The Sweatshop of Lovers Blog

I finished up my second DinoSweater so I’ve got July in the bag!

Other Knit a Sweater a Month Challengers are on the ball as well:

Off the Shoulder Cabled Sweater

Cindy at A Sparkle A Day not only wrote a lovely guest post for me last week, but she also finished this beautiful sweater! She says it is too sexy to wear to work, and that she wants to tighten up the top ribbing, but those cables are top notch and so pretty! I love the texture in this sweater and she better post some pictures of her wearing this sweater soon!

Mulberry Grid

Lin knit this scandalous cardigan (put a shirt on, lady! That cardi is SEE THROUGH!) in a beautiful checkered stitch pattern. The Mulberry Grid sweater, which doesn’t have a picture on the rav page, but if you click on on the link you can see the picture that was in the magazine. I’m loving this sweater in gray! It gives it a much more modern look.

Egret Pattern

Amy finished this stunning cardigan. I’ve never seen this sweater before, but Egret is so unique that I did a lot of searching around and ravelry studying when I saw Amy’s FO.  You can’t quite see what is going on in the sweater in Amy’s picture, but by clicking on the pattern page you can see that it’s a cardigan with a diagonal ruffle closure! I’ve never seen anything like it!

Scallop Edge Dress

Ksana knit this lovely little Scallop Edge baby dress that makes me wish my new nephew Nolan was a little girl! How cute is this dress?! You are looking at the back of the dress, so it buttons in the back, which adds a little surprise bling bling that every baby girl is looking for. I’m going to keep this dress in mind for the next baby girl that pops up in my life. Those strawberry buttons are a lovely touch!

Box 96 Pullover

Kathy finished up this really beautiful summer sweater from Interweave Knits Summer 2010 issue. It’s Box 96 Pullover, from the cover of the magazine, and a sweater I didn’t look twice at because of the magazine’s terrible styling of it. Over a billowy white collared button up? Come on. Kathy saw the design for the summer sweater it is and helped me see how cute it is, too!

Lets keep this up, y’all!

May is moving right along and I haven’t started my May sweater yet. I got super nervous about starting the Lace Tunic after reading all the comments from knitters who dove into this project and were having huge problems. They froze me! I was thinking of finding another sweater to start, then I thought about just doing it anyway and seeing what happened, and now it’s May 11th.

Have you ever fallen in love with a pattern then got nervous because other knitters were having problems with the pattern? I’ve got to commit or find something else really soon!

In the mean time I’ll be content to gawk at the lovely sweaters finished up this week by fearless knitters undaunted by a few negative comments!

Featherweight Cardigan

I’m so surprised that this is our first finished Featherweight Cardigan since this pattern is so popular! Vicki knit this beautiful sweater up for a wedding May 8th and got it done just in the nick of time. I love the scalloped edges she did in blocking. It makes it look just a little more fancy. That yarn is heavenly!

Vine Yoke Cardigan

Andrea finished up the very popular Vine Yoke Cardigan! And again I’m surprised this is our fist Vine Yoke because I see this sweater everywhere. You can see why! It’s stunning, and very lovely with the slight and subtle variegation in the yarn.  And how cute are those wooden buttons?! Love it! Great job, Andrea.

Tappan Zee... Cardigan?

Vicki is one of the first knitters to finish up the Tappan Zee Cardigan from the latest Spring issue of Knitty. So clearly she did a lot of mods! It’s not a cardigan anymore, for one. And she changed it to a heavier sweater. The original is lace weight yarn for summer. That yoke is so stunning that it could be on any sweater! Great mods and beautiful FO!

3timesChic

Kris almost let her hatred of seaming delay finishing her 3timesChic sweater forever, but luckily she sucked it up and finished this fun sweater up in time for Mother’s Day. The yarn jazzes up a simple design and makes this sweater really stand out! Click over to her blog for the adorable story behind the picture.

Kaleidoscope

Gloria got a head start on June with this classic little summer cardigan Kaleidoscope. I get asked often how to use eyelash yarn in a way that won’t make you look like a Muppet, and I think Gloria hit the nail on the head with a strand here and there of some similar colored eyelash yarn striping at the sleeves and yoke. And I don’t know how I typed all those sentences without going OMG LADYBUG BUTTONS OMGOMGOMG!!!! Such a nice touch!

And there you have it! A slew of FOs to love. I better get cracking to keep up!

I’m starting to see a pattern! The middle of the month is SLOW for the Knit a Sweater a Month Challenge.

