John Watson's Cabled Sweater of Warmth

I've always loved the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes but in recent years with the explosion of Sherlock in the media I've read all the stories over again and have become in specific a huge fan of BBC's Sherlock. In particular I love Martin Freeman's Watson.

As a knitter and costumer I'm always noticing what characters are wearing and from the very first moment I loved Watson's sweater he wears in the first episode. I've also always wanted to knit a wool cabled sweater and there just happened to be a pattern on ravelry so I decided it was about time!

 The pattern is really more of a collaborative set of guidelines  at times this made it harder to sort out but it lent for a lot of room for alterations. In particular I added some shaping in the waist and bust so it didn't look like a big sack, it still isn't the most figure flattering but I find it's very hard to do that with cables, at least for those of us with a bit of curves.

 I'd call this finished sweater a total success! I wore is to the friday of Chicago TARDIS and even got recognized a few times!

Till next time,
TheFreckled Crafter

Pinwheel sweater of success!

Nothing feels as satisfying a long long overdue knitting project! I started this sweater October 9th of 2011 and finished it the 19th of this October. Frankly, knitting all those rounds and rounds and rounds is BORING!

I used Red Heart Soft and Hobby Lobby I love this yarn for contrast, which means it's 100% acrylic, not my favorite and something I try to stay away from more and more but I think it's okay for this, a warm sweater to wear around the house.

I really really hate the pooling on the upper arms, wish I'd switched between two skeins or something but no way I'm going back! I had...issues with the fitting. The sleeve position is too far apart, my shoulders are apparently not that wide despite trying to be diligent about this.

For closure I crocheted some loops and used assorted buttons. There's actually another loop and two hidden buttons near the bottom to hold it together some  more.

I'm not totally thrilled with it but it's finished and that's all the success I need!

Project Rewind: Leaflette Shawlette

Previously on this blog I did a series of posts called "project rewind" in which I blogged about finished projects of the past. I thought it perfect I get started right away and shoot for a weekly post on the blog about a project I did whilst away, because there's many!

The Leaflette Shawlette appeared to be the perfect project for this Shady Haven's alpaca I'd picked up some months back at a fiber showcase with some friends. The lovely alpaca was so soft and had such great colors (and price) that I bought three skeins. One of this variegated and two in a black/grey, which I'm now knitting the Dahlila Cardigan with. It's lovely yarn, so soft, it's a total joy to knit with.

I absolutely LOVE these colors but there's one downside: the pattern is fairly hidden in the variegation. BUT after blocking it I decided I didn't care, it was too soft and lovely and the colors were so pretty. I was lucky enough to get a chance to wear it almost immediately to a wedding. As luck would have it I had the perfect purple dress to compliment it!

Love,
Freckled Crafter