Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 7

At the end of Part 6, I had completed the body stripes and was ready to begin the body hem, with 11g of Brown Skein #5 remaining.

The 11g took me thru row 12 of the hem and I started Brown Skein #6.

I have decided not to finish the body out with black since the bind-off for the Collar/Button Band is a different technique and I think it will look weird.

That being said, I have also decided to TINK back the hem and re-knit it with the next size smaller needles, per the recommendation in the pattern.

I just think that the hem should be a slightly stiffer fabric... and now I know why this is often recommended.  :-)

The good news here, it that the over-all length is good.

Skein duration:

• #1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5wks 3days
• #2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2wks 6days
• #3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 week
• #4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1wk 5days
• #5 (1/18/25 - 2/5/25) - 2wks 4days - 14 g remain

• Green (2/5/25 - 2/6/25) - 2days - 22 g remain (begin body stripes)
• Orange (2/6/25 - 2/8/25) - 3days - 23g remain
• #5 (2/8/25 - 2/9/25) - 2days - 11 g remain
• Orange (2/9/25) - 1day - 18 g remain
• Green (2/10/25 - 2/14/25) - 5days - 17 g remain (complete body stripes)

• #5 (2/14/25 - 2/20/25) - 6days (begin hem)
• #6 (2/20/25 - 2/25/25) - 5days - 20g remain (complete hem, bind off pending)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 6

At the end of Part #5, I was planning to make one more row of brown and then begin the stripes as written on the right side of the fabric.

Upon beginning the stripes, I have 14 g of Brown Skein #5 remaining.

The body stripes are now complete and I have 11g of Brown Skein #5 remaining.  

I suspect that the remaining Green and Orange Skeins will be enough to complete the arm stripes.

Next up is the body hem.

Skein duration:

• #1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5wks 3days
• #2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2wks 6days
• #3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 week
• #4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1wk 5days
• #5 (1/18/25 - 2/5/25) - 2wks 4days - 14 g remain
• 
  
• Green (2/5/25 - 2/6/25) - 2days - 22 g remain (begin body stripes)
• Orange (2/6/25 - 2/8/25) - 3days - 23g remain
• #5 (2/8/25 - 2/9/25) - 2days - 11 g remain
• Orange (2/9/25) - 1day - 18 g remain
• Green (2/10/25 - 2/14/25) - 5days - 17 g remain (complete body stripes)

I'm getting pretty excited about this sweater.  :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 5

As I begin this post, I am embarking upon Skein #5 of Brown yarn.... and have 5 more remaining.

The baseline pattern says to begin the stripes at 5-inches before the end.  My goal length is 14-inches from the armpit, and am currently at 7-inches.  So I need to check and confirm the body length at 9 inches or about half-way thru this skein or ~13 rows.

I expect to need a bit more than one skein for the collar/button band.  The body hem will be about half of one skein.  Which leaves ~3 skeins for the sleeves... so I continue to feel ok about the amount of yarn I have.

As of this morning, (2/5/25) I am 11 rows into Brown Skein #5.  I have begin the hip increases and am getting close to my goal of 9-inches from the armpit.  So I decided to try the sweater on and feel very good about where I am.

I will complete one more row of brown, so I can begin the stripes on the right side of the fabric and then begins the stripes as written.

Skein duration:

• #1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5wks 3days
• #2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2wks 6days
• #3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 week
• #4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1wk 5days
• #5 (1/18/25 - TBD)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 4

As of last time (January 6, 2025) I had just completed skein #3.

My estimates for yarn needs for the rest of the body at that time was:

• Each row is taking a bit less than 1g
• Each Skein = 25g
• 18 rows = 3.5 inches of length
• Length goal = 14 inches from Armpit
• ~3 more skeins to complete the body

Now, at the completion of Skein #4, my estimates are holding pretty close.  Skein #4 added 4 inches and 26 rows to the length to the body.

The length from the armpit is currently 7-inches and the goal is 14-inches.  Meaning two full-skeins are required to finish out the body length.

