Finally!!!! I am done

It took me along time, but I am done. Mine came out a little big, I knew it was coming out big and after blocking it, it became even bigger but I love it. It is more of a coat, so I can use several layers underneath, but I really love it and I learned a lot. Hopefully the next fair isle garment, will come out a little smaller. Here is a picture, if you want to see more see my project page in ravelry under Aurita.

Terri Drops Out...

Well - I started with a sleeve. I didn't really have any problem with stranding the four colours across the back - although the weaving in was slooooow work. But what are these blobs? Roses? nahh. I wasn't happy so I frogged it. And I'm going to use the yarn (lovely yarn) for other things. Starting with this Inga Hat.
That must have been the shortest ever knit a long. Next time maybe?

A Newbie from Texas

As we say around here - Hi, Ya'll

I just received my yarn from Astrid - both for this KAL as well as the Kauni SSS Sweater. I have spent the evening trying to decide which to cast on first - but have only progressed as far as fondling the yarn and going "OOOHHH", "AAAHHHH" and reading over both patterns.

This may sound absolutely terrible - but my daughter is having dental surgery tomorrow (a "routine" tooth extraction), so I am sitting here looking at these patterns trying to decide which is (1) challenging to keep me distracted so that I won't freak out while my baby is undergoing anesthesia and (2) easy enough to do while I am distracted while said baby is having her "in office" surgery.

I'll let you know tomorrow which I chose.

~~Terri~~
blog: chrisnicel.typepad.com/knittingsanity

Late starters and new projects

Hello Everyone!

We have some late starters, great to hear you like this kit and I wish you happy knitting of course!

I've also had some questions on my latest projects. Well, lots of socks, as I've attended a Crafts Fair and it's always nice to bring socks of course :)

Added some pictures of new designs that are finished: first a sleeveless cardigan (look at the large collar), then of course the Kauni SSSSweater, then the Trekking HandArt Flower Gloves (colors are not so good on this picture), a felted bag from the Evilla pre-yarn, another bag from this yarn together with a mohair, then a cute hat (same yarn), another hat with braids (again the pre-yarn), then a felted bag from the Kauni and I'm now busy with a new design with reddish colors, picture will follow once it's finished :)

Then Jeanie has designed a beautiful shawl, that picture will follow later as well, I'm sure!

Hope to get some replies from you....

love,

Astrid.

xoxoxo

A useful tip on color patterns

I'm glad to see there's still interest in this sweater. I've been wearing mine almost everyday since I finished it. I'ts plenty warm if the temperature is above freezing.

Anway, since I finished it, I've discovered http://www.techknitting.blogspot.com/ . She has wonderful information on lots of knitting subjects, and very helpful advice on color work. Her May 12,2007 entry discusses multiple colors in a technique that looks very easy. I wish I'd read it before I struggled with the rose pattern.

I'll be following your progress.....and where is everybody else? How about some photos of completed sweaters?

Leslie

A useful tip on color patterns

I'm glad to see there's still interest in this sweater. I've been wearing mine almost everyday since I finished it. I'ts plenty warm if the temperature is above freezing.

Anway, since I finished it, I've discovered http://www.techknitting.blogspot.com/ . She has wonderful information on lots of knitting subjects, and very helpful advice on color work. Her May 12,2007 entry discusses multiple colors in a technique that looks very easy. I wish I'd read it before I struggled with the rose pattern.

I'll be following your progress.....and where is everybody else? How about some photos of completed sweaters?

Leslie

Not By Yourself

Hi,
I started the sweater at the beginning of the knit-along, but chickened out. Now I have another starter and I wanted to knit one more winter item. I guess it is time to put this on the needles again!! I am going to do the rib at the boottom too. Are you planning to knit in the round the whole way up?
Kim

The latest 'joinee'

The Late Starter

I've hankered after knitting a cardigan like this for ages - so this KAL is perfect! Greetings to you all...


Where are all the pictures of the finished cardigans? Leslie's looks beautiful - though I'd like mine to look baggier on me as I don't like fitted garments normally - so I think I'm going to knit the largest size.

The yarn has arrived - in fact the parcel was waiting for me when I came back from the wonderful 'Skip North' knitting and spinning weekend holiday to visit the Yorkshire mills. I came back with a huge amount of stash from the Mills so I had a very yarn filled week!

I've printed off the pattern - including Astrid's enhanced graphs (thanks Astrid). Now I just have to knit the swatch. Do I start with the hem as specified or do a 2/2 rib like some of you fellow kal folk? Decisions decisions!

