The Sweatshop of Lovers Blog

I’ve been knitting nothing but bow headbands for the last few weeks for Renegade coming up in September, but I’ve been able to live vicariously through my Knit a Sweater a Month Challengers! They finished up a TON of beautiful sweaters for this week that I know you are going to love:

Oriel Lace Blouse-Turned-Cardigan

After what sounds like a really long struggle with this delicate lace pattern, Kate finished her version of the Oriel Lace Blouse. As you can see it’s not a blouse at all anymore, but a cardigan! I’m constantly amazed by Kate’s ambitious modifications. She turned a pattern accessible to only a handful of body types into a pattern for anyone! And I’m loving that orange.

Girlie Girl

Man, I’m going to need a little girl to knit for real soon or I’m going to start stockpiling baby girl clothes anyway! Ksana knit Girlie Girl and I’m so in love!  That ruffle detail at the bottom is to die for and I love her colors and striping.

And that little hat? A modified On the Sunny Side to match. I might need to see a picture of this lucky little girl all decked out!

Next up is a double sweater FO for Lily at The Owl and the Bee:

Dollar and a Half Cardigan

Lily knit the Dollar and a Half Cardigan, her very first sweater ever if you can believe it, as part of my Sweater Club this summer, and while it had it’s ups and downs, it turned out beautifully and we got her hooked on knitting sweaters!

That Girl Summer Jacket

Because before she was even finished with her Dollar and a Half she was working on the That Girl Summer Jacket. She is such an expert sweater knitter that she modified this design by adding adorable fabric covered buttons down the front and working shorter sleeves. Now THIS is a sweater I would totally knit!

Emmaline

My girl Cindy at A Sparkle a Day finished yet another sweater! This one is the popular Emmaline from this past issue of Knitty. I love Cindy’s fitted version. It’s so flattering and looks super easy to throw on with anything. I know she is working on her second Emmaline and I’m interested to see if she changes anything for the second sweater. Keep me posted, Cindy!

Pullover in Eskimo

And we’ve got our first finished Christmas present on the blog! It’s not mine, if you can believe it. It’s Natalie’s dad’s sweater, this DROPS Pullover in Eskimo, that is a big cuddly man’s sweater. I kinda want one myself! Way to be on top of the holiday knitting, lady!

Robin from Yarn Crawl has two finished sweaters to share, too!

Jordan

First up is her Jordan top that looks amazing in the yellow she chose! I love this sweater in yellow, whereas on the project page it looks kind of matronly in that dark beige. Robin’s is fun and summery and would look amazing dressed up or down.

Alexandria Cardigan

She also finished up the Alexandria Cardigan that I’ve seen popping up in knitting blogs a lot lately. The lacey-cabley detail is just enough to keep this cardigan looking really clean and beautiful, but again would look great over jeans, too! Like always, Robin, great job!

Even with all the FOs August brought with it I can only imagine as we get into fall that Knit a Sweater a Month Challengers are going to start really turning it on! Between holiday knitting and, of course, necessary cool weather selfish knitting, things are going to get a lot more busy around here. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store!

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!

Umm… remember the Knit a Sweater a Month Challenge?

The challenge took a back seat to the ebook release this month, but I was so relieved to pop over to our Ravelry group and see that I wasn’t the only person to put this challenge on the back burner.

I was knitting something… don’t really remember what that was… and it surely isn’t going to come back any time soon. I’m cool with it. And I did finish my June sweater! More on that tomorrow.

Cable Car Sweater

Ksana is at it again with this super fancy baby cardigan! The Cable Car Sweater was a test knit but luckily the super cute pattern is already available. It looks super simple and fun to knit.

Buttercup

Vicki jazzed up this simple tshirt pattern, Buttercup, by using some different shades of blue throughout. While she doesn’t know if she is crazy about it, I’m digging the natural tie-dye effect on this flattering tee.

Test Knit Babt Tank

Ksana also knit this adorable Baby Tank as a test knit. Those buttons are great and I love those colors! This girl is just knitting up a storm over here!