Here we are in the third week of April and we’ve only got two finished sweaters! I’m glad I could add mine to the mix, the very small mix:

Cabled Pullover

Cindy at A Sparkle a Day finished this beautiful cabled pullover sweater! She stalled a bit while knitting those sleeves but the finished product is well worth it. Great job Cindy! I knew you could do it!

Neck Down Scoop Neck TShirt

Lin (rav) knit this fun summer tshirt, Neck Down Scoop Neck TShirt, and it’s a perfect example of a summer knit! I’m asked all the time what knitters do in the summer time and I always say it’s easier to find fun hand knit summer tops than it is to find winter sweaters. Thanks for the perfect example, Lin!

There are 10 days left in April to finish up those sweaters! I want a whole bunch of sweaters to highlight next week so everybody get crackin’!

Last week I shared with y’all my hopes for a sweater pattern I was writing.

EPIC. FAIL.

But more about that later.

Baby Sweater Buffet

Who would want to talk about an epic fail when you could instead talk about this adorable baby sweater? It’s phase one of a pattern I’m working on called Baby Sweater Buffet. Phase One: Baby Cardigan, as you see. Phases Two and Three are soon to come!

It’s nothing compared to the simply beautiful sweaters finished this week! I feel like I say that every week, but you guys seriously never cease to impress.

Audrey in Unst

Andrea knit up this super cute cardigan, the Audrey in Unst. I love when I don’t even really take a second look at a pattern until one of you Sweater a Month-ers knits it and then I have to have it! I love the front lace detail, the fit is great, and in the color Andrea chose she can wear this sweater every day. It’s so pretty!

Tessa Vest

Amy (rav) knit this beautiful ruffled vest, Tessa, for her March sweater. That ruffled detail is so pretty and unique! They are such a great way to jazz up a simple vest. And the sparkly yarn Amy chose makes the vest pop, too!

Baby Sweater Vest Turned Dress!

Miss Cordia here is modeling Lori’s modified Cabled Baby Vest. We were shooting for a little lady sized cabled vest but out came a very cute cabled sweater dress and Cordia couldn’t be any happier to be styling this fun sweater.

Mrs Darcy Cardigan

There were two more finished Mrs Darcy Cardigans this week! The first one is Liz who fixed the mad curling problem that happened at the bottom with so many of these sweaters by extending the twisted rib section all the way to the bottom. It’s cute, there is no curling, and no need for a crocheted bottom edging!

Mrs Darcy Cardigan Again!

The second one comes from Laura, who rocked this sweater so hard for her Easter brunch. The color is out of control, too.

Pullover

Marolee (rav) made this beautiful pink pullover for her mother for Mother’s Day. This simple pattern plays up the color beautifully! It’s all pink! A perfect Mother’s Day present.

Let’s keep it up! We are almost to April’s half way point and we’ve got a lot of sweaters to finish this month! Including mine.

Why, hello, April! You’ve snuck up on me but it looks like I’m the only one you surprised because we’ve already got finished sweaters for this week’s update!

I know I was talking big about knitting up this lacy Vogue tunic, but I’m going to push that back one month. I’ve got a lot going on in April and that sweater is going to take up a little more time that I’ve got to give. I’ve already started buying yarn for it and some needles I didn’t have so it’s going to happen! Just in about 24 days.

A Little Double Lace Rib Start

Despite my best intentions and my determination to finish my needlepoint project, pretty much as soon as I pushed publish on that post I cast on this.

What is it?

Bib Front Tunic Tank

Nothing right now. But I’m hoping it will turn into the fun knitted version of this beautiful bib front tank – the Allendale Tank, if you will – I saw the other day and couldn’t get out of my head. Funny that I don’t think I can knit up a lacy sweater with a pattern, but jumping into writing my own sweater pattern seems way more doable.

Well, no sleeves

And onto our finished Knit a Sweater a Month-ers!

April Flowers

Kate finished up this cardigan, April Flowers, weeks ago but I had to save it as our first April finished sweater! It just didn’t seem right showing off this beautiful sweater in such a crappy month. She wanted to get ahead and I’ll say she did! The flower detail towards the bottom is a lovely rib detail.

Simple Fitted Sweater

Gloria knit this adorable simple pullover in really fun yarn to make it pop! The subtle striping is so fun and makes it really unique and pretty despite the simple design of the sweater. It’s really fun and a great choice!

Circular Style Cardigan

Gloria also knit this beautiful Circular Style Cardigan for April, too! I love the almost camouflage look of the yarns together. Camo knits?! In a truly feminine style?! I’m in love.

