On the heels of the Super Bowl a knitting story in the Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/super-scarves-program-outfits-super-bowl-volunteers-with-scarves-to-keep-them-warm-visible/2012/01/23/gIQASHGTLQ_story.html Volunteers by the thousands are have united worldwide to knit Super Bowl scarves for the volunteers who will working at the game. I Iove this story! People with a passion for sports can also be interested in knitting. I was thinking of past Super Bowl games in Phoenix, San Diego and other warmer cities. Guess the folks helping out in Indianapolis where winter is just a tad “chilly.” The big game is on February 5th so there still time to pick up those needles and knit a Super Bowl Scarf! I’ve posted a beginners video below.

 Yes, I’m a big fan of knitting from the top down. I’ve knit cardigans the old fashioned way and never really enjoyed them until I found my first top down knitting pattern a couple years ago. I think the reason I like this form of knitting are some of the same reasons I enjoy sock knitting.

#1. When finished there are no panels or pieces that need to be sewn together.

#2. As you knit the construction of the garment becomes very apparent. Because the garment begins at the top the neckline is the first part to appear. Then the shoulders take formation and it’s clear where the arm holes are and where the sleeves will go.

#3. I knit socks on circular needles and also love top down because it requires circular needles. Circulars seem so much easier to manage in my hands.

#4. I probably wade in to deep water by attempting sweaters. Knitting one panel at a time I have problems making sure that all the pieces are worked evenly. No problem with that when knitting the entire garment at the same time!

Here’s the cardigan I knitted during the fall of 2010

Here’s the dilemma. I started knitting my BSC sweater vest a couple years ago. In the past couple of years I’ve taken up new Paleo eating habits (why wait for New Years!) and got involved in Crossfit. While I haven’t whittled away to a size 2, my clothes fit differently and when I finally, finally, finally finish this vest it probably be so baggy I’ll have to belt it to wear it. So is this something I wear as a new fashion trend? What would you do? What have you done when your sweater size changes before you can finish knitting?

I’m tackling some slow knitting. You gotta wonder how the pattern I’m knitting could possibly be so slow. It’s a little vest in a book called “Knitting Little Luxuries” by Louisa Harding. I received the book as a gift a few Christmases ago. Every pattern is absolutely gorgeous and the photos are staged in kind of a old-timey, Victorian, very sweet and very feminine look. There’s kind of 1980′s Laura Ashley feel to the patterns.

I picked out a sweater vest that looks pretty simple in construction (just two panels sewn together and it looked a little challenging in the cable pattern that travels up the garment in kind of a diagonal swag.

One of the first problem I was confronted with when I started the pattern was keeping count of rows and where I was in the pattern chart (that’s why there’s sticky-back notes keeping count on the pages!). The final solution is to write down in two columns the chart row and the corresponding pattern row. As I finish a row, I simply cross if off the sheet. It’s saving my book from ugly notes and saving my sanity.

My next problem was keeping hold of the smallish (size 7) needles. I started off with two straight needles and found them really  unwieldy. I’ve grown very accustomed to knitting with circular needles and have found it easy to build up speed with them. So, I gave up the straight needles form a metal circular and started feeling more confident in this pattern.

And yet another issue I’m facing is that it’s really slow to purl a row after a knit row. I recently read a comment by Cat Bordhi — people tend to knit tighter than they purl. I never knew that. Who’s been keeping that a secret?! It certainly explains why it’s harder to get the needle in to purl on the back of a knit row!

 I don’t want anyone to think that all I do is complain about how slow one sweater pattern can go. I love knitting socks and my favorite sock pattern to knit is one of Cat Bordhi’s patterns made with self-patterning yarn.

I’ve experimented knitting socks with other patterns to break up the boredom and to get challenged with a new technique or a new stitch, but I keep coming back to this basic k2, p2 rib pattern. I love it because when it’s done right it’s soooooo stretch and resilient– I mean you can stretch it out and then it bounces back into shape. That makes a sock feel snug when it’s on your foot (no drooping ankles!), yet not so tight that it feels like one of those store-bought socks with elastic in the legs.

I’ve had this skein of Opal yarn for a few years. The label fell off long ago, so sorry that I can’t share the color name. Opal is a German brand, so I doubt that I could read the label anyway! Every time I looked at this skein of yarn I dreamed of making something out of it. I don’t know why I didn’t. I started this pair of socks over the New Year’s 2012 Weekend and have  only worked on them while having to sit and wait places. They really are moving along fast and I won’t ever label this pattern a BSC (big, slow, and complicated) ordeal.