I’ve spent plenty of time philosophizing and self-reflecting. It is high time we got back to creating! (Or at least showing you what I have been creating.)
Grandmother’s dress – WIP
Remember this from November? Per Brooke’s suggestions I took off the sleeves and pinned the shoulders to move the shoulder seams down. Ignore the overly tight neckline. The bust fits much better but some adjustments are still needed around the armhole and probably the neckline too.
Cosplay – WIP
It is almost convention Season and I am working on Season 4 Avatar Korra and Mulan for Emerald City Comicon. I started with the props and I’ve spent weeks agonizing about pattern designs. I promise to write up a more detailed post about the steps, materials, and tutorials I used to make these. Stay tuned.
Breakwater Sweater – FINISHED
This is my third sweater/knitted top attempt. I am getting better at understanding gauge, fiber content, and reading patterns. Still, this sweater took me nearly a year to complete because of other projects. I loved the Breakwater pattern for its simplicity and I would highly recommend it if you are looking for a basic raglan sweater. I’ve worn this sweater with skirts mostly, which have higher waistlines than my pants.
I like being able to knit and I love seeing a garment take form, but either I need to get faster or I just need to not actively depend on knitting pieces for my wardrobe. Maybe as accents rather than core pieces.
Question for the knitters – how do I learn to knit faster? Have any of you used the online Craftsy lessons? I am thinking about “fit your knits” and a couple others. (This sweater fit super well, but my previous sweater is not a fitted as it should be.)
The Fabric Alchemist 
Both of your projects look great 🙂 I can’t wait to see the finished cosplay
As a knitting nerd, the only thing that really helps with speed is just more knitting. Although, if you want speed, you might consider a knitting machine. I’ve never used one, but I have friends who rave about them.
A thought; do you knit continental (working yarn from the left) or English (working yarn from the right)? I noticed my speed increased a tiny bit (which adds up) when I switched from English to continental style.
I knit the English and I have watched people knit continental and move much smoother. Great suggestion!
I’m excited for your ECCC cosplays and posts! I have been procrastinating on Liono and am now worried I won’t finish it …
My blog has a “countdown” function to specific events. 10 days until ECCC! Oh god. 0_0
At least I can’t ruminate anymore, I must create!
I saw that! Love it and might need to find one for mine, too!
When you say “knit faster” do you mean increase your stitch-per-minute speed or make more stuff?
For the former, I agree with Glynis that more knitting is key (muscle memory FTW!). Some of the speed knitters out there use a technique (sometimes called Irish Cottage Knitting) that uses very long straight needles and requires you to hold the non-pointy end of the right needle under your right armpit. I haven’t tried this myself (I hate seaming and much prefer in-the-round knitting and circular needles), but I’ve seen videos of people doing this (including one woman who used it for lightning-fast knitting of fairisle with several colors at once!), and it is impressive!
For the latter, I increase my output by always have knitting with me. (A sock-in-progress takes up very little space in my purse, for example.) I almost never sit down and JUST KNIT; instead, I work knitting into the “I’m sitting here for a while anyway” moments in my life. Watching a movie at home? Time to knit! Waiting for my dentist appointment? I knit then then, too! Sitting around and chatting in my mother-in-law’s living room, hanging out at my daughter’s field hockey practice, etc.—I find lots of little occasions to knit. I don’t churn out a LOT of stuff, but I do make steady progress on my projects.
Your latest sweater looks great, by the way! I struggle with getting a good fit in my own garments, so I’ll be interested to see what info you find on that. I understand how math and knitting are supposed to be friends, but accurate measurements always elude me. Somehow, I can measure the same gauge swatch four times and come up with four (slightly) different numbers!
I think you and Glynis are right – knitting more to build muscle memory. I may have to try the continental knitting. My fingers have never gotten the rhythm of looping the yarn without completely letting go of the right hand and needle. There is a lack of conservation of energy here.
I can’t wait to see you finished Mulan!! And I am loving how your grandmas dress is fitting