Zimmermania

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

HELP!!!

I too have jumped on the seamless hybrid bandwagon. I'm making this sweater for my hubby for Valentine's Day. I was motoring along quite nicely until it came time to make the "saddles". I'm working back and forth on the saddle sts, working an ssk on the knit side and a purl 2tog on the purl side and slipping the first stitch of each row...as directed. My SSK decreases have turned out horribly loose and sloppy! I have never had this problem with an ssk dec before and have no idea why this is happening. I tried to ignore it hoping blocking would help, but then I started to pick up the "saddle" for the back of the neck. When I get to those loose sts and try to dec for the saddle, it creates a big hole that looks just awful! Here are some pics of what I'm talking about, I hope someone can please HELP ME!!








Tuesday, January 30, 2007

My crazy Pi Shawl


Hi Everybody, I've been lurking for a while, I'm so excited to finally be able to post!!


Here is my pi shawl to date, it's a little crazy with the variegated yarn, but the yarn (Socks that Rock Azure Malachite) called out to me to be something other than socks. I hope once it's done the overall look will be enough in one color family to make it pretty and not just loud.

You can find me on my blog working on this and all sorts of other things.

Rachael

pi r square shawl

So after a couple months of joining and watching all the beautiful EZ projects on this site, I have finally started my pi r square shawl. So far it has been really fun and really fast! I am using a yarn that is somewhere between fingering weight and lace weight (I bought it because I loved it -- and still do -- but the label only has 100% alpaca 50g on it) and I am knitting on a size 5 needle. So now I have a question for anyone else who has made this shawl. I am already 10 ridges past the third increase, and even stretched tight, I am only at 11 inches. EZ says not to increase past the 4th increase, but I am wondering if my shawl is only going to have too much plain knitting at the bottom, not to increase a 5th time? I suppose I will be able to tell by then if I need more width in the shawl as well. I am planning on putting on a lace border, but I am not counting on that adding much more then an inch to the circumference of the shawl..... Any ideas, or experience would be much appreciated!
Have a great week!

not to be ungrateful or unappreciative, but I am asking for advice on the Pi R Square shawl from Knitting Around, not the Pi Shawl. This one is knit flat and is kinda square.....thanks!

seamless yoke



Jess asked me for a new sweater last week. (Boy, am I tired of yellow, but she loves it. The noro definitely helped to break it up.)
More here.

*Sorry for the re post for you who have rss feeds, but my picture disappeared.*

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Monday, January 29, 2007

A flip on EZ's 36 stitch mittens

(I apologize for the double post earlier, blogger was being weird.)
For these flip-top convertible mittens I followed the basic recipe for 36 stitch mittens in Knitting Without Tears. They were a quick and easy knit. I knit the fingers as you would for a basic glove, ending at about the first knuckle. Then I picked up 18 stitches about 2 stitches below the pinky and cast on 18 stitches and followed the rest of the pattern for the top of the mittens.

I did the embroidery she suggested and thought it was funny because in the book she says something to the effect of "This embroidery will trick even the most experienced knitter into thinking you have learned some new fancy stitch." (I wish I had the book on me for the full quote.) Well, the first time I wore them to Stitch n Bitch, one of the other knitters asked "Wow, how did you do that? a slip stitch?" So smart that EZ is.

So, they look great and are very functional. I decided not I also really like how she has you decrease for the wrist and then increase back up for the hand. I'm not as fond of the thumb placement because it stretches across my hand too much, perhaps for my next pair I'll place the waste yarn so that the thumb comes out of the side of the glove.

ez convertible mittens

EZ convertible mittens

Other Details
Knit with Mission Falls 1824 wool in Amethyst (cc) and Damson (mc) at five stitches per inch. I used about 1.5 balls of the main color (I have small hands).

Thanks to everyone who provided me with feedback on my last post about my Malabrigo Saddle Shoulder Sweater. I reknit the top and am now just working on the finishing. I'm very happy with how it is turning out and hope to be finished soon.

Amy

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Sunday, January 28, 2007

Seamless Yoke Sweater


Made this sweater for the Squid using yarn she chose (I offered 14 shades of red, 3 shades of pink, and then a "ok, grab what you want as long as there are 3 skeins of it." and she chose 2 shades of natural brown organic yarn from Full Belly Farm). Together we decided where the stripes should go. It was her idea to have the sleeves and majority of the yoke be the light color and the body be the darker color. I think it was a wise choice; I love the colors of this sweater.

