Georgia Peach Review and Pattern Giveaway

 

Welcome Sweatshop of Love readers!! The Georgia Peach is one of the most amazing knitted sweaters I have ever seen for a man. I have searched high and low for a pattern for a sweater that my husband would actually wear if I were to knit one for him. There wasn't a single one that he said he thought looked cool.

When I knit this sweater, he was the model for the finished product. He looked great in it and he actually said he would want one! I was shocked. This pattern was amazing to knit, but what's even more amazing is that my macho man husband likes it too. I knit this sweater using Knit Picks Swish bulky weight in  Planetarium and Red. It was such gorgeous yarn to work with (but then again, what Knit Picks yarn isn' amazing). I also knit this before Allyson had a chance to create the duplicate stitch templates for the teams, which she added later for me

The construction if this sweater was really well thought out. Allyson thought of every design aspect while creating this pattern. The collar was the funnest part for me. At first I was confused with the construction and why I was being directed to do certain things. At this point I didn't have Allyson's pictures to guide me. Once I saw her pictures, it made more sense. Then once I was finished it completely made sense. Seeing as this sweater followed the vintage look from baseball past, you will see some of the inside of the sweater when the collar was opened. Being the professional she is, Allyson thought of this. It made sense to make this portion look as good as the outside. And that it did!

WIP Mom's Christmas Gift

My mom has never specifically asked me for anything. So when she does, I know that she REALLY likes it. When I wore my Summer Lace sweater over to her house one day, she told me a few times how much she liked it. Then one day on the phone, she told me if I wanted to knit her something, she would buy me the yarn and everything. When she told me it was a sweater like mine, but with long sleeves, I knew right then what I would be knitting her for Christmas.

Unblocked lace

FO Vintage Knitting

I finished it!!! Don's sweater, it's finished! Granted the project isn't quite complete yet. Allyson is in the process of writing up duplicate stitch charts for team logos so she is using this sweater as a guide. I mailed it off to her to complete that and add the custom leather buttons.

Love this neckline!

Another FO Headband Earwarmer

Like I said, Annie added to her order once we talked on the phone. One addition was a headband earwarmer. I like to make these because they are simple and look amazing! I was excited to make this because I decided to add a button detail to the flower in stead of the bobble it called for.

WIP Vintage Knitting

As of today, knitting is taking over my life. This is a good sign for business, but a bad sign for my projected time frames. Nonetheless, I am almost finished with the vintage baseball sweater for Don. I started the sleeves Tuesday night (after I skipped that portion to work on the button bands). I don't have much done on the sleeves yet (or at least the pictures don't show the progress), but I thought I would share the gorgeous contrast of the colors. Wouldn't you know it, they are blue and red!

 

WIP Vintage Knitting

Although baseball season has come to a painful and sad end, I am lucky enough to get my baseball on with some vintage baseball sweater knitting. Allyson, my amazing promoter, got an email wanting to know if she could knit a vintage baseball sweater. With her busy schedule, she is not able to take on other projects. So instead, she sends them to me.

Topping these Boots

As I said before, I am swamped with orders. This is such a great feeling, being so busy. This week I worked on an order from a friend I graduated with. Jayne and I played volleyball together FOREVER! She was my setter and I her middle blocker. When she asked me if I could make her some boot toppers, I was more than willing to fit her into my schedule. I had her pick the color she wanted from Knit Picks and she decided on Dove Heather in Knit Picks Brava Worsted Weight.

Holla Knits Knit-along Week 4

Week number 5 of the knit-along started on Monday. However, with the overwhelming amount of orders I have this week, I have put both my knit-along sweaters on the back burner. That being said, I made some great progress on BOTH my sweaters this past week.

Holla Knits Knit-along Week 3

Heading into week four for the Holla Knits knit-along, I am WAY ahead of schedule. This is mostly because I want to finish both of my sweaters on time. It also has something to do with the fact that I am modifying the pattern by adding sleeves of some sort to both tank tops.

Holla Knits Knit-along Week 2: part 2

I told you that I was being ambitious with this knit-along and attempting to finish 2 sweaters in 8 weeks. So far, I am ahead of schedule. I actually think I may finish this one this week. I am also debating on whether or not I want to make it a tank top.

