Sleeves + Seams = Sweater and Shipped

It is finally finished! It only took two years....

Well, sometimes that is what it takes. The main hold up for this one was that the colours I had weren't right for any kind of striping but there wasn't enough of any one colour to use. I decided I could dye two of the colours, but that didn't get done for a long (long) time.

I did finally get to it earlier this year and was able to continue the sweater. Fortunately the notes I made in the printed pattern, which was more like a recipe than a pattern, gave me enough information to carry on.

Last time you saw this sweater, the front and back were done and the collar was knitted on. Everything was ready for the sleeves.

Yes, the sleeves.

The first problem was to address the amount of yarn I had in each colour. I first attempted to knit them in the same stripe pattern as the body, but I didn't have enough of a couple of the colours. I worked on both sleeves at once so I could know right away if I had enough. When I realized I didn't, I had to rip out both of them and decided on a different striping pattern you'll see in a minute.

Then I had decisions to make about the shaping. The pattern called for sleeves with flat tops - no armhole or shoulder shaping at all. This works, but it's not a very nice fit. With wool this thick, it would be especially uncomfortable because of all the unnecessary bulk under the arm.

So I worked on figuring out a shaped sleeve cap that would work. Hmmm, I don't know what I was thinking the first time, but you can see it on the left:

If you can't see how wrong that shape is, let me assure you that it is way wrong. Of course, I had to try sewing it in anyway just to see if it would work. It didn't. So I put it aside and worked on the second sleeve, making a few improvements. You can see it on the right - much better. Once I ripped out the left one and knit it to match, I was able to sew them on to the body.

I decided to use a thinner and stronger wool to sew the seams. As I mentioned before, the yarn it is knit with is a single ply and doesn't hold up very well for seaming. It would also make the seams much too bulky. So I grabbed a leftover ball I had in a sort of "neutral" matching colour and used it instead.

Here is a shot of the mattress stitch before I pull out the slack:

Give a gentle persistent pull, and your seam is all sewn up:

You can't even see the sewing yarn anyway. Here is the seam from the inside:

Still a little bulky. Sometimes people will sew the seam using only half of the selvage stitch instead of the whole stitch. That would cut this bulk in half. I decided not to do it because I didn't think it would work well with the slipped stitch selvage stitches that I do.

Here is a shot of the sleeve seam as well:

And here is the entire sweater:

I don't think you can tell that purple strip had to have surgery:

I adapted the collar of the pattern and I think it worked out well:

I finished the sleeves and hem with a garter band. I prefer it lately to ribbed bands and it matches the garter collar.

Project Stats
Started: 7 Jul '15
Finished: 17 Sep '17
Pattern: The Steppe Ahead Sweater by Irina Makarow
Materials: Various balls of Lopi, picked up here and there.

Once this was done, I felt it was worth sending a box of woolly goodness to Wool-Aid.

The organization was just recently able to reconnect with a monastery in Gamrau, India. We haven't been able to send to them since 2015. We didn't know why but now know it was because of internet problems and no one who spoke English. Somehow a sponsor in Belgium is now able to act as a go-between and organize things.

There are now 32 young monks, ages 7 to 17 living there (up from 19 a few years ago), plus six elders. Winter weather in Gamrau is severe, and this group has always struggled to stay warm. They have restrictions on what colours they can wear, but my red socks will work perfectly. (And don't worry, the other socks and sweaters will work perfectly well for another group.)

After finishing this sweater, I didn't have a big quantity of any of these colours. I sent them to my sister who's always knitting hats so she could use them up. It will be fun to see what she comes up with.

ETA a picture of the hats she made:

She had them done so fast she was able to get them to me before I shipped the box!

Wool-Aid Projects in 2015

Here is another pair of socks I finished for Wool-Aid. They were the sixth pair this year. I did a 2x2 rib on top of the foot and around the legs, ending in a 1x1 rib to help them stay up.

I finished with the Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off that you can see below.

And I did my usual gusset, short row heel and then heel flap to decrease the gusset stitches.

These socks ended up pretty big at 9.5". As soon as they were done, I cast on another pair with a few fewer stitches but the same yarn. Here they are with only a few stitches left to be bound off. (The church service started and I had to stop!)

But don't worry, I finished them today. So that makes seven pair for the year (and 12 overall).

Here are the other projects I finished in 2015 for Wool-Aid:

I have one more sweater on the go, but I ran into yarn dyeing issues and it has been in time out for a while.