I loosely followed Elizabeth Zimmermann's Seamless Yoke formula with some minor changes. One minor change was to eliminate all neck shaping - I'm a firm believer that all clothing for kids should be reversible. So I always either make the neck shaped for either side or eliminate shaping altogether. A yoke sweater begged to become a funnelneck so that's what I did.

I spread the yoke decreases out a bit further than EZ specifies. She suggests starting the decreases when you have reached half of the yoke's final height. I started a hair earlier than that, and if I were to do it again, I'd start even earlier. I feel like there's just a little bit too much room across the chest, especially when the kid is in motion. And my kid is almost always in motion.


I also spread the sleeve increases out a bit. Doing them as EZ specified left a too-bulky sleeve, in my opinion. Granted, the Squid is built like an average size 4T except for her height, so when I scale things for her they come out all wide and short. So it may be my kid's proportions that are off, not EZ's calculations.

All in all, I'm pleased to have made yet another classic piece from EZ's classic books. The Squid seems happy, too, as evidenced by the fact that I didn't even need to sneak in the photo. She did, however, request that I make sure to take a photo when her tongue was out and she wasn't looking at me. I was happy to comply.

bsj and modular boots


yet another bsj. this is made of alpaca and the colours are sweet and sour. very calming colour combination. but of course it is not the ez baby colour suggestion with which i normally agree very much.
i just think it is essential for little girls with something pink and wanted to try this colour combination for a long time.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

All done ....


but the sewing up! An EZ seamless yoke with fair-isle patterning (used my own), did the back short-row shaping (and you can't really tell unless you look) and I did a 37% underarm which seems to fit a bit better.

I think I'll call this one "September" -- the greens of summer blending into the browns, golds and yellows of Fall (and a hint of white snow)!

Friday, January 26, 2007

When At First You Don't Succeed...


....shamefully refuse everyone's good advice to rip it out and instead just start all over again, but in a different shade of pink.


Pattern: The February Baby Sweater, by EZ, of course, found in _The Knitter's Almanac_

Yarn: Caron's Simply Soft, 1.5 skeins (acrylic! gasp! sorry EZ! next time it'll be wool!)

Needles: US 5 circulars

Modifications: No real modifications, except for the helpful advice of those many who have gone before who suggested casting on an extra stitch on each side of the sleeves (so cast on 8 instead of 7 stitches), and then you can slip this extra stitch each time. This slipped extra stitch will create an easy-to-seam-border for the under-arm seam.

Other final comments and thoughts found here on my blog for anyone who might be interested.


Fair warning

Well, folks, when I logged in this morning to add the latest round of new Zimmermaniacs, I got an ominous and emphatic message about switching to Google rightnow. There was an option to bypass and go to the dashboard so I could post this note, but with a warning: YOU CAN ONLY DO THIS ONCE. I didn't think they'd force my hand this soon, but I may have no choice about rolling Zimmermania over to the new Blogger in the next couple of days. I haven't been able to find any information on what this will do to blogs like ours with vast numbers of contributors. Anecdotal evidence seems to show that you will not need a new invitation to rejoin, but that you will need to create your own Google account in order to access Zimmermania. We may as well all bite the bullet and make the jump, I suppose. Anyone watch Battlestar Galactica? I feel like we're this giant fleet about to coordinate a jump into another system, and I'm just hoping we all end up at the same coordinates and no one hits an asteroid on the way. If you DO hit an asteroid and can't get in after you've switched to Google, email me (sarah AT bluegarter DOT org) and I'll send you a new invitation. See you on the other side!

very warm son



heres my eldest in my latest EZ knit, it was a quick knit and just what I needed to get my needles going again. Its the Very Warm Hat and I used a 4mm 16" circ and two balls of sublime silk cashmere merino dk which is a lovely yarn but not the best for this type of hat as the two tend to slide about on eachother a tad and they are a pain to get to sit nicely.

Great knit though and the first of many


Oh p.s. I am now on new blogger and have managed to post here, zimmermania doesnt show on my blog list BUT if I go to dashboard its there and I can post via there I hope thats of some help to others.

Zimmermania saves the day

Last spring we moved from Southern California to Northern Virginia. I’ve been ignoring the fact that I have no hat that I like because the winter has been rather warm—until now. Fortunately, right about the time I realized that it was getting really cold I saw Christine’s post with a Very Warm Hat. I have that book. Even better I had yarn for that hat and now I have a nice warm head!
A very warm hatA very warm hat detail

Leigh

Ribwarmer -- almost!







