It's a start...

Here's the beginnings of a new tomten.  The yarn is a little scratchy but once it's knit up it feels good.

I will return...

Despite the fact that every member of this blog is obviously off knitting other things (hence loooooong Tomten silence) I am declaring, "I will return."  I have two more Tomtens planned and I will be back with photos to prove it!

Here's a photo of the yarn I bought for my husband's Adult Tomten.  I will have to do some serious calculating to get the gauge and number of stitches right.  I had planned on using 10 1/2 needles but it looks like crap so I dropped down to 9.

Done...almost.

Well I need to finish the sewing and I am still debating the closure.  I would really like to put in a zipper but I don't have a machine.  I may try and take it to a seamstress as a few people have told me that doing a zipper by hand is a real chore.

I have to say, although the acrylic is a definite bargain I just didn't enjoy knitting with it.  I don't know if I will do my daughters the same way.  Also, this jacket is way too big for my son so I may put this aside for someone else and do two entirely new ones for the dear children in real wool.

I Actually Finished It!

Well, with only sewing up the under arms and re-working the edging to go my tomten was rapidly approaching UFO status, but Tuesday morning I woke up and thought "Today is the last day that jacket is going to sit in the back of the closet!"

So, I pulled it out and decided that double stranding the yarn for the I-cord was the way to go. I think it's worked out quite nicely.

I used matress stitch to finish the under arms. I think it looks nicer on stockinette, but was still a vast improvement on the prior weak attempts at seaming.

The zipper is only partially sewn in at this point, but I should be able to finish that up this weekend, and hopefully soon spring will show it face and the Tomten will get a little use.

Half a Sleeve and a Hood

Well, I've been distracted with hats. I'm always distracted with hats--they are a great gift item and quick but still I wish I could tell myself, "No!" and diligently stick to my Tomten endeavors. Yet, I've amazed myself with my progress--half a sleeve and only one more to go!

new KAL

I wanted to let you know that after my first Tomten, I didn't mean to ditch you. I do plan on making many more. but i have a surprise jacket to knit next, then a bog jacket! so I've started a surprise KAL if you're ever interested!

http://surprisekal.blogspot.com/

1/2 a sleeve

well, the tomten photo isn't quite up-to-date, but it does show the hood and the beginning of my first sleeve. I started knitting together the last stitch of the sleeve with a body stitch, but it finally became too cumbersome, and i wasn't delighted with the way it looked, so i decided i'd just knit back and forth and deal with a little seaming at the end. At right is a photo from last month of my snow-bound backyard. i don't like shoveling, but i have to admit it looks really pretty sometimes!

my shoulder has been troubling me, so i've mostly worked on smaller projects and left the Tomten patiently awaiting me to finish it. i hope to have more progress to show you soon.

A Little Progress

Well despite being very distracted by a couple Very Warm Hats, which you can see here, I managed to make some progress on dear son's Tomten.  I have just started my way up the armholes.

the adventures of super tomten

here is a photo of my progress to date. looks like a superhero mask! (or a raccoon)

i'm maybe halfway done the hood.

Here are some specifics for Amy (and any other interested parties)

my gauge is 3.5 sts/inch. i was planning for a jacket 45 inches around (without a button band- remember, you can always add a little width at the end if you need to by doing a wide button band or other border), so i cast on 160 stitches (came out to 161, but we want a number divisible by 8). i calculated my length (height?) measurements by comparing ratios from EZ's instructions in "Knitting Without Tears", and came up with 50 ridges before the armholes, then 35 more ridges to the top of the armholes (when you join all the stitches back on one needle). Oh yes, i did short rows every 7 or 8 ridges, but i'm not entirely convinced that was crucial- garter stitch is pretty stretchy. it was good practice, anyway.

i haven't finished the hood yet, so i'm not sure how many ridges that will be- i'll just keep trying it on until it seems to cover my head.

i *will* finish this thing- and while it's still cool enough to wear it, too!

i'm getting there....

slowly, but surely!

i had taken a break from the tomten to make some other, smaller projects, and it's now too big to comfortably take along with me, so i am only working on it while at home.

i'm now about halfway through the hood, which i hope to finish tonight or tomorrow night, then on to the sleeves.

i have tried it on (without sleeves, obviously) and it seems as though it will be a good fit (well, by my standards, anyway. i think my mother would tell you i don't know what it means for clothes to fit.) it is heavy, as i feared, but rather pleasantly so. like a favorite blanket or something.

photos soon!

Almost Done!

Here is a picture of the body of the Tomten copleted, and an i-cord edging in progress. I have actually finished the edging, but it is WAY too tight, and I need to rip it out and do it in larger needles. Otherwise, I won't have a hood, just a wierd pocket in the back of the neck!

I've decided to give it a week or two before I rip that part out, to avoid the feeling of frustration/aggravation of ripping out all that work and starting over.

I have tried a couple different methods of sewing up the bottoms of the sleeves, and haven't liked anything so far. Can anyone tell me what they did, and liked?