As of December 18, the people on Ravelry who support Wool-Aid have completed the following items in 2015:

Hats 2400
Socks 900
Sweaters 800
Vests 500
Mittens 400
Blankets 75
Total: 5075

10” blanket squares 275 [These are sewn into blankets by an obviously generous volunteer.)

Below is some information about each of the projects/locations supported in 2015. Most of the text is taken from postings by our fearless leader "MorningThunder" on Ravelry. She is the one who collects all of the items and arranges for shipping from her house. Yes, from her house...I don't think they've used the dining room for eating in a long time! (My comments are in italics.)

But wait, before you get to all that, I thought I'd let you know how you can help, if you would like. Obviously, you can knit and crochet things to send. Just follow the guidelines on their website.

And/or you can make a donation to help with shipping and other incidental costs. (MorningThunder does all this for no wage so your money goes only to the good of the project.) See details on their website page here. (If you're still looking for a Christmas gift for me--not that you have to--a donation to Wool-Aid would be wonderful.)

And/or, and this is the easiest one, you can designate Wool-Aid as the charity Amazon.com will donate to as a percentage of all of your Amazon purchases. Go to smile.amazon.com and chose Wool-Aid from the list. Once it's on your account, you will need to start your shopping at smile.amazon.com (every time) and all purchases will help! Go do it. Do it now! Click.

Now, here are the stories of the people the Wool-Aid group has helped in 2015:

2015 NEPAL

In June, she reported that Wool-Aid has established a new partnership with some very wonderful and dedicated people in Nepal!

Wool-Aid items will be sent to help a group of young monks at the Tendhar Lugar Choeling Monastery, but even more of our Wool-Aid items will be shared with needy children who live in the area surrounding the monastery in Kathmandu and in other parts of Nepal.

Monks from this monastery have been very active in securing and delivering relief aid to people who have been affected by the earthquakes that first hit the area on April 25, 2015, with the young monks being very much involved in these relief efforts. They are taught the significance of service -- expressing love, compassion, and universal responsibility -- in word and in deed.

There are currently 53 young monks at the monastery, ages 5 to 15. At the Tendhar Lugar Choeling Monastery, the monks can wear mustard (gold), yellow, maroon, and brown colors. They wear sweaters and vests under their monks’ robes during the winter, and socks and hats are also much needed.

They would especially appreciate receiving blankets for older children and teenagers. Even in the summer, it is quite cold when they are sleeping outside in tents (as many have been since the earthquake, because of the continued danger of building collapse). They often sleep two to a mattress for extra warmth.

After sleeping out in the open on the first night of the earthquake, they tried to sleep in tents the second night. But when it started raining into their leaking tents, they ran inside, only to have to run outside in the middle of the night when the earth started shaking again.

Blankets would be used year-round, because it is cool at night, especially when sleeping out-of-doors or in tents. During the more temperate seasons, they would help protect the children from mosquito and other insect bites in addition to protecting from the cooler temperatures.

The monastery has storage space available, so Wool-Aid can send aid throughout the year and then they can distribute it when it’s needed, either to the young monks or to other children. All items in colors not appropriate for the monks (and perhaps some of the items in monk colors, too) will be distributed to other needy children.

So for all those among you who have wondered if we would eventually be helping people in Nepal, the answer is YES! It took a bit of time to connect with the right people, but we feel that this partnership allows Wool-Aid to help many children with little or no access to other resources.

Aren't these young monks adorable in their gold and red hats!

Distributing hats, sweaters and socks to new monks. Many
of them are brought by their parents because they just can't
afford to keep them at home.

________________________________

2015 SYRIA

Our warm woolens have been requested by Syria Relief, an international relief organization of excellent repute. They have year-round effective distribution channels and can distribute aid inside Syria, which requires a solid network on the ground within the country. There are over 12.2 million Syrians in desperate need of humanitarian aid, with over 5.1 million of these being children. About 7.6 million people have been displaced within Syria by the conflict. Syria Relief provides care and support to these vulnerable people in hopes of curbing mass migration to refugee camps outside their own country.

Syria Relief sends relief containers to Turkey, where they are taken to the Turkish/Syrian border and undergo standard freight and customs inspections before they are met by ground teams inside Syria and taken to warehouses for distribution. Syria Relief is able to reach areas that most others can’t. More often than not, these are the places with the most desperate needs.

While the need is so great that anything we send will be promptly distributed, they have specifically asked Wool-Aid to help children who are 9 to 12 years old, with a focus on hats, mittens, and vests.

Because Syria is a country at war, we will avoid sending items in camouflage colorways; we have also been asked not to send items that are red. Representational images of people and animals are not appropriate for distribution within Syria.