I don't really wear tank tops too often and I am leaning more towards a short sleeve sweater. I couldn't find another set of size  needles around my house or in the stores, so I picked up a size 6. I decided to knit this sweater in the smallest size (29in) in order to make up for the size difference.

I also chose another Knit Picks Comfy Fingering weight yarn in Semolina. I am also going to attempt a yoke sweater. I LOVE the way this looks. I will just have to hone in my math skills to figure out what will be best for the stitch counts for this. I guess we will see.

Holla Knits Knit-along Week 2: part 1

I haven't mentioned yet that I am participating in a knit-along for Holla Knits. We are knitting Emma Wolford's pattern, the Holla Back Tank. I am still debating on whether I actually want to knit this as a tank top.

FO Delancy #2

I finished this sweater the same time I finished the other Delancey. I made this one for my sister Jessi, for her birthday after she complimented mine in progress. I finished this sweater at a rapid pace because I was hoping to have it done for the knit-along goal. I was just a day short for that. It is currently blocking after I added fabric covered buttons.

fits before blocking!

Almost everything that I have knit these past few months have had short-rows incorporated in some way. I was impressed by the lack of seaming in this pattern, seeing as seaming is Hell for me. I loved that the sleeves were knit by picking up stitches at the shoulder. This was great for getting the length of the sleeve right. I was able to try it on and see if it was where I wanted it to fall. I knit this in Knit Picks Brava Sport using the extra skeins of yarn from my first Delancey and my mother-in-laws Delancey.

before blocking

Alexis Winslow, designer of the Delancey and author of the blog Knit Darling, did such an amazing job with this pattern. The finished sweater looks so much more complex than the actual construction, which is always nice for showing off. I decided to change up the bottom band for this sweater for two reasons. The first being that Allyson did and the second being my lack of my main color yarn. I actually ran out of gray yarn for the collar and was forced to use some of my left overs from the Umbre Lovre. This worked out well because the grays were the same weight and so similar in color. I think I will be the only one that can notice where the change occurs. I am excited to see how my sister like this! I will add pictures of her wearing it as soon as I get some of her in it.

FO Delancey #1

This week was an extremely busy week. Knitting wise, it was busy but with only two projects. Both of which were Delancey cardigans. Both of which are finished! I was invited into the Sweatshop of Love's fourth knit along by my sister Allyson; the third in which I have participated. When we voted on the sweater to knit with our last knit along, I voted for the Delancey. We knitted the Aidez sweater, but I really had my eyes on this baby. It was the second place winner, so it was chosen for this knit along.

DELANCEY FINISHED

I loved knitting this sweater! The construction of it was so unique and turned out so amazingly. It was also my first time knitting a sweater using ALL Knit Picks yarn. I again felt spoiled knitting with such great yarn. The color is so rich and the yarn itself is so flexible.

Diagonal stripes

I knit this using Knit Picks DK Swish yarn in Garnet Heather and Brave Sport in Dove Heather. I was unsure of how much I would like this sweater when I initially started, but the further along I got, the more I loved it. I have yet to block this sweater (as we all know, my favorite part) but it fits pretty well as it is. I need to block it in order to lengthen the sleeves a tad bit and get the collar to stay folded down. Im completely loving this sweater! I will share the sister sweater for my sister later this week.

Back of the sweater

KAL Delancey

We are about to enter week 3 of our knit-along with the Sweatshop of Love. Allyson chose the Delancey Cardigan, which I posted about earlier this year. I chose to knit this sweater in Knit Picks Swish DK in Garnet Heather as the main color and Knit Picks Brava Sport in Dove Heather as my striping color.

Garnet Heather

Dove Heather

I have been making some great progress on this sweater (especially since I am also in the progress of knitting a blanket, hat, soakers, and 2 other sweaters). This first week, I exceeded the goal because I was unsure of my color choices once I got them on the needles.

Week 1

 I FINALLY decided I loved the color choice after this weeks goal was reached (or almost reached). I have completed 98 of 108 rows of this sweater (the goal for this week). This sweater has an amazing construction and I am having a ton of fun knitting it, even though the stitch is entirely Stockinette Stitch.

Week 2

I am dying to finish this thing already because the finished pictures look great on Ravelry! My mother-in-law and Allyson have chosen some great colors as well! Check out The Sweatshop of Love's blog for their and other's sweater progress