I'm getting there! Only two issues -- I-Cord border takes almost as long as it does to knit the darn thing! Of course, I am doing two rows -- I like the thickness ...


And ... how do I get rid of the short-row "pooching"? I plan on some heavy steam blocking, but fear I may either have to live with having boobs above my bum, or cut, unravel and graft. Anyone else have this problem? Or better yet, a solution?

Thursday, January 25, 2007

on the bandwagon

"... having no seams, they demand no sewing skills at all. After you have made your first one you will possibly discover another advantage; that of mindless manual activity, which, with a little practice, will leave your eyes free to read, observe the landscape, or glue themselves to the tiny screen. So, keep an open mind, and venture into the territory of the seamless sweater." - EZ, Knitting Without Tears.

The Seamless Hybrid is complete! I heard the call of the bandwagon and responded by jumping on eBay, determined not to make the same "crappy yarn" mistake I'd made with my last sweater. I went straight for the Rowan Yorkshire Tweed, which I found a bag (color Gust) and a ball (color Champion) of at Jannette's Rare Yarns.

With a tutorial on provisional cast-ons and a tutorial on contrast turned-under hems I was prepared to cast on for the hidden jewel of the sweater, the contrast-color hems. There were several snafus at this stage, mostly owing to the fact that I have no idea how to crochet and my provisional cast-on didn't unzip, it snarled and had to be painstakingly picked out, stitch by stitch. However, I prevailed eventually, and with two small cuffs and a waist constructed, I was set up for hours of happy stockinette on the body and the sleeves.

I took these little contrast color hem bits with my on my December vacation to New Zealand and knit my way through the kauri forest, across the Cook Strait, down the east coast of the south island on the TranzCoastal train, and in a cottage on Stewart Island.

The sweater's construction was a bit mysterious at the outset, but I soon saw how the saddle shoulders were coming together, and I particularly like the way the saddle back turned out. The fact that there was no sewing to do at the end was certainly the best part. I don't share EZ's hatred of purling, I rather like it, but the hatred of seaming runs very strong, and I anticipate several more of her seamless sweaters in my future.


Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The Anniversary sweater


Or rather, look another seamless hybrid.

More info here

Saddle-shouldered Sweater


Another EZ sweater finished! I've got ideas brewing for the next one. It sure is fun to knit small sweaters for small kids - they just fly off the needles (the sweaters, not the kids).

The yarn is Dale of Norway Falk. I added a pirate motif that was adapted from Hello Yarn's We Call Them Pirates pattern. To size it down for a child, I made some adjustments to the sleeve percentages and the shaping at the top. All the details, and more pictures, are over at my blog Zigzag Stitch. Thanks for looking!

Still want to join?

Hi all,

I had no idea how many comments had collected over at the "Join Zimmermania" link in the sidebar. Please, please send me an email if you want to join - it's sarah AT bluegarter DOT org - if you never got an invitation after leaving a comment under "Join Zimmermania," it's because you didn't send me an email. Do so today! We want you aboard, I promise!

Cheers,
Sarah

Posting from the New Blogger

I'm on the new blogger, let's see if this works.
I am waiting for the mailperson to deliver my Zimmerman order. I've got the babes all lined up, waiting for knitted garmets, just need the directions. Oh yes, there is the yarn shopping too.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

BSJ



Hello Fellow Zimmermaniacs!

I have been a big fan of Elizabeth Zimmerman for many years and always enjoyed reading her books. What I liked most were her thoughts on wool - (get those little kids into their woolen leggings upon birth! ) and her extraordinary use of language. Challenging, yet supportive, yet strict. What a great combination for a teacher!
So, I decided to finally knit something from one of her books; the Baby Surprise Jacket. I went down to the LYS (because for some strange reason, I thought that I had no yarn in a 6/inch gauge..) and told the store clerk what I was looking for and why. I just about choked when she suggested a "lovely, soft, baby acrylic". (Ackkk!!) That just goes against EZ's philosophy of materials - so I went through my stash from my Fair Isle knitting and pulled out some shetland. (well, duh! many of you must be saying..) What a great fabric! Here I thought that I didn't like garter stitch.. Springy and soft, but not obscenely so. A great hand and so warm and pleasant to work with. I'm really inspired by this project!

Melissa (aka stashmaster)

of afterthought pockets and other things....