Syria Relief is a registered NGO in the UK, with a clear aim in Syria: Relieving the suffering : Supporting the future.

________________________________

2015 ALASKA

In August, MorningThunder wrote: Wool-Aid has received a request for warm woolens from a small school district in Alaska that serves a group of seven very remote villages. The winters are very cold there, dipping to –60 degrees on some days! Snows begin at the end of October and continue through April.

The population is Native Alaskan, specifically Athabascan. Unemployment is very high, and most families are below the federal poverty line. There is no commerce -- no jobs, no stores, no places to buy things. Anything that is purchased must be flown in, which is very expensive.

We are being asked to help about 50 students who are in pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade. These are children 4 to 7 years old who need our warm woolens to help keep them warm when they are playing outside at school. With such limited resources, it seems that there isn’t money to spend on clothing that would be quickly outgrown by these youngest of children.

For these children, the specific request is for hats, mittens, and socks.

All colors -- especially bright ones -- are welcome for these children!

By mid-November, she wrote: This wonderful group of knitters and crocheters is sharing love and warmth about 50 children in pre-K through first grade in a small school district that serves seven villages (Kaltag, Minto, Huslia, Nulato, Allakaket, Koyukuk, and Ruby) in central Alaska, on the Yukon River -- and the boxes may be delivered soon!

Here’s what was enclosed in the two large boxes from Wool-Aid:

65 hats
66 pairs of mittens
7 hat & mitten sets
80 pairs of socks
________________________________

2015 KAZAKHSTAN

Wool-Aid is pleased to let you know that we are helping children in orphanages in Akkol and Urupinka, Kazakhstan this year. It gets really cold there -- temperatures can reach -40 degrees in midwinter, and the snows start in August!

Nanci from the Motherless Child Foundation (Mittens 4 Akkol) contacted Wool-Aid to see if we could help out with some pairs of socks for the children they support. We shipped out 81 pairs of socks and included 15 pairs of mittens in larger sizes, too. They will be on their way to Kaz with Nanci next week!

Your help is very much appreciated. Nanci sends profound thanks to the members of Wool-Aid for the socks and mittens that she’ll be able to give to children in the orphanages this December.
________________________________

2015 DULAAN PROJECT: MONGOLIA

In January, MorningThunder reported: Our shipment to the Dulaan Project in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia is on its way! We have supported the Dulaan Project for several years. They serve children in schools, orphanages, and on the streets in Ulaanbaatar, where it is often -40°F at night in the winter.

Mongolia’s winter is extreme; the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, is the coldest capital in the world. It rarely gets above freezing on winter days, and can often plunge to -40°F at night. To survive, many of the homeless live in the heating ducts below the nation’s cities. Warm, well-made clothing can allow a child to go to school or an adult to go to work; restore a sense of dignity; and, in some cases, literally save a life.

Bureaucratic issues had kept this shipment on hold (literally for months!), but now all that has hopefully been taken care of so that when our boxes arrive in Ulaanbaatar, the labels will have been pre-approved by the governmental Ministry in charge so the boxes can be picked up without having customs fees charged.

These are the boxes MorningThunder prepared to ship.
Can you imagine having them in your dining room?
Especially before everything was contained in the boxes!?

These 24 boxes weigh 544 pounds and they contain 1307 of your lovingly handknit and crocheted items for the kids. Most of these boxes were ready to go before the end of 2014, but we were able to add to them before the final approval of the forms and labels came through.
Here’s what we sent:
Socks: 201
Hats: 620
Mittens: 220
Vests: 113
Sweaters: 153
TOTAL: 1307

Here is an excerpt from the thank you note that was sent back after the items were received, and a picture of some of the kids with their new woolies on.

You Wool-Aid folks are so wonderfully generous -- sharing your time, your yarn, and your creative talent to help children all over the world. Heartfelt thanks to all of YOU!

As with many of the other organizations, any extra items or things in sizes that didn't fit are passed around the community as needed. The "leftover" items from this shipment were given to homeless adults and disabled and blind people.

In October, another shipment was in the works: Wool-Aid is preparing shipments this fall for the children of Mongolia, working with the Dulaan Project, as we have for several years now. We expect our big shipment to Mongolia to go out in November.

We will be sending clothing for children of all ages and in all sizes -- and in all colors, too! Meredith, the director of FIRE/Dulaan Project, writes that they find homes for absolutely everything we send!

