Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Greensleeves


Not much to look at right now, but this is a long rectangular piece of green variegated bamboo knitted with a strand of dark forest green mohair. It is softer than the proverbial baby's behind. When complete, this will be one of the shawl-sweaters with long sleeves - the armholes are being held in place by the waste yarn. I am totally in love with the colour and the feel of this sweater. It is so luxurious. Knitted on an LK 150 at SS 4, the gauge is good and big for a light, airy feel.



Sadly, the *(&%#$! tension swatch lied on this one. This is the grey and black cabled sweater from Vogue. The back is complete and I have done some on the front band - which is what tipped me off that the gauge might be off. The cables and width of this piece look considerably smaller than in the photo. I haven't done actually checked the back gauge against the pattern yet, but it looks like I might have to frog the back and start over with larger needles. Harumph. I have put it to the side for the moment and working on completing a few bits and pieces. I'm going to try and get back to this one by the weekend. Keep fingers crossed that I might be able to work with the back as it stands...

Monday, September 1, 2008

New school year, new sweater


The knitting on this little multi-coloured sweater is all done, the sewing up complete, the ends worked in... and it is too small for the recipient!!!! So I have had to take out the cuffs and am going to add a few inches to the sleeve length. This won't take too long, but it is frustrating to have a project complete and then to have to take it apart again. This project has already seen repeated revisions, and one more change is almost more than I bear. I am not best satisfied with this sweater in any case. The variegated yarn is too orange for the purple and pink. However, the recipient loves it, so that is the main thing. She is going to help me pick out some buttons, then it will be her back to school sweater.
Here is the sweater I have started for myself. I have had the yarn for ages, and it has been on my Ravelry projects page since January, but I had to wait for the Ravelympics, and complete several hanging-on WIPs, before I felt caught up enough that I could cast on this one. The gauge is fairly big, so it should knit up fairly quickly, but the sewing up on it is supposed to be fairly challenging. We'll see!