Outtakes: Gesture Sweater

If you saw last week’s post on my wonderful new Gesture Sweater, then you have likely already seen some good photos of just how beautiful this sweater can be. Now let me show you what it looks like when I’m clowning around High Park with the kids! Look at us, making a little family totem pole.

With James fully mobile and prone to running off (can you believe he will be turning 2 in a couple of weeks?!), the biggest challenge was keeping track of him while trying to get photos. Sometimes this worked, sometimes we just followed him through the bushes and took photos along the way. Oh wait, there he goes again….

Other times, he just wanted to do what his mommy was doing. Because obviously if mommy is standing on a log, then he must also stand on the log. Or at least attempt to get onto the log:

And even if they were distracted long enough to get out of the shot, then I was distracted, because Lila and James are just so freaking funny and adorable. I have no idea what they were doing off camera here, but clearly I thought it was awesome:

Most of the time spent trying to get photos of the sweater went quite a lot like this:

Then at some point they managed to get super interested in some sticks or leaves or something like that, and we got some photos. Although I thought it would be a brilliant idea to throw some leaves up in the air and somehow they would magically float down around me while I gave my best blue steel into the camera lens, and it would look spectacular. I was dead wrong –  This is how you get leaves and dirt in the face, people. In the face.

This is probably a good time to remind you that there are way better photos to be found on the original finished knit post over here (there’s even a coupon code!).

* This is part three of a short series of sponsored posts for We Are Knitters. I chose the pattern kit and the colour, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Finished Knit: Gesture Sweater by We Are Knitters

The Gesture Sweater kit from We Are Knitters in complete, and I’m utterly besotted with the results. A deliciously cozy burgundy sweater that is perfect with everything that is wonderful about fall.

The big star of the Gesture sweater is that stunning cable that travels down the center of the front, back, and sleeves. It is surprisingly easy to memorize the pattern, and considering the size of the sweater, I’d say this was a quick knit. It is knit in pieces, which lends a certain portability to the project – sleeves are basically like knitting socks. And with an fairly easy to memorize cable design, the sleeves were done in no time.

 As someone who is on the petite side, I eliminated one of the cable repeats to shorten the sweater overall by a couple of inches, and I’m glad I did that- the length is perfect for me with this slight adjustment. If only I had done the same for the sleeves! I forget that I have short t-rex arms, and should have eliminated about 3 of the cable repeats on them to accommodate that. But there is something casual and extra cozy about them being a bit long on me.

On cold days, it’s kind of nice to tuck my hands up into these cozy alpaca sleeves. Speaking of the alpaca yarn, I can’t say enough good things about the yarn that comes in this kit- the 100% baby alpaca is so ridiculously soft, and has held up nicely with wear. This pattern is seamed, which is absolutely crucial to keeping a 100% alpaca sweater from getting stretched out (long time readers know that I love seams for stability and increasing the lifespan of garments!). If you want to know a bit more of the pros and cons of getting a kit from We Are Knitters, I discussed it in more detail in my first post in this series, which you can find here.

I did make a slight modification to the pattern to widen the neckline into more of a boat neck. When seaming the shoulders, I stopped each seam 1 inch further away from the neckline on both sides than called for in the pattern. I love a slightly wider neckline, I think it adds balance to larger sweaters. But of course, you need to watch for stray bra straps.

The drop sleeve shoulder is a great detail on this design, and works when knitting something that is a bit oversized. I would absolutely knit this sweater again in a heartbeat- I enjoyed the whole process, and the result is so wearable and cozy, perfect for the cold weather.

With holiday season is approaching, a kit is a great idea for a knitter in your life (or if YOU want one for a gift, send the link to someone as a not-so-subtle hint!). If you are interested in getting this kit (or any of them, there are so many to choose from), I’ve got a special code for you for 15% off!!

WAK_KNITBLISS15

(there is an underscore between WAK and Knitbliss, so I recommend copying and pasting!)

And of course, there will be an outtakes post early next week- because when you do photo shoots with kids around, you know there are going to be photo bombs of cuteness. And of course, it was bloody freezing the whole time, so if you look closely, my nose is pink in every. single. photo.

* This is part two of a short series of sponsored posts for We Are Knitters. I chose the pattern kit and the colour, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

In Progress: We Are Knitters Gesture Sweater

This wonderfully cabled knit-in-progress is the Gesture Sweater kit, from We Are Knitters. I took a few skeins with me on a recent trip to England, and started chipping away at it at the beginning of August. I have been smitten with this kit ever since I first saw Alina’s stunning beige version last year, and was excited to try it out when We Are Knitters got in touch at the beginning of the summer.

For those that haven’t seen the We Are Knitters kits before, they sell yarn and knitting kits that come with almost everything you need to make the knit of your choosing. You customize the colour, and they send you everything in a bag:

Bamboo straight needles are included, as well as directions, a tapestry needle, a garment tag to sew in afterwards, and all the  yarn you need in the colour you chose. I went with Bordeaux, a rich, plummy wine colour that I thought would be perfect for fall:

That is 100% baby alpaca up there, and it is so buttery soft!