I own a gorgeous sweater- it's actually a lovely green, but I had poor light when I took these pictures. It was made in the mid 70s by my paternal grandmother, for my mother, while she and my father were dating. Of course it is wool, my mother cannot handle wool, I can. SCORE!

Since learning how to knit last autumn, I've been thinking that I'd like to recreate this gorgeous sweater for my Mom, in a fiber she can handle. The original was made flat and seamed, but I'm planning to apply some EZ logic and make it seamless.

This is my problem though: It has vertical side pockets. How on earth can one put in vertical pockets when knitting on the round? Can it be an afterthought pocket? Would I need to steek?
Sadly, mother refuses to wear anything without pockets, so that's not an option either. :(

If anyone has any input I would be very very grateful!

Blogger switching issues

Hi all, sorry for a post with no knitting content (five more inches on those Fishtrap Aran sleeves before I can steek!), but I thought I'd better address the Great Blogger Conundrum. Many of you are now being coaxed to switch to the shiny new Blogger, which requires setting up an account with Google. Unfortunately, at least a few of you have taken the leap and then found yourselves unable to access Zimmermania. For now, I've just been sending out new invitations so the affected folks can rejoin with their new accounts. Blogger has also been prodding me to switch all of Zimmermania to the new version, but I've been resisting because - as far as I can tell - you'd all lose access and we'd have to begin anew with the invitations. Since we have more than 300 contributors (I stopped counting some time ago, but the requests to join keep rolling in), this would be a major headache for everyone.

If any of you are super-savvy about Blogger and know a clever way to work around these issues and seamlessly roll Zimmermania into the new format, I'd love to hear about it. For now, if you want to switch to a Google account, send me another email and I'll send you a new invitation. (If you all do this at once, be patient - it may take me a few days to catch up with a big flood of requests. I'll do my best, though, because I love coming here every day and seeing all the marvelous Zimmermann-inspired knits you brilliant people keep turning out. Zimmermaniacs are the best!)

We are intrepid knitters, used to forging through the pithiest of instructions and overcoming all kinds of disasters in our craft. We shall persevere, and Blogger shall not flummox us. Thank you for your patience and good will as we figure out a solution.

EZ saves the day (or at least my sweater)

I started this sweater some months ago, intending to knit "Salina" from Vintage Knits, only in the round. Halfway through the body I lost interest (the agony of endless red stockingette stitch!) When I picked it back up, I changed my mind, and decided to use EZ's saddle shoulder sweater instructions. I plugged my numbers into her percentages, and knit on like a madwoman.
I was very pleased with the results.
Check out the Saddle detail! (and please forgive that I'm learning to photograph my knits in the mirror!)

Monday, January 22, 2007

EZ Yoke, Almost there

I posted more about this on my blog, but thought y'all might like to see a pic of the almost-finished yoke sweater. I just have a few more rows of plain knitting and then can start the colorwork. Instead of using EZ's chart, I went ahead and charted my own from motifs in the 1000 Great Knitting Motifs and used Knitting Software's Stitch and Motif Maker to chart the yoke (making sure I had the decreases and the resultant stitch count right).

Edge stitches

What is the correct way to slip the edge stitch, or should I ask what is the correct EZ way to slip the edge stitch? There seem to be a multitude of methods out there.

Slip as if to purl with yarn in front, then bring yarn to back? Slip as if to purl with yarn in back? Slip as if to knit? I would love to get this question settled in my mind so I am doing the edges correctly. Thanks for any clarification!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Sweater designing

I am in the throes of sweater design... specifically color patterns... see my blog for more info.

Using the One-of-a-kind Scandinavian Sweater from The Opinionated Knitter as my basis.

I had no idea designing color patterns would be so much fun!

Greetings and Introductions

Hello fellow EZ fans! I am so glad to find a group dedicated to Zimmermania. So far I have 3 of her books in my collection. My latest addition is Knitting Around. I've been coveting that one for a while now because I want to make the Pi are Squared shawl. I have yet to actually knit anything a la Zimmerman, mainly because alot of what I've read up until now has kind of confused me. Her writing style is clear, but confusing at the same time if that makes any sense. I have loved reading the stories in Knitting Around about her personal life as a child and as a wife and mother. She seems like someone I would have loved to have known.

Any particular advice on what would be the best EZ pattern to get my feet wet on? Perhaps I should just read all the posts here on this blog and see what ya'll are doing and glean from all your collective knowledge!

