Knitting and Sewing. Sewing and Knitting.

What a marvelous day sewing yesterday.  I do have an elastic to redo, but that is an easy adjustment to make.  I just need to use a little less agressive fitting elastic and pair one will fit wonderfully well.  In my wearing of pair one yesterday, I was impressed.  No stress along the seams!  Pair two will fit if pair one fit well and it did.    So my job today is to cut out two more pairs of the second pattern, and to sew more pants.  This time the fabric will be the real goods, an old fahsioned jogging fleece, the kind hoodies are still made of.  I wanted that fabric for warmth in winter and easy wearing in summer on the cool days.  

None of that means I am not thinking about knitting.  I am always thinking about knitting.

Late last fall, when I was about to start me cozy new sweater (wearing it now), I showed you the yarn I had available from Custom Woollen Mills.  Most of the sweater was made in a natural gray with a lighter gray for the little colour work part.  

This is what is left after sweater number one of the darkest grey.  

I have a cone of a lighter gray and some of the natural creamy colour of Rambouillet too.   

The plan has always been to use the yarn for colourwork of some kind.  I think I am going to do a modified raglan sleeved sweater and I am going to teach myself a technique that I read about a long time ago and had a tough time searching for information on, now that I no longer have my large collection of magasines.  

Years ago, Rick Mondragon of Knitter's magazine fame, came up with a sliding loop technique for intarsia in the round.  I had no idea where i read about it, nor who designed it when I started the search.  I came up with was a Holly Yeoh post talking about a technique from Knitter's magazine but no information on how to do it. Once I had that it was from Knitter's, it became much easier to suss out but it still is only a partially successful search.  There just isn't much out there on it.  I persisted and eventually came up with this.  

 and this

Somewhere, between these two videos is how to do a Mondragon Loop.  It allows you to do your intarsia completely in the round.  Which I think is cool and which I need because I really like knitting in the round and I like to know weird stuff.  

For this sweater and these yarns I am going to learn how to do this interesting technique that teaches you how to get your yarn to the right place at the right time. I will start with the cream and knit that plain with some pretty basic off centre colour blocking for the bottom.  Depending on the amount of yarn I have, there will be a kangaroo pouch pocket.  And long Sleeeves.  And a hood.  Okay, I don't quite have it set in stone, but I know where I want to go with it.  I have a few skeins of yarn to wind and then I am off to the races. 

Still, sewing first.  Adulting is rearing it's head and I am facing the need I have.  The need for pants is real and there will be a few more days of sewing before I am comfortable with the quantity I have for regular wear.  And then there will be need to sew some pants for summer too.  Lighter weight fabrics, and maybe even some more of the wonderlully flowing wide legged Winslow Culottes from Helen's Closet.  After the losses of pants this winter, summer clothingis due.  

I also have a heap of material for tops.  Standard shirts and t shirts and tanks and little flowing things.  I love my summer knits but I want more than knitwear to clothe myself with.  Sewing will be around for the long haul.