The Sweatshop of Love Blog

My friend Theresa VanderMeer runs an organization called The Lotus Odyssey that exports fair-trade products from different eco/people-friendly groups in India. She is starting a foundation called WORK+SHELTER that will offer women living in the slums of New Delhi a fresh start. Theresa is working to give these women decent living conditions and a chance to build a better future. WORK+SHELTER will be a safe place where women can come with their children to live and work. She will be providing training, materials, and a fair wage, and members of WORK+SHELTER will be producing products to be sold in boutiques around the world.

Two Sweaters in One Pattern!

Theresa asked me to design garments and accessories that will be hand knit by the women living and working at WORK+SHELTER. These sweaters are two of those items! By purchasing this pattern you are helping this amazing cause. Read more about this project here, donate by emailing Theresa, and when someone compliments you on your beautiful new sweater, be sure to tell them about WORK+SHELTER.

Winter!

WORK+SHELTER LACE STRIPED SWEATERS

Finished Size 36 (41, 46, 51) bust circumference. Sweaters shown in size 36.

Summer!

MATERIALS

Winter Sweater Yarn Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. 110yds/50g: White, 8 (10, 13, 15) skeins.

Summer Sweater Yarn Knit Picks Comfy Worsted, 75% Pima Cotton, 25% Arcylic. 109yds/50g: Ivory, 6 (7, 9, 10) skeins.

The Beautiful Striped Shoulder: Winter Sweater

Needles Size 9 (5.5 mm) 24” and 16” circulars, or size to obtain gauge.

Notions Tapestry needle.

See-Through Back! Bra Straps! Tank! GAH!

GAUGE

18 sts and 20 rows – 4” in St st.

WORK+SHELTER Lace Striped Sweaters pattern is $6

Ravelry Pattern Page

In November I released four new accessories patterns I designed for my friend Theresa’s organization WORK+SHELTER, a women’s shelter in India dedicated to getting women in need a fair wage and shelter for work they do producing products. They are in training right now, learning to knit in order to produce the first collection. It’s pretty amazing to think that there are women on the other side of the world knitting up projects I’ve designed, and that those products are going to help them live a better life.

Knit Picks Dishie in Conch

I’m knitting up four new sample products for a new line right now, and working up the patterns. This time two sweaters are included! So the sample knitting is taking a lot longer this time. But I’m chugging along!

Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in my Yarn Bowl!

I’ll have all the samples knit up and shot and patterns written up and ready to debut in February. Because the shelter is still in it’s beginning phases and isn’t able to produce many products to sell yet, pattern sales have been one of the only ways it’s making money. I’m so happy to report that to date pattern sales have earned WORK+SHELTER nearly $1000! And most of that is due to the fact that my patterns were included in Knit Pick’s weekly email last week.

Lace Stitch Pattern Stripes

So thank you for purchasing my WORK+SHELTER patterns. Every little bit helps, as you can see, and even $2 a pattern adds up. I can’t wait to get these four new projects finished and written and ready to start helping with their sales, too!

And more than that? I’ll be traveling to India this fall to lend a hand where I can! Hopefully I can teach as well without knowing the language as I can in English. I’ll keep you posted, of course!

I’m also knitting up the three patterns I’m contributing to the first Holla Knits collection, and you can get progress pics on the Holla Knits Blog.

Remember that pile of gray and green stockinette stitch I showed off in a few WIP posts this fall? That magically turned into this!

PT's Sweater!

PT’s Christmas sweater! It’s Emilien by Ariane Caron-Lacoste, a zip up hooded striped cardigan, and quite a boring knit! Thank god for those stripes or I would have had a hard time getting through those sleeves!

Zipper! Stripes! Cute Boy!

I knit the 36″ size and it’s a little big, even though I already sized down by knitting the 36. As you can see, the sleeves are cuffed which makes them shorter and smaller and the sweater wearable. Which, I’m happy to report, PT does! This sweater has already gotten more wear out of this sweater than the other two I knit him, so that is a success in my book.

Large Hood, Weird Striping

The pattern was a little frustrating. Even though its shown in the pattern to be a striped cardigan, the pattern isn’t written to be striped. At the end it’s suggested that you do a 22 row stripe pattern if you want your sweater to be striped, so I did that and ended up with stripes that didn’t work out. You can see in this shot that the bottom of the sweater is in the contrasting color, half St st and half rib, when it should have ended in the main color, like the sleeves. I was too far in to pull back and re-math out the stripes to work out for my striping and gauge (which was on!). And the hood is gigantic, even though I saw on ravelry that knitters said the hood was gigantic so I eliminated the shaping. That was not enough!