By the way, I'm Lisa from Arkansas. Not only am I an addicted knitter, but I am also an obsessive spinner. My blog is located at www.bubblesandpurls.blogspot.com

Friday, January 19, 2007

Bohus Inspired Sweater


Yeah! I finished by classic EZ circular yoke sweater. The bohus-inspired yoke is from Spun Out #5. It was fun to knit with lots of slip stitches and purls that add texture and rich color changes.

I love the fit of this sweater. It is like a comfy old sweatshirt. I increased the arms to 37% after watching Meg's spiral yoke DVD. (The green bits hanging out from the arms are just another tee I'm wearing--it's cold here!) The yoke is probably 1/2" too deep, but that's getting picky.

These sweaters are getting really quick to knit. This one took about 10 days. The yarn is Rowan Kid Classic. Gauge is almost 5 spi.

Maybe I'll try a steeked cardigan next. (Gulp!)

I still not recived book Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann, but I am knitt this Jacket from ZIGZAG STITCH. I like it very much.
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
This is my son whit his sister Veronika and her friend Amalia.

My first post


I am so happy I finally am able to post to the group. There have been some technical difficulties, but they seem to be fixed. My first project was a saddle shoulder sweater last fall, and I have a photo which isn't that great. I'm just thrilled to be able to share this. The sweater was made out of Patons Classic Merino in a denim marl color. My son loved it. I will hopefully share some other projects now that I'm up and running. I've really been inspired from everyone's wonderful EZ projects!

Thursday, January 18, 2007

ganomy in red


had a hat knitting craze a little time ago. did this red ganomy which is as red as the green ganomy of yesterday's post is green. this is in sockweight merino baby wool. i did a few alterations so it would fit a 6 month old baby. i love elizabeth's idea about putting in a ping pong ball so the hat will float.... this one can't though. the top is filled with scraps of wool.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

BSJ!


My first EZ project - BSJ. Here is the story behind it:
I’m keeping it for our baby (not yet conceived) and here’s why:It was knit with my husband's aunt's needles (she died in Aug. 2005) and yarn from my grandmother. The yarn was gathered from scraps leftover after many sweaters my grandmother knit for various family members. In other words, it is quite sentimental and special despite the haphazard color sequence and randomness of the whole project to begin with. I had this yarn from my grandmother and it was just small balls of random [gorgeous] colors. I also had just gotten Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Opinionated Knitter and wanted to try the BSJ. And with the stars aligned, I began to knit (and frog, and knit, and frog, and knit, etc.). So that is the story of Baby B’s 1st sweater.
I still have to seam it, but perhaps I'll save that until I'm actually expecting....

Advice Needed

Hi all-

I'm hoping one of you seasoned EZ Yoke Sweater knitters can advise me. I want to make the "Box-the-Compass" sweater from Meg Swansen's book. It's different from most of EZ's yoke sweaters in that the yoke isn't fair isle, it's solid contrasting stripes.

I'm about to order yarn and I'm trying to figure out what percentage of the entire sweater the yoke is. Any one have any estimates? To complicate things further, I'm going to knit this in a sport weight yarn instead of worsted. This should be pretty easy using the "EPS." (Famous last words ...)

Any and all advice welcome. I've been so inspired by everyone's beautiful work, I hope to have my own to show one day soon.

Thank you!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Tomten and other projects



Finally getting around to posting here! I've been knitting EZ's designs for a while now, but am just getting around to posting here. The first thing I ever made by EZ was her seamless yoke sweater. Close up of the yoke here. Will have to have hubby take a pic of me wearing it as the one pic I have is really awful! I followed EZ's instructions for the sweater and for the yoke I just got out the graph paper and started seeing what I could create that would fit with the multiple of stitches I had. I love that there are so many possibilities with this sweater. You can use the same "recipe" and tweak it with different yoke designs or colors and give it a totally different look.

Next I tried the "adult" Surprise jacket. I think my mistake was trying to do stripes. I liked the way it looked, but all those ends to weave it, oy! By the time I got to the point of picking up stitches to knit this sleeves, I gave up. Poor thing is still in this state...



Has anyone else had the same problem? Maybe next time I'll try it in a variegated yarn and save myself the trouble.

Now I'm working on a Tomten jacket for a cool kid I know. Hopefully won't run into the same problem with it as I did the surprise jacket!

Maltese a la Cleopatra

Maltese Fisherman's Hat from E.Z.'s Knitter's Almanac.


