Knitting Adventures: Top by Initiative Handarbeit

23. July 2023 ~ Sandra Schütz ~ 3 Comments

My summer knitting craze started with this top and it hasn´t stopped yet. At the moment i´m knitting summer top after summer top. I have lots of fun right now. Sadly my plans for a year of socks didn´t quite “knit” out. I have a few in the making and in the planning, but they are not a priority right now.

And it is weird, that i didn´t stop after this top, because i made a lot of mistakes (rookie-mistakes…although i still consider myself a beginner). Or the yarn was cursed…who knows.

The pattern was this free pattern from Initiative Handarbeit with the simple name Top. (https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/top-21)

Notice on the picture it looks much more casual and bigger.

I only had one yarn in sports weight in my stash. This was a yarn i had for at least 15 years. I started (and finished) some projects with it, but i never kept the finished objects or i frogged the started ones. It never felt right, it didn´t really felt right with this top either. But i wanted to make a top (and i wanted to take part in the MAL by “A Visit with Nana and Papa” -> https://www.ravelry.com/groups/visit-with-nana-and-papa?s=tab). So this yarn was it.

I wanted it to look casual, so i made the larger of the two sizes 40/42 (at first). I don´t know what happened with my brain while reading the instructions. I completely misunderstood the increasing and the decreasing. I think i was confused because i couldn´t determine, if the pattern was counting the WS-Rows and the RS-Rows as one row (yes some do that) or as seperate rows. I decided to go for the first option…after a while – well i was nearly at the waist – i noticed that it was option number two (because suddenly i was able to count properly). So i hastily made something up and continued (would i have frogged this project, i wouldn´t have started it again). My second big mistake happened at the straps…apparently i miscalculated the rows or the stitches…i don´t know anymore. But i finished it.

As i looked at the back piece, i also noticed that this looke quite small, but not too small that (wait 3rd big mistake incoming) i thought:”Well, then i could knit a size smaller as well”…. I know, you are probably asking yourself: “what was she thinking?” And i have to answer: “I have no effing idea.”

So the front piece went pretty smoothly (because i followed the instructions…ha!). I stitched everything together and was surprised that it fitted…quite good actually. Not casual as i wanted it, it fitted like a glove.

It is a bit on the short side, but guess what, i forgot to add my usual 3-4 cm of length, but i raised the neckline about 2cm (it is still a bit low). That only mistake that is still “visible” are the back straps, they are so short that they pull back the front straps. I think i can live with that.

And i even won the first MAL-Prize! YAY. The prize was a paid-for pattern, which was then my next summer top.
I still have some leftover yarn. I can´t really tell you how much i used up, because i didn´t weigh it before. And “one” ball was the leftovers of a project.

All in all, i do like the top. It is my colour, it fits well and it is good to wear. I´m happy about it, but i´m happier that this yarn i as good as gone.

Thank you for reading, till next time!

Knitting Adventures: Lady’s Jumper by The Argus

2. July 2023 ~ Sandra Schütz ~ 2 Comments

For a long time i wanted to try my hand at some vintage knitting patterns. I´m telling you, there are soo many amazing patterns out there…and i want to make them all. But when reading blogs or watching vlogs from knitters who “specialise” in vintage knitwear, i always got the impression, that old patterns are hard(er) to understand than modern ones and that most time the wool used (even if the gauge is given) is not comparable to the wool we have today, (which is true) and that influents the fit. So for my first pattern i was looking for something very simple.

And i found the Lady´s Jumper by The Argus on Ravelry. I had some wool in the stash, which seemed to fit. (“Seemed” because i got gauge, but the jumper still ended up a bit different then it should. And i think it is mostly because of the yarn..). I used Wollbutt “Asta” from Buttinette (a german online store), which i got very “budget-friendly” during Sale. 100g have 250 meters and i used about 3,6 balls of yarn. I have to admit, the colour isn´t exactly my favourite colour, but it is not bad either. It is 100% Acrylic, but very soft and very good to knit with. I had no problems except the first ball had two knots in it and another ball had also one knot. It is unfortunate, but sometimes inenvitable.
I used straight needles 3,5 mm and 4mm.

I started on January 31, 2023 and finished it on June 7,2023. Mostly because that pattern (mostly knit and purl) was nice at the beginning, but the more i knitted the more boring it became.

There is no ribbing or something (because actually everything is ribbing), but you start with the smaller needles and once you are at the waist, you change to the larger needles for some inches, than go back to the smaller ones. The only “alteration” i made was to lengthen the body (because i know that i have a long torso ), but it is still a little bit on the shorter side. The Back piece is the same as the Front piece and there are also two sleeves.

The sleeves have a very flat ending at the shoulder, because the pattern says you should add some shoulder pads. Well, my sleeve cap fits perfectly, there is absolutely no place for shoulder pads in there. For my taste the armhole is a bit narrow, but i can raise my arms without any problems, so i´m fine with it.

After finishing all pieces i sewed them together and crocheted one round around the neckhole. Again pattern says twice, but that was a bit too close to my neck. I crocheted two buttonholes (one on each side) and added some buttons. Pattern says two on each side, but i didn´t (i actually don´t know why).