Success!

But I can’t really complain. PT likes it, and I think it looks great! I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Mist and Aurora Heather and PT was on board with the colors, and didn’t even mention the weird striping! I’m putting this one in the win category, and also vowing to take a break from the PT Christmas sweater knitting in 2012. It’s just too much damn pressure!

Pattern: Emilien by Ariane Caron-Lacoste

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Mist and Aurora Heather

Needles: Size 7 circs

Ravelry Project Page

(Hey! It’s a thing! I never publish my work in progress posts on Wednesdays. It’s a Thanksgiving miracle!)

I know you are probably having a slow day in the office, just ticking down the minutes until you get to leave work and enjoy your long weekend of giving thanks. I’m in Michigan right now snuggling puppies and babies, but I couldn’t leave you hanging. My needles are going to look pretty bare, compared to what they have been looking like lately, but here’s what I’ve got cooking.

Glittery Short Row Sweater

And I might as well start with my most guiltiest knit. If you follow me on twitter you probably saw me start freakishly obsessing over Purl Bee‘s new sweater pattern, the Short Row Sweater. I got in my head that I needed it in Knit Picks new yarn Stroll Glitter, and before I knew it the yarn was on it’s way. I cast the sweater on (all, like, 380 stitches!) a couple weeks ago and haven’t been working on it too much because I feel guilty every time! I’m saving it for when I’m home for Thanksgiving and can’t work on anyone’s Christmas presents.

Vauge Striped Stockinette Stitch? YES!

I’m making progress with my unnamed stockinette stitch something or other.

MORE SHEEP!

And does this look familiar? I knit two of these Baby Sheep Hats already, and they turned out so cute that since I’ve got three pregnant ladies in my life right now I might as well knit three more. I’m knitting all the hat parts first, then knitting all the faces and tails and ears. Baby Sheep Hat assembly line might be the cutest assembly line in the history of assembly lines. And being from Michigan I KNOW my assembly lines!

Ruffle Rose Pillow #2!

I might as well sneak an FO in here at the end! I finally finished my second Ruffle Rose Pillow! It’s a mirror image of the first one I crocheted – one pound of Caron Pound of Love, one 16″ circular pillow form. And it turned out just as amazing as the first one.

See? Despite these selfish projects I keep managing to pick up, I’m getting my holiday knitting done! And I didn’t even tell you about my new obsession! … shit.

Have a great Thanksgiving, Americans! Don’t eat so much that you can’t knit!

My friend Theresa VanderMeer runs an organization called The Lotus Odyssey that exports fair-trade products from different eco/people-friendly groups in India. She is starting a foundation called WORK+SHELTER that will offer women living in the slums of New Delhi a fresh start. Theresa is working to give these women decent living conditions and a chance to build a better future. WORK+SHELTER will be a safe place where women can come with their children to live and work. She will be providing training, materials, and a fair wage, and members of WORK+SHELTER will be producing products to be sold in boutiques around the world.

HOT Cabled Clutch!

Theresa asked me to design garments and accessories that will be hand knit by the women living and working at WORK+SHELTER. This beautiful cabled clutch is one of those items! By purchasing this pattern you are helping this amazing cause. Read more about this project here, donate by emailing Theresa, and when someone compliments you on your hot clutch, be sure to tell them about WORK+SHELTER.

Zipper Pouch! Matching Lining!

WORK+SHELTER CABLED CLUTCH

Finished Size Clutch is 5” deep and 8” wide, with 6” wrist handle.

MATERIALS

Yarn Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted, 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. 110yds/50g: Dove Heather.

Needles Size 8 (5 mm) straight needles, 2 size 9 (5.5 mm) double pointed needles.

Notions Tapestry needle, 7” zipper, 9 ½” by 7 ¾” rectangle of fabric, a little extra fabric for covering the buttons, 2 ⅞” fabric covered buttons, needle and thread.

Perfect Size! Ready for Hotness.

GAUGE

20 sts and 24 rows = 4” square in St st.

Ravelry Pattern Page

WORK+SHELTER Cabled Clutch knitting pattern is $3