Hearts Baby Sweater

Lin finished this sweet baby sweater, too! Those little hearts on there are so cute and unique. This is the Heart Sweater, clearly There are going to be a lot of lucky little girls getting beautiful sweaters this week!

Cardigan Neutral

Becca at Nutmeg Knitter finished up her Cardigan Neutral and it couldn’t have turned out better! I love this cardigan – it’s super easy to throw on over anything and Becca picked a beautiful color. The edging detail is subtle and lovely.

Emmaline

Clara finished up this Knitty pattern, Emmaline, in a beautifully wearable dark red color that looks so easy to dress up or down. This little tee is already a popular pattern and it was just released a few months ago. Great job, Clara! I bet you will be rocking this tee out all summer.

Not Really Animal Print Cardigan

Kate had to take a few shots before getting this fun cardigan into existence. I can’t speak for her of course, but I would be thrilled to get this fun striped cardigan no matter how it came about! See the process here. The original pattern is the Animal Print Cardigan, which makes me want to cry just looking at. Bobbins! Torture!

Juniper Hand Knit Shrug

THEN she turned around and pumped out this cute shrug! I always love when your have a knitting failure and can make your next project something you love.

The Knit a Sweater a Month Challenge is fun! I’m glad it made it’s way back in the rotation

We are jumping the gun on our regular Tuesday Knit a Sweater a Month Challenge posts because of the HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT coming to you tomorrow. But luckily we’ve got a couple fun sweaters to bring you!

Baby Cherry Blossom

This FO kinda makes me want to have a little girl to make this sweater for. How sweet is this little thing?! Ksana (rav) is on a serious knitting roll lately and finished up the Baby Cherry Blossom sweater this week. Something tells me this isn’t the last we will be seeing of this pattern. It is out of this world cute.

Laughing Carrots... ?

Gloria made me scratch my head this morning! She knit this adorable summer top that I have never seen before, so I followed the link to the Laughing Carrots pattern. Which, if you click on the link, is a pattern for a long sleeved child’s cardigan. And here it is a woman’s short sleeved summer cardigan! Gloria is one talented pattern modifier!

And that brings another month to an end! It will be nice to have a long weekend to finish up any remaining May sweaters. I know I need a little more time!

And did I mention there is a HUGE announcement tomorrow? Involving videos? VIDEOS! It’s going to be awesome. Be sure to check back tomorrow!

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!

Remember DinoSweater? Here is DinoSweater’s sister, ZebraSweater.

Zebra Teddy

ZebraSweater is my girly answer to DinoSweater, but is a black baby sweater a hard sell?

Don’t get me wrong; this sweater is clearly adorable. I mean, it’s a zebra baby sweater. Give me a break.

Ears!

And I have a problem with baby girl/baby boy-ing things, anyway. I would give a baby girl that DinoSweater and I would put a baby boy in the ZebraSweater. And I would put a baby in a mostly black sweater if it had adorable ears and a mane.

Shut Up Already

How completely ridiculous. A bear in a ZebraSweater. I can’t even handle it.

Striped Baby Sweater

The ZebraSweater came together because I’m working on the perfect baby cardigan pattern. I got a request for a ZebraSweater, so I’m killing two birds with one stone. Here is a top down reglan baby sweater with about 2 inches worth of seaming that came together in a weekend. Easy.

Next Up: Hood

Then I picked up stitches along the collar and knit up a hood; a super quick addition to a super quick knit.

Next Up: Pockets!

These silly pockets are just a fun detail. And who doesn’t like pockets on their sweaters?! Throw your keys and wallet in there and you don’t need to carry a purse around. It’s really for the baby on the go.

Then, my sweater got a little crazy. Ears and a mane will crazy-up anything. But the sweater pattern I’ve written, for sizes newborn, three, six, and nine months, with options for a hood and front pockets, is pretty solid I think! I’m planning baby classes in the spring semester, and this sweater will be part of the action.

Mane Adorable!

I’ve got another ZebraSweater to knit up as a custom order so I’ll have another chance to test my pattern. I love knitting baby sweaters! They knit up so quickly!

Pattern: My own.

Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in Black and Lion Brand’s Pound of Love in White

Needles: Size 9

Ravelry Projecy Page

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!

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!