I made one of these a few months ago using some bulky merino yarn. I liked the hat, but wondered what would happen if I tweaked the look. My mom suggested using ribbon, so I went for it! I used one skein of Tilli Tomas Cleopatra. To make it work with just that one skein, I had to modify the pattern a bit. If you are curious, please visit my blog for details.

Happy Knitting!
Sophia

another seamless hybrid

It has been great watching everyone's progress in knitting EZ's patterns. You guys inspire me so much!


I finally finished the seamless hybrid I started last October. I had a few trials and tribulations that you can read about here if you are interested. Clearly, I am not covering new ground here as there have been some really great seamless hybrids knitted up by some really great knitters.

But I will reiterate what has been said before, this is a great pattern and the construction is genius in its simplicity. I love the seamless hybrid and I think if you have not yet knit one, you should knit one up so you can love it too!

Monday, January 15, 2007

Having another try!

I check this blog out daily and I am in awe of the talent. You inspire me, but since my waxy mess, I've not been doing a lot of knitting (pouting). However, I just got home from shopping and have bags full of new yarn, so I'm ready to make another attempt at the EZ saddle sweater. Wish me luck!

tomten for a girl named tomten


this is the tomten jacket for my niece, once removed. i knit it during the christmas holiday and it was a little bit like in cinderella. the mice must have helped me because it was done without me even noticing it. or that is how it felt. the recipient's last name actually means tomten in danish. she is a great fan of ez. she has had several baby surprise jackets already and is especially fond of her noro silkgarden bsj. we call it the jimi jacket since it reminds us all of something jimi hendrix would have liked to wear in his heyday.
right now i am knitting yet another bsj for another little girl. and then i will knit the seamless hybrid.
the tomten with matching boots is made out of rowanspun and yorkshire tweed dk.

Help!


I am totally confused as to how to sew the Ribwarmer together. Here are the directions again:

It's that weird neck tab thing. I've sewn the shoulders, and the center back. Now what? Is it doubled at the back of the neck? Did I miss something? I'm almost to the point of ripping back those 10 rows and just having a scoop neck, with attached I-Cord edging.

Please help!

Zimmermania

Zimmermania

hello i am the new kid on the blog. i have fallen in love with ms. zimmermann last autumn initiated by a little girl for whom i wanted to knit. i was intrigued by the bsj and ordered the pattern and had it sent here to copenhagen. i am currently knitting no. 6. the pattern is so much fun and i shall post my last creation asap.

i am really happy to join this happy ship as it has already given me a lot of inspiration.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

EZ projects from a new member


Hi everyone! Just joined the Zimmermaniacs here but have been knitting for about 4 years now. Because I taught myself from library books I discovered EZ pretty early on, and very soon bought "Knitting Without Tears" for myself. The title was so reassuring!

I have since collected most of her books, and have knit quite a few things from them. I'll list the main ones here in case it helps anyone else with their projects.

The first thing I knit from the book was a Tomten jacket for my niece. I used Patons Astra, on 4mm needles, and ended up with a toddler size (I remember being surprised at the time at how huge it was! I didn't understand the yarn weights in the book very well). That's it on the right. I sewed a zipper in as a closure, instead of buttons.

After that I knit a yoke sweater for my son using Patons Melody. That was my first successful attempt at double pointed needles, which I used for the sleeves, and my first seamless sweater. I was hooked on seamlessness after that! It just seemed to make so much sense.

And probably the most practical item that I ever knit from one of EZ's books was the Very Warm Hat for my DH. I knit it with Lamb's Pride worsted, exactly to pattern, and it is such a warm hat that one can go out with wet hair on a -40 degree day and not even realize one's head is outdoors! I steal it as often as I can. Should probably make myself one, one day...

I think I may attempt either a pair of Norwegian mittens or a BSJ next. Or maybe another sweater for one of my boys, or a Ganomy hat? I just can't decide! I'll be sure to report on my progress here whatever I do. It is so helpful to see what yarn others have chosen, or what glitches they've run into and fixed.

Thanks for all the inspiration!

Christine

modular tomten

The Maggie, 10 months old

I am officially addicted to knitting EZ patterns. This is a Modular Tomten Jacket from Knitting Without Tears, that I finished earlier this month and finally found a button for this weekend. The rolled up sleeves and longer body length will hopefully mean it will fit for another winter.

More pictures and details can be found over at my zigzaggy blog, Zigzag Stitch.

Thanks to all the Zimmermaniacs out there! All the projects that I see here are so very inspiring. Keep up the totally awesome knitting!