Striped Baby Jacket

Look at this one! My favorite part of this picture is the little bunny feet sticking out underneath the beautiful sweater! This baby is one stylish lady! Kathy knit this lovely, colorful jacket for this adorable little baby Cloe! Those big cuffs are perfect and this sweater will really grow with her. Such a beautiful job!

Loke Baby Sweater

Bellymonster (Rav) knit this cute baby sweater, Loke Baby Sweater or Cardigan, as a test knit and it turned out great! Those cables are beautiful accents for this simple sweater and the detailing on the sleeve cuffs is such a nice touch! Very beautiful job.

Gilmore Vest

Maritita (rav) finished this fun vest, the Gilmore Vest, in such a beautiful shade of blue! It really shows off the deep v-neck and bottom ribbing. It’s a fun vest to throw over and jazz up any top. I’m putting this vest in my queue now; it’s such a versatile finished product!

That is a hell of a way to kick off April!

Here we are at the end of Month Two of the Knit a Sweater a Month Challenge! I’m so overwhelmed with pride every time I check in with our Ravelry group and get an email from someone with pictures of their finished sweaters.

This is our last February update! Get those sweaters finished up this week! I can’t wait to see them!

I had to sub in my DinoSweater for February because I couldn’t finish my Dollar and a Half Cardigan in time, what with the Ravelympics and everything. But DinoSweater is coming along and will be done by month’s end for sure.

Ok enough enough! I can’t wait to show you all the beautiful sweaters finished up this week!

Fitted Knits Cardi

Kathy knit the Fitted Knits Cardigan! Look familiar? I love this sweater! And Kathy did such a great job with the yarn choices.

Mirepoix Bodice

Robin has been finishing projects up left and right! Her Mirepoix Bodice sweater turned out so well! I’m constantly amazed at knitters who can tackle fair isle. The top of that sweater makes my eyeballs hurt just thinking about knitting it.

Birgitte Lace Pullover

Robin also finished up this beautiful lacy number, the Birgitte Lace Pullover. I have never knit a mohair project I haven’t wanted to set on fire, so this sweater totally motivates me to try it again! So pretty and super flattering.

Short Sleeved Cardi

Ksana finished up this super cute Short Sleeved Cardigan for her mom from Fitted Knits. (Mom, don’t get any ideas!) It turned out fabulous! I love the color, even though Ksana says that the teal is really hard to photograph. If it is anything close to the color we see, we all want one!

Robert's Sweater

Alexandria (rav) knit this absolutely beautiful sweater for a very lucky little boy named Robert! It’s Bear Necessity and that intarsia work is stunning! I NEED to get better at intarsia so I can rock a sweater like that! So cute.

Five days left! Go get knitting!

While my Dollar and a Half Cardigan takes a break for my Ravelympics projects, there are a TON of finished sweaters this week that I can’t wait to show off to y’all!

Java Fold Back Cardi

Gloria finished her February sweater in January and her January sweater in February, but who is counting? I love the fun buttons! They were made for that sweater.

Sexy Vesty

Tracy knit this beautiful vest, Sexy Vesty, for her sister. I’m not a big vest wearer but I am all over this vest! I put it in my queue for sure.

Barfly Pullover

Clara finished her first sweater, the Barfly Pullover, and it looks amazing! I love that bottom shaping and the neckline. This sweater is really flattering on her!

Aquitaine Pullover

Robin, who is knew to the group, posted her January sweater this week, the Aquitaine Pullover. I love the lace detail! This sweater is from the new Interweave, so if you had it on the mind grapes take a look at Robin’s project page because she made some really helpful notes!

Diva Tunic

Liz knit another Diva Tunic! This one for her sister. Remember the sweater she knit for herself last month? It’s like knitting two socks! Only, really large socks. They both look fabulous! I bet Liz will be knitting something else for March, though!

Liesl

Here is our second Liesl sweater! This one also completed by Liz. She is a knitting fool! The color is great and you can really see the detail in the lace pattern. So pretty!

Trellis & Vine Pullover

Becca (rav) finished the Trellis & Vine Pullover that has been sitting on her needles for a long time! This sweater was in my queue for a while, then I dumped it, but now it’s going back in for sure. I love how it’s less fitted than in the pattern pictures. It is such a beautiful pattern for a roomy pullover!

