Sunday, May 26, 2013

Polo Frenzie

Hmmm, I have been absent for a while haven't I?  Catching up with the spring projects, mostly outside and of course long work days.  But, yes have been knitting!

I just finished a tweed polo in blue shades, I refuse to sew up the tedious seams until I have the part in need for my linker.  It was shipped from UK and will take a while.  So on to the next!

Diana Sullivan just released her Knit Leader Course <(click there).  Last night I watched her DVD's then re-read my instruction book; did a swatch.  This morning I mapped out my polo on the knit leader mylar sheet.  Was planning to use a men's sewing pattern for a dress shirt but there is way too much ease in a men's dress shirt.

What to do?  I took a favorite polo shirt and simply traced directly from the shirt!  Keep in mind when you knit you are using a very small seam allowance; sewing patterns us a 5/8" or 1.5 cm allowance.  So tracing a favorite garment is practical indeed.

Take a look below, off to put a new pond pump in before it gets too hot outside.

Polo Shirt
P.S.  Diana Sullivan is working on a great book for machine knitting, no DVD's with this one.  She has asked me to to proof read it, make suggestions and what photo's I think are needed.  Diana wants me to be brutally honest.  Another very fun thing, always like working/testing with her and on her projects!

Monday, May 6, 2013

My Spring Cotton Polo Finished

Seeing all the snow across North America in May is odd indeed.  Originally from the North Eastern US it is not the norm for sure.

Having relocated to the desert southwest it's spring for us, warm and toasty, shorts and t-shirt weather.  Our temperatures have been in the 80's and even 90's already.  In one corner of my yard, I have a bit of desert landscape;  here is the first cactus to bloom this year:
For All Of You In Snow
Back to the polo...

This was done in a Yeoman cotton/acrylic.  I rearranged the buttonholes as I never button the top button so why bother having it?  This was a bit troublesome to knit as it has a hard twist and no give as you knit.  What I like about the yarn is a quick wash and lay flat to dry.  All stitches evened up and the fabric looks great.
Soft Salmon
The photo design is not the best but, you can see the exact color as it was a bit tricky to capture!  Now for the buttons.