At this point, I'm still waffling on whether to have stripes accentuating my hips.  lol.  So I am considering finishing out the body in the brown yarn and increase the striping on the arms.

In both cases, I am hoping to finish out in brown and trim in black.  The black I had for other reasons and was not part of the initial color plan for this sweater.

   

Apologies for the shadows in these photos.... but even with looking at the color order side-by-side on my bigger screen it's clear there isn't much value difference between these colors, so the stripes should only offer interest and not accentuate.  Which has me feeling better about including the stripes on the body.

And for the last several weeks, this has been my only project since ~Christmas (12/22/24)...  For example, Skein #3 only took 1 week to consume (12/30-1/6).... Yes, these are small skeins at 25g, but still... that's a pretty good clip for me.  :-)

Skein duration:

• #1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5wks 3days
• #2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2wks 6days
• #3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 week
• #4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1wk 5days

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 3

At the end of December (27th) last time, I had just completed Skein #2 and was 4 rows away from dividing out the sleeves.

On News Year's Eve Eve, I completed the divide out...

Now, at the end of Skein #3, I'm feeling a little better about how much main color yarn I have...

• Each row is taking a bit less than 1g
• 18 rows = 3.5 inches of length
• Length goal = 14 inches from Armpit

So I'm feeling that I need ~3 more skeins to complete the body of this sweater.  Which means I'm feeling much better about how much of this yarn I have available.

I'm continuing to toy around with how/when to apply the other colored stripes.

I love that it's starting to look like it will be a sweater one day.  :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 2

Since mid-December (12/8/24), I've finished the first skein of yarn 

I'm putting these photos here so I can remember about how much one skein makes... I am in to the Sleeve and V-Neck increases here.

I also added a short thread marker to make it easier to see the end of each skein.

Even though my habit is to buy one more skein than I think I need, I am feeling insecure in the amount of brown yarn that I have available... I have a couple of ideas on how to use the other colors in the stripes, in order to conserve the brown.... and also possibly doing the button band and collar before starting the sleeves.  We shall see how I'm feeling after a few more skeins.

While working with the second skein... I have completed with the Sleeve and V-Neck increases and am nearly complete with the body increases.

I have 4 rows to go before I divide out the sleeves.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Oak Beanie, part 2

 At last post, I had just returned with a second skein of this pretty pinky-purple, super bulky yarn that was miraculously the same dye lot as the first skein...

At the half-way point... 24 of 48 rounds complete, I have 106 g of 200g in the first skein remaining.  I may not need the second skein, but as I said last time, it's going to be close.

The hat is currently 5.5 inches tall (12/19/24)

It's always interesting how the color changes when the light changes... the first photo is more purple and the second photo looks a bit orange.

I completed the hat with 25g remaining in the first skein.

I forgot how the cables tighten up the fabric.... so this may have to be remade, but for now, it is complete.

I also added a cute rabbit pom-pom...

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Bee Kit Amigurumi

If you know me, you know I'm not a fan of kits.

A lot of people like kits... and I understand why they do.  But as an engineer, I feel that kits remove the most fun part of any project.... figuring it out.  :-)

Anyway, I've been casually looking for a Bee Amigurumi pattern for a while and not finding quite what I wanted.... but I hadn't yet progressed to the point of figuring it out for myself.

Then a few weeks ago, I was showing a friend who's new to town the craft store options we have locally.... this included stopping into one of the big box stores... and we happened to see and endcap with come cute Amigurumi kits.

This bee is one of the cutest I've seen... and while the yarn is acrylic and so much of this kit is in opposition of my goals and priorities... but it does meet my need to learn a new skill.  So I spent the $10 and brought it home.

This is a gift for Hubba who desperately wants a Busy Bee, but apparently no one actually makes one.

You can see the actual Busy Bee in an earlier scene, but I have not been able to find a clip.

Here's the finished project....

My stitching skills leave a lot to be desired, but I think the point is being made.  lol

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!