge now. I was going to wait until the sock challenge was done, but my hands are telling me I need something larger than sock yarn and needles to work with to ease the strain.
Hmm, and I guess I better come up with a button for the sidebar.
posted by chocolatetrudi | 9:00 AM
8 Comments:
What an excellent project idea!! I really like the ribbed ribbon knit. The Tomato too, though I don't think I can come at $14 a ball!! That's rather a lot for a top's stripe!!!
A great idea and I love the patterns you've chosen - I've always wanted to make that Jo Sharp ribbed cardigan too.
You're a brave woman, and a disciplined one. Cheering from here.
that's inspiring - Knit from your book stash!
Be careful with the Jo Sharp - check out the errata on her site because there's a yarn mistake.
And have you seen the Tomato adaptations on the Knitting Daily website? She shows some interesting variations.
hello! i'm delurking to tell you that i just started the snapping turtle skirt yesterday, after gazing at it longingly all year. i struggled w/ substitutions for a long time, and eventually decided to use the called for suede. Are you on ravelry yet? there's alittle thread going there in the norah gaughan fan group
2paw - it is A$14, which I think is about US$11.50. I found plenty of US shop sites as low as US8.50, but unfortunately the postage to Ausralia made up for the saving.
Kate - thanks for the warning on the cardy! I have looked at the No Sheep For You site and seen lots of Tomatoe variations, which actually look better than the shot in the book. I noted all the yarn substitutions, but couldn't get any of them in Australia and if I ordered from the US... yep, postage meant I may as well buy the specified yarn.
nada - good luck with the skirt! I'm still in the Ravelry queue, but I reckon I should get my invite around the beginning of October.
Love the choices. You are the third person in 2 days to blog about hand/wrist strain. I've just done an entry on it with a link to 'warm up' exercises.
I really really like this idea. Perhaps I could do it too. I have so many knitting books that I have marked with sticky notes, planning to one day knit this or that pattern. But then somehow I move on to another book, and the projects rarely come to fruition. In fact, tonight I ordered a few more on Amazon! Perhaps knitting one pattern from each book would be enough to assuage the guilt of buying another one :-)
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