Stretched out (aka worn) it looks really good.

The jumper still ends a bit above my hips, but that is no problem, i just wear it with my high waist trousers and skirts..
It fits perfectly a.k.a very snug. All in all it was an experiment, and if i can say so myself, a successful one as well.

I can´t wait to knit another vintage pattern…

Did you ever knitted a vintage pattern? How was your experience with it? Yay or Nay?
Well, thank you for reading. Till next time!

Oh gosh…it is already Mid-June

17. June 2023 ~ Sandra Schütz ~ Leave a comment

May and June are the busiest months in the year. There are so many alterations, especially Dirndls/Traditional Clothing, because there are so many public holidays in Austria that month. Contemporaneous we have many birthdays in the family in June and July, apparently we are a lot of summer children (the other month that has many birthday is february, weirdly).

But i was able to finish (and start) some projects.

I finished my Lady´s Jumper i have written about last time. It is finally done and it fits! It was quite a boring knit, but in the end everything fits quite nicely (and snug). I will write up a separate blog post about it.
I had some left-over yarn from that project, so i started a summer top (Brenda by Berroco Design Team). This is a very fast knit, and i have nearly finished it already.

I also finished the other summer top i mentioned. And oh boy, i did make a lot of mistakes with that. But everything turned out great and it looks nice. This is another post that will come up.

Socks! Let´s talk about socks. I have finished one(!) sock, i had planned to gift my mother on mothers day…
At least that one fits her perfectly, so i can make the second one. All other socks i had planned are on hold till i have some more time and motivation.

I have finished and started some new bags (still working on the sewing pattern). And i need to cut out a skirt and a top pattern i drafted.
But first i need to finish two dresses for a customer….i definitely need more working hours in a day, 24h are not enough.

How was your May? Busy as well or do you have less holidays in that month? Probably, because most holidays here are religious ones.

Thanks for reading. Till next time!

Short Mid-April Update

16. April 2023 ~ Sandra Schütz ~ 2 Comments

Normally i am a monogamous knitter, one project at a time is enough for me, but apparently the last few weeks i caught a very serious case of cast-on-iteritis. (Weirdly enough, sewing is still second place with many bags cut out and ready to sew.)

What i´m knitting on?

The first project i´m knitting on and off is the Lady´s Jumper (Ravelry Link). It is a vintage pattern from 1947. I started it on January 31 and i´m nearly finished. I ´m on the second sleeve and it is quite a simple (a bit boring) pattern, just purl and knit stitches.

This is the beginning of the back. The front is the same. It is suuper stretchy.

My March socks are still not finished. I´m at the heel of sock Nr.1, which is ridiculously slow for me, but i can´t get warm with this pattern (i will finish it because it looks amazing.) It is the Spider Socks by Terry Knight (Ravelry Link).

I will start this months pair of socks tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I need to finish them till Mother´s day.
This time it is an easy and fast pattern (hopefully) the Diagonally Purled Socks by Laura Vitale. (Ravelry Link)

On Friday, April 14, i started Top by Initiative Handarbeit (Ravelry Link), which is a nice, simple summer top. I´m using one of my oldest yarns i have. The yarn is at least 15 years old…and the projects i started with it have all been frogged. Hopefully this time it will be a success.

Yesterday i started and finished a little toy for my cat. I had some leftover yarn from the jumper i knitted my mother for christmas (and i still have leftovers), and a little bell from those chocolate bunnies from Lindt. The pattern is the Knitted Bouncy Door Hanger Cat Toy by Sheila Ralston (Ravelry Link). My cat loves her new toy.

My hands are still itching to cast-on some other projects, like some Tops and T-shirts and a vest…I have to knit faster!

What are you working on at the moment? Are you a monogamous Knitter or do you have a dozend projects in the making?

Thanks for reading, till next time – hopefully with something finished.

Knitting Project and Notion Bags…and sewing plans

26. March 2023 ~ Sandra Schütz ~ 2 Comments

I looked at my last blog posts and they were all about knitting, which is weird because i´m mainly a sewist. Well it is just that knitting, at the moment (for the last year or two), really calmed me down. But this blog is actually about sewing!
I´m working on sewing patterns, yes…but i´m in a kind of rut. I have plans and i am still making some projects, but most of the time i don´t want to take pictures of them or they take weirdly a long, long time to finish.

The last few months i made some Knitting Project and Notion Bags, which are available in my Etsy store. https://www.etsy.com/de/shop/SewingforyourLife
I´m planning on making some Patterns/Tutorials as an E-Book about them. And someday i will finish those E-Books and get them online.

For the beginning, i have two kinds of bags. One i call semicircle bag and the other is a zipper pouch. Both come in different sizes, but not always in the same fabric, because i make my bags from upcycled material. There is so much fabric in Second Hand Stores or even leftovers when i alter curtains or other things for customers, if i wouldn´t make something useful out of it, it would be thrown away. And i think that is an absolut waste of fabric. I somethimes even use clothes like jeans or other materials.