Granny Square Jackets

While not knitting and made out of previously made granny squares, it’s still ok! Marolee made two granny square jackets by … seaming together granny squares, of course! Makes my granny square slippers look like a walk in the park! I know how hard it is to seam those up.

Placket Sweater

Kris knit up this adorable Placket Neck Pullover! The yarn she used, the Brown Sheep Serendipity Tweed, has beautiful yellow flecks throughout! Such a beautiful choice.

Congratulations to everyone who finished this week! I love seeing the variety of projects coming into the group. Non knitters are always shocked when I explain this project to them. How can you find 12 different sweaters you want to knit?

I’m pretty sure I could knit a sweater a month for the rest of my life and STILL not get to all the beautiful sweaters out there I’d like to knit.

We’ve even had some new people join this week! Our Knit a Sweater a Month Challenge Ravelry Group is up to 148 members! And my mailing list is growing, too. Please don’t hesitate to join us!

Now get knitting!

I’ve been scrambling to finish my February sweater before the Ravelympics start on Friday. Could I have chosen a more challenging sweater to knit in two weeks?

Dollar and a Half Body

I’ve finished the back and one side. I’ve got to finish that other side, knit two sleeves, and knit the button hole bands around the collar.

But do you notice something funky?

Cabled Front WRONG!

I’m blaming y’all for this because someone should have caught this mistake in last week’s post. The front panel with the cable is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE STRIPED! It is supposed to be the cable with just the lace pattern behind it.

CORRECT!

As clearly pictured. When knitting sides and body at the same time goes wrong? More like, when Allyson is under emotional duress, trying to knit a complicated sweater in two weeks, she messes up a lot.

Whats a lot?

DOH!

Not paying attention when the fronts say knit to 16 1/2 inches and start front shaping, instead of just following the back instructions that say knit to 18 1/2 inches  before working armhole decreases. **shakes head**

Lace and Rev St st Stripes

Are these mistakes critical? Well, yeah, they are. This sweater isn’t going to look like it is supposed to. Why am I talking about it like I’m not going to frog the crap out of it? Because I’m not. These mistakes aren’t holes. They aren’t going to make a sweater fit for a robot or dog. They are going to make a sweater slightly different than it is supposed to be. Stripes all around! Not so deep of a V-neck. Who cares? Did I pick this sweater for it’s lace only cabled front? Clearly not, or I wouldn’t have messed up like this.

So I’m going to keep going! If I finish it and hate it I can deal with it then. Right now I kinda like it! This sweater has been knit so many times, 225 projects currently on ravelry, that it is kind of nice to know that I don’t have the same sweater as all those people. Or as anyone. Because of my inability to correctly read a pattern.

Also, I didn’t get the memo that it was Red Sweater Week at Knit a Sweater a Month Challenge!

Coffee Tunic

Gloria knit this beautiful sweater in a truly stunning red. The cable details are out of control! And it looks really beautiful on, too!

Simple Pullover

Continuing in color, Rita (rav) finished this simple and adorable pullover for her January sweater. The color is lovely and I just want to snuggle up in it so bad!

Tunika

Red is the color of the week for sure! Yet another beautiful and seriously flattering red pullover.

Those are the only finished sweaters this week! Short Sweater a Month Challenge update, but I’m thinking week two will always be a little slow. Slow but sweet!

How is your sweater knitting coming? I know a lot of knitters have been able snowed in the past few days and have been knitting up a *cough* storm. Sorry. I should stop now. It’s the glaring mistakes in my sweater talking. They are taking over my mind.

Keep knitting and keep updating our Ravelry Knit a Sweater a Month Challenge page or emailing me at allyson[at]thesweatshopoflove[dot]com with your updates so I can include them and your sweater progress can help motivate other knitters. It’s been working for me!

Now go get knitting!

Hi February! Can you believe we are one month down already?

Congratulations to everyone who finished their January Sweaters! Not quite finished? Don’t worry! Just keep knitting and catch up in February.

Haven’t joined our Knit a Sweater a Month Challenge yet? Jump in now and knit up a sweater in February! It’s only the 2nd. Here is the ravelry group page, now up to 137 members, or send me an email to get on my mailing list.

Dollar and a Half Cardigan

I had a lot of travel knitting time this weekend so I got a little head start on my February Sweater: Dollar and a Half Cardigan! I’ve been planning this bad boy since October and I’m so happy to be working on it. Yes, I jumped the gun on it by two days. Progress!

Cable, Lace, Rev St St

There is a lot going on in this pattern. I cast on three times before this one stuck. I gauged it three times before I trusted myself to get the sizing right.