So keep those needles and hooks busy for the kids!
________________________________

2015 TIBET/YOUNG MONKS/INDIA

In February: Wool-Aid continues to support the children in Kyegu, Tibet with regular shipments throughout the year. Our Wool-Aid items are typically distributed to children at selected schools during the winter months. During the summer months, our shipments are held at the monastery until time for distribution. This is a wonderful help, since they are only able to receive a few boxes at a time. Their ability to provide storage space means that we can still move larger quantities of aid to these children.

Wool-Aid’s focus for Tibetan children is for children who are of school age -- about 8 years old through teens. These children are often outside in the bitter cold weather, and they really need protection from the elements. We most often send hats, socks, sweaters, and vests to Tibet.

While the colors of maroon and gold have special significance in Tibetan culture, the children in Kyegu love to receive our warm items in all colors and patterns. So knit/crochet what you love!

I hope you're still reading and enjoyed the stories of all the different places and people that Wool-Aid works with to keep people warm, safe and comfortable.

Wool-Aid Socks-Warm and Wooly

I haven't yet shown you the latest pair of socks I finished for Wool-Aid. A big size at 10" with a cable rib pattern.

 As usual, I started with the toe.

Or should I say "toes" since I do them two at a time? It's a short row toe over 20 stitches, which gives me a roomy 40 stitches around the foot.

After the foot, it is time for my latest favourite heel--start with a gusset, do a short row heel over the original number of stitches (in this case, 20) and then do a heel flap after the heel, decreasing the gusset stitches.

I will often leave 2 or 4 of the gusset stitches not decreased so the leg is a little roomier than the foot. They fit me better that way so I am generalizing from there.

Once I get far enough (or I'm running out of wool), I finish with some plain ribbing and Jeny's Surprising Stretchy Bind Off:

 It really is stretchy:

With these socks done and cooler weather coming, I decided it was time to send a box off to Wool-Aid headquarters. Here is what I sent yesterday:

One sweater, two little pair of socks, one medium pair and one big pair.

And I finally pulled myself together enough to gather the materials and start my next knitting project--some nice red socks for the next shipment...

Definitely not Grey: Wool-Aid Sweater 1

I finished the pink sweater I made to thumb my nose at all the grey I had been using, and it was a nice colour oasis in the winter dreary that's going on right now. Last time I mentioned it, I was just getting cast on. Progress went smoothly and I had it completed in about a month.

I liked the pattern and will probably use it again. I really like the collar and it fits perfectly with the Wool-Aid guidelines: the neck opening is wide enough to allow almost any size head to get through it easily and the collar fits close enough around the neck for warmth.

The only change I made besides working it flat instead of in the round was to keep the centre front stitches live when I divided it to work around the neck opening. Casting off those stitches can leave a tight section that doesn't stretch and causes unsightly puckers.

You can see that I left the stitches on a stitch holder. When the collar was knit, I overlapped the bottom edges of the right and left sides and Kitchenered them to the live stitches. It didn't work out exactly stitch for stitch, but I think you can see in the second picture above that it came out pretty well.

You may recall that I knit the body of the sweater from a provisional cast on in case I didn't have enough yarn. I figured I could always knit the cuffs in a contrasting colour. But I did have enough.

The last thing I knit was the sleeve cuffs, doing them two at a time to make sure I wouldn't run out on the second sleeve. As I was working them, it became obvious that I would have enough and then I started to wonder if I could have made it a little bigger, or a little longer in the body. But I let it go.

After I finished seaming, I was very happy to have as much left over as I did. I had forgotten (or not anticipated) how much yarn it takes to sew a sweater together! At the end I had 6 grams left out of 350. Close enough for me!

Something I tried for the first time was to Kitchener the shoulder seam. Mattress stitch works very well for side seams where the direction of the knitting is parallel to the seam, but not as well for shoulder seams. I didn't Kitchener the live stitches, however, because the shoulder seam needs to be a structural element of the garment. If you don't have a cast off edge, the weight of the sleeves can pull the sweater out of shape and even affect how the neck fits. So I cast off as normal, and then Kitchenered the front and back together using the stitches of the last rows and ignoring the cast off edge.

I think it came out well! (Can you even see the seam there? It's a little bit thicker.)

I have friends with daughters about the right age and the girls were willing to model the sweater for me to get some pictures.

The older sister was very professional:

Her younger sister, not so much:

I had a lot of fun taking the pictures (when I was fast enough)!

It was also fun to see older sister trying to get younger sister to "pose nice":

Not going to happen!! :)

The girls are a few years apart and although the fit of the sweater was very different on each of them, I was glad to see that it will work for a variety of ages. I'll be sending it to Wool-Aid and so I don't know who will be getting it. I think with this sweater and a couple socks I haven't shown yet, I have enough to send in. They're preparing a shipment for Syrian refugees right now and the need is great.