Pros of Purchasing a Knitting Kit from We Are Knitters:

  • Loved having everything in the handy package, and the heavy duty paper bag is perfect for storing the project-in-progress and the yarn while you knit.
  • A knitting kit feels like the ultimate gift for a knitter, because you don’t have to scrounge around trying to match dye lots or find the right colour you want in a sweater quantity, and you don’t have to try to substitute yarn if you can’t find what the pattern is calling for.
  • Luxurious. The yarn yarn feels wonderfully soft, there’s no knots, and the dye lots match perfectly.
  • Beautiful patterns that you can’t find anywhere else.

Cons: 

  • The patterns are written in a very different style than you might be used to, if you only really use patterns that you buy online and have 7 plus pages in them. These are the sparse style of directions you would find in Vogue Knitting, for example.
  • The kit could really use a cable needle. That amazing central cable involves putting 9 stitches on a cable needle, and while I’m pretty good at cabling without a cable needle, I’m not 18-stitches-per-cable good.
  • No charts for the cables. But – I found that it is surprisingly easy to memorize the cable repeats, so it’s been a much easier knit than I anticipated. I’m making good progress on my Gesture Sweater, too- I’ve already completed the front, and I’m almost finished the back:

 

You likely will notice that it is knit in pieces and seamed, which is an especially good idea for a big, cabled sweater – seams give structure to a garment, and the last thing I would want is to spend a lot of time knitting something beautiful only to have it get stretched out and baggy around the middle because the knit is too heavy. I don’t mind seaming, and one of the best part of knitting something in pieces is that it makes the project a lot more portable.

If you are interested in getting this kit (or any of them, there are so many to choose from), I’ve got a special code for you for 15% off!!

WAK_KNITBLISS15

(there is an underscore between WAK and Knitbliss, so I recommend copying and pasting!)

I’m so excited to start the sleeves soon! I think I’ll have this one finished just in time for the cooler weather, which will be perfect timing- I can already tell I’m going to absolutely love this sweater.

 

 

* This is part one of a short series of sponsored posts for We Are Knitters. I chose the pattern kit and the colour, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Link Love: My Favourite Things This Week

My Favourite Articles and Links This Week

If you haven’t already entered the Jimmy Beans Wool Smartstix Needle giveaway, head on over and enter!

Four ways to make your space feel clean inside of 15 minutes.

This was thought-provoking: If you figure out a way to satisfactorily complete 8 hours’ worth of tasks in 10 minutes, should you: A) Get the rest of the day off, or B) Have to take on additional work?

Apparently hand gestures can make you appear more charismatic.

If you happen to be in Waterloo Ontario on Friday October 19th, I’m doing a reading there…. I’d love to see some crafters in the audience, crafting while listening is something I always encourage. 🙂

 

My Favourite Pins This Week

Looking for some special (indulgent) appetizers for parties or family get togethers? These bacon wrapped mac and cheese bites are the ultimate for comforting party food (if there is such a thing?) and just so darn delicious. Don’t be alone a room with these, they are hard to resist! Pinterest link is here, and the original recipe is here.

Did you go apple picking and now have tonnes of apples to deal with? Apple desserts are the way to go, and Apple Crumble is one of my favourite fall desserts, and these apple crumb bars are easy and delicious. Pinterest link is here, and the full recipe is right here.

With hat season approaching – and already arrived in some places- pom poms are definitely pack on my mind. I love this simple trick for making pom poms really fluffy – you use a metal cat brush! Which I already have! But possibly you might want to get a fresh one if you don’t want to add cat hair to your pom poms…. Pinterest link is here, and the details on how to make them super fluffy can be found here.

I love the idea of having a go-to knitting or crochet pattern, so I loved this read from Kim Werker on her favourite crochet pattern that she regularly makes. Do you have a go-to knitting or crochet pattern? Pinterest link is here, and the full post can be found here.

Ever find you get stuck in the rut of making epic to do lists, but struggling to actually do the things on that list? Here is how to stop overplanning and start actually getting things done – the point about figuring out how you actually spend your time is a really good one. Pinterest link is here, and the full post is here.

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, so happy long weekend, fellow Canadians! Guy and I are spending one night this weekend in a yurt because a) it was the most interesting airbnb anywhere within driving distance from my parent’s house (northern Ontario, please step up your interesting airbnb listings….) and b) I’ve only just figured out that my mom is super excited to look after the kids for a night if we bring them straight to her.

Any experienced yurters out there? Tips for yurting? I’m just bringing sweaters and books and hiking boots, so I hope I’m covered! Considering the last time Guy and I went anywhere, we were glamping and made friends with all the other couples there (every night we sat around in the communal area with our new friends and laughed until noise complaints filtered in and sent us all back to our fancy safari tents), I assume there will be other yurt-going people who will also like to share some wine and cheese around a campfire?