The 2001 Cobblestone Sweater

Superbowl Sunday ended up being rainy and cold - a rare wonder in Southern California. It was ideal for wearing a new wooly sweater, but not so ideal for getting Mr. Hipp to go outside for a photo shoot. Indoor lighting and a flash will have to suffice for the time being.

So what does a man do in his first hand-knit sweater? Well, I can show you.

He finishes his homework...

...watches some football...

...finds enlightenment...

...and promotes world peace.

You know, the usual stuff.

I got him to wear it again for a mini modeling shot tonight. He's trying so hard to look serious. :)

Project Specifications
Pattern: The brilliant Cobblestone (Ravelry link) by brooklyntweed (AKA Jared Flood) from Interweave Knits Fall 2007
Size: 43" chest circumference
Yarn: Reynolds Lopi
Needles: US10.5 KnitPicks Options 40" circular to start the sleeves (magic loop), do the the body, and the yoke. US10.5 Clover bamboo 16" circular to do the rest of the sleeves (SO much faster than magic loop or DPNs) and finish the yoke.
Modifications: Adjusted stitch counts to accommodate the bulky yarn. Made sleeves 20" instead of 19" because Mr. Hipp has a high ape index. Left out last short row at the neck because it didn't need it.
What I learned: I tried a new increase method on the sleeves and LOVE how it turned out. It's totally invisible. Also, Lolly's moisturizing conditioner wash suggestions worked like a dream - the sweater is much softer and smells terrific!

On a health note, I am feeling back up to 90% and the knitting mojo is back on! What did I cast on this weekend? You'll have to wait until the next post to see...

2001 Revived and Holiday Crafting Wrap Up

The Christmas handmade crafts are (finally) over. Thanks goodness. It was a lot of fun to commit to handmade for the holidays, but boy oh boy, it was a lot of work. I didn't get to everything on my list, but I am very happy with the things I did get finished.

After all that, I don't have any photos of the recipients with their gifts. Bleh, always a day late and a dollar short in this house.

Dear family - please snap a photo of you and your hand made gift and send the pics to me. Pretty please? I'll crop your face out if you don't want it to be on the blog. Thanks!

I can at least share a run down of what I worked on:
* Foliage for my brother, made with DELICIOUS Malabrigo merino worsted in Azul Profundo (my Ravelry page on this project)
* Thuja socks for my dad, made with Colinette Cadenza (a new find and I love it!)
* My So Called Scarf for my step-mom, made with recycled yarn from a sweater she gave me that never quite fit (her or me) right
* Embroidered felt ornaments for my mother-in-law and father-in-law, made from some of this felt

I did get a quick photo of Mr. Hipp wearing my brother's Foliage before it was gifted. He liked it so much, he asked for a Koolhaas out of the same yarn, but we'll see what happens with that. Mr. Hipp is a patient man. He can be patient a little longer.

I knew I couldn't hand make something for everyone on my list, so I turned to Etsy. This amazing motorcycle passport holder went to one (future) sister-in-law and this cute owl tote went to the other sister-in-law. Etsy is freaking great. I am so going to use it again next Christmas.

My poor mom is still waiting on her Guilt Socks and some newly requested fingerless mitts (perhaps a solid color version of these?). She even bought me the Cascade 200 over Thanksgiving for the mitts. *Sigh* I just couldn't get the mojo going for these projects. She ended up with not one hand made gift this Christmas. Bad Mrs. Hipp. Mom - your birthday is coming up so don't despair!

In the meantime, I have been distracting myself from my responsibilities (knitterly and otherwise) with a different project for Mr. Hipp.

A bulky version of Cobblestone (Ravelry link) by brooklyntweed (aka Jared Flood). Does this yarn look familiar? It's the Reynolds Lopi I bought seven years ago to make a sweater for Mr. Hipp. That sad thing was frogged earlier this year and is now bring revived into a Cobblestone. Let's hope its second incarnation is a happier one.

Happy 2008 everyone!

Kick in the Pants

Lolly Knitting Around posted recently about biting the bullet and finishing a sweater that has been "in progress" since last year.

Oh, if I had a nickel for every unfinished project in my bins...I would have tons of money to buy more yarn! (But not until 2008, of course.)

The winner for longest-wallowing-project is a sweater I started for Mr. Hipp before we were married. Actually, I started it before we were even engaged. Does anyone else have an unfinished project from 2001?


Yeah, six years. Pretty embarrassing. All it needs is a front, some seaming, and a neckband. For some unexplained reason, I just lost interest in the project. Maybe I was subconsciously worried about the sweater curse? Presumably not an issue now that we are married, so I guess I need to get my butt in gear and just finish the darn thing.

Also in the wallowing pool is a modified version of the Ram's Horn Jacket from Knitting Nature. I saw that I was running low on yarn, so I shortened the sleeves from full-length the three-quarters in hopes of having enough left over for the fabulous ram's horn collar, which is kind of the whole point of the jacket. The sleeves, fronts, and back are done, and I've started seaming it together.


I still have to knit the bands for the front edges of the cardigan and the collar. I am still worried that I don't have enough yarn for the collar. Putting the project aside for a while seemed easier than doing the math to know if I really don't have enough yarn or searching the internet for more yarn. My gosh, how lazy can I be!

I am going to take Lolly's example as inspiration and return these two projects to the "active" pile. I need more freaking finished objects to show you!