Enough with the Grey Already!

Don't you think? I sure do. In contrast to the grey socks I'm working on, I cast on with some of this pink loveliness:

My sister found seven of these balls at a second hand store and paid a pittance for them. It's wool, which she doesn't work with, so she picked it up for me. At first I pictured lots of pink socks, but the yarn has a "thick and thin" texture that wouldn't be the best for socks. And I had seven skeins!

So I started on my first Wool-Aid sweater. I looked for a pattern that I liked with a deep shawl collar. Not one of those big shawl collars that hangs over the shoulders; one like this:

Hmm. Kind of confusing that they are both called shawl collars. Anyway, this type of collar gives plenty of room to fit a head through without leaving a big opening around the neck. I'm probably going to change it to ribbing though. I don't like the garter stitch.

I chose the largest size I thought I could get out of the yardage that I had. And then I added in some insurance--I skipped the bottom border and started with a provisional cast on:

That way I can knit the borders at the end and use the same yarn if I have enough and no one will be any wiser. Or I can use a contrasting yarn for all the trim and it will look like I planned it. Clever, right?

I liked how after knitting one row, it reminded me
of hairpin lace. (Not that I've done it, but I've seen it!)

The pattern is written to be worked in the round to the armholes, but I didn't feel like working on circular needles. So I split it up and worked the front and back separately. Here's the back after I finished it:

I have a row or two left to do on the front and then it will be done as well. Then the sleeves. I haven't studied the pattern to make sure it's possible to do them flat, but I'm certainly going to try. I am loving using my wooden straights and don't want to give it up!

And can I say again how nice it is to use a nice bright pink instead of grey grey grey!?

One Step Forward?

Once I sent off a package of socks to Wool-Aid, I started another pair. That's how it goes.

Somehow I ended up doing another grey pair. I'm not sure how that happened!

I am using wool raveled from a sweater again (with my Navy sock yarn reinforcing the toe and heel). Maybe I just have a lot of grey sweaters? Maybe because I'm using sweaters for men and they're all boring grey? I don't know. I know I have one green sweater and I think that will be next.

Aaannyywwaayy, I got the first sock done in pretty quick order. But then the second sock.

I don't know if it is because I have gotten used to working two at a time, but this second sock has not been smooth sailing.

I was working on it at a friend's while we were all chatting after Thanksgiving dinner when I looked down and actually looked at what I was doing. I was almost done the heel and I had forgotten to add the reinforcing sock yarn. So rip, rip, rip that went while we were sitting there. Either I looked confident or no one cared, but no one asked why I took the needle out and ripped the sock back a couple of inches.

Then when I finished the heel (at the same dinner party, maybe?), I started the 2x2 ribbing on the leg.

Do you see anything wrong with that. Neither did I as I worked two-plus inches. But then one part of my brain finally listened to another part of my brain and I asked myself why one needle was ending with Purl 2 and the next needle was starting with Purl 2. That is not the way you do 2x2 ribbing. (Perhaps this is why I've heard not to mix knitting and drinking wine?)

Then I remembered that I had to add two stitches to the first sock after the heel so that the total number of stitches would evenly divide by four and I could do a 2x2 rib. So last night I ripped the leg out and reknit about half of it during small group. Now I think I am in for some clear sailing to the end.

Knock knock on wood and throw some salt over my shoulder.

Socktoberfest!!

You thought I'd forget again this year, didn't you? Well, I didn't!

I started celebrating Socktoberfest by packaging up the socks I have ready for Wool-Aid. I'll be shipping them out tomorrow. They issued a challenge in September to get things wrapped up and sent in so they could fill up their fall shipments. Here are the socks I had ready:

Oh yes, that's a new one on the bottom. I just finished them up last week.

I blocked them on my sock blockers but they're definitely bigger than the socks I wear.

I used a 3x2 rib to "change things up" from the 2x2 rib I did on the other Wool-Aid socks. Yes that's a little facetious, in case that wasn't obvious.

I put in a very small gusset and did a short row heel.

I ended with a cuff of 1x1 ribbing and my usual sewn Kitchener bind off. What can I say? I still love it.

Now I'm looking around the stash for more worsted wool for the next pair. (I may have to ravel another sweater to get it.)

In the meantime, I have a new pair of socks going that I will be gifting to someone in the family. No pictures yet but I will tell you that they are a certain special shade of blue...