I decided to use size 6s for the lace, ribbing, and cable parts, and size 4s for the rev st st, based on the ravelry comments about the stripes being a little bulky. So far so good! The pattern is fun, the yarn, Knit Picks CotLin in Planetarium, is beautiful and is knitting up well (besides attracting a lot of cat hair!), and the sizing looks good. Knock on wood.

Ditto

Vicki (rav) finished up her Ditto Sweater (Vicki’s rav) which just looks so wearable! Couldn’t you just throw that over anything? And I love the  shiny buttons!

Shalom Cardi

And we shouldn’t be surprised that there is another Shalom Cardigan in the mix for January; this is one popular pattern! Kris (rav) finished this up in like 4 days or something insane. It looks like it took her the entire month!

Ginny's Boheme

Vintage Baby Cardigan

Bobby's Bright Green V-Neck

Leah (rav) finished these three baby sweaters! I was just as happy as Bobby is in his pull over to see all three of these adorable sweaters. So, clearly I couldn’t have been any happier.

Blue Mal

Andrea (rav) finished this beautiful sweater, Silken Scabbard, up in January after stalling on it last year. And I’m so glad she did! I’m in love with those cable details and the color! So pretty.

Liesl

Rachel-Marie knit up Liesl, kind of an in between January/February sweater, since Rachel-Marie is clearly a knitting super ultra star! I love that stitch pattern and colorway.

Peter's Vest

And another super crazy over achiever! Alexandra finished this adorable little vest as her second January sweater! Or, maybe first February sweater? Who cares! This vest turned out great, no matter what month it counts for!

Congratulations to all of the January sweater finishers! And it is never too late to start this challenge, so get out there and get knitting for February!

Last update of January! We’ve got FIVE DAYS to finish up our January sweaters. And by the look of things y’all have nothing to worry about.

We all know how my January Sweater, Minimalist Cardigan, turned out. (SAD FACE!!) I’d much rather talk about all the beautiful January sweaters I’m being sent pictures of!

Elsie Cardi

This adorable Elsie Cardigan was finished by Ksana (rav) for her niece. Those cute buttons add so much to the simple design! I want some for my next sweater!

Baby Surprise Jacket

And another finished baby sweater from Rachel-Marie (rav, twitter)! I love how this sweater is assembled! Y’all know how much I hate seeming.

Diva Tunic

This beautiful deep V tunic was knit by Liz (rav). Is that the most flattering neckline for her? This tunic would look great with pants, a skirt, or just leggings. Find the Diva Tunic pattern here.

Mr Greenjeans

Helen (rav) finished up a beautiful version of the very popular knitty.com pattern Mr Greenjeans (rav, Helen’s rav page). This simple cabled cardigan is so understated and elegant in the deep charcoal Helen chose.

Cindy's Sweater

Cindy at A Sparkle a Day finished her sweater after quite a struggle! She was feeling discouraged that we were all pumping out such amazing sweater, and then look what she did: She pumped out an amazing sweater!

Must Have Cardi

Marsha (rav) knit this beautiful Must Have Cardi , which couldn’t look any better on her! Isn’t that sizing perfect? The placement of the cables on this sweater are really flattering.

Less is More

Lin (rav) knit this beautiful cabled pullover! I can’t stop staring at the shoulders amazed at how good that cabled seaming is! It’s absolutely lovely.

Tiered Baby Jacket

Don’t tell my mom, but all these adorable baby sweaters make me wish I had a little baby to dress! Like, someone else’s baby that I can just dress in the morning, then go home. This Tiered Baby Jacket was knit by Ksana and how much do you love the subtle color change in the tier?!

In The Piazza

Melanie finished this super fun In the Piazza sweater in the loveliest blue and green colorway. How cute with this look over a simple black dress?

Easy Baby Cardigan

Zaynab (rav) whipped up with Easy Baby Cardigan in 9 days! Now that is what I call easy. AND that is what I call a gender neutral color! It is the absolute perfect shade of green.

I couldn’t be more proud of everyone. It is truly amazing what we can do with just one little month.

Alexandra made a comment on our Finished January Sweaters forum on the Ravelry KaSaMC group (now going 131 strong!) that sums up my exact feeling: “I am so happy I joined this group! Fantastic sweaters, beautiful colors! And, best of all, talented people! Whenever I check this ‘FO thread’ or the ‘shared projects box’ I feel happy and it stimulates me to knit some more!”

I couldn’t agree more. Five days until February! Get knitting!