Finally finished.

Here it is all finished. This was a very satisfying sweater to knit, and the rose patterns were a fun challenge. I'll still be checking the blog to see other sweaters. I think it's fun that we've all changed it a bit.

Thanks, Jean, for having the idea and thanks, Astrid, for the blog and timely yarn supplies! Thanks to everyone for posts and comments. This has been a great experience.


Leslie

Crazy person flies to Florida

We had our first snow in Washington today and the sweater looks right at home.

Friday I'm going to Miami for our family Christmas. We'll be opening presents on Dec. 9 because that's most convenient for us. We're flexible: opening presents and eating a turkey is Christmas, no matter what the calendar says.

Of course, I'm taking along the sweater and I expect to finish it . I'll be there for over a week and all I have left is the sleeve cuffs, raw edge finishing and blocking. I'm doing carry-on luggage (presents were mailed last week) so.....I'm going to wear this sweater on the plane. If I have any more time I'll try to take care of the hanging threads. If anyone notices my sleeves aren't the same length, will they mention it? Stay tuned.

I see in this photo that the front patterns don't line up; in real life they're okay. Maybe my next photo will involve tropical foliage and lipstick. I seem to think of blogging on my commute and take pictures late at night. Not very flattering.

Jean, I can't wait to see a photo of your birds! Astrid, can we see a photo of your gorgeous sweater being modeled, or is it being saved for a Chrismas present?

Blog to you next week: Mom doesn't have a computer. But she knows about blogging!

Still Knitting on my sweater

I am almost done with my patternwork before the roses at the shoulder/neckline. still plugging away and loving every minute of it. the yarn is so soft and nice to knit with. i still think a colorwork sweater in browns with squirrels and acorns would be pretty!

Duplicate stitch the winner.

If I had to do it again, I would duplicate stitch the rose bands and not try to knit in the pattern. In this photo you can see the knitted in shoulders and the duplicate stiched button bands in the same picture. The knitted band took a lot of tweaking and wet blocking to look that smooth.

I have discovered that balling my hands into fists before I put the sleeves on prevents getting fingers caught in the floats. Put your watch and rings on after you don the sweater.

The reason you're not seeing photos of the completed buttonhole band is that I've reached another snag. The buttonholes on the lining don't match up with the buttonholes on the front.

The arithmetic to calculate buttonhole spacing was painful enough; I'm avoiding revisiting that problem. I suspect I should have verified that I had the same exact number of stiches on the front and back before I started. I hoped for the best and you see where it got me.

This knitalong is my first time participating in the knitting blogosphere, and I wish I'd jumped in sooner. I was telling some friends about it at Thanksgiving. Educated computer users, ages 60+ and 90+. Neither one had heard of blogging. (!) The hardest thing for them to get was "Why would anyone else want to read your blog?" The knitalong concept was a little easier to grasp.

Any discussion of why you want to read blogs leads to the Yarn Harlot. We went to her site and found "Mummy's Little Sweatshop" and read it aloud. The whole gang laughed and laughed. I was too shy to admit I read knitting books in the tub, too.

The first button band is coming along nicely:
Here's how I did it: I picked up stitches from the right side the usual way:

This is what the inside looked like. There was a loop on the back for every picked up stitch.

Using a smaller needle to help, I knitted up a stich in each loop. I used a second long circular needle.

Then I knitted the band circularly, as you would knit a sock on two circular needles. One needle for the right side of the band, one needle for the lining. When I finished, I wove the two sides together.

I pulled the yarn very firmly when changing needles. The transition looks good, I think. I used Cindy's technique and only knit the rose pattern in blue and green. I cut the green after every pattern row to keep the lining in one color. Before weaving, I duplicate stitched in the other colors.

Here it is partially woven:

My duplicate stitch is tighter than my knitted rose pattern but I don't think it matters. I couldn't think of another way to do it. I think the pattern is unrealistic thinking we could knit the multicolor pattern back and forth.

My extra yarn arrived in eight days and was a perfect match. Thank you Astrid!

Unfortunately I didn't order enough. The button band takes over half a ball of blue. So I've ordered more. It should be here by the time I need it.

Next challenge: Buttonholes!

Leslie

I've outfoxed myself

I finished the second sleeve and basted it in. I like the way it looks:



Here it is with the steek in the front:

The problem is that I've run out of blue yarn. I had to take out part of the sleeve hem to finish the second sleeve. That hem was too tight; I was planning to re-do it anyway.

It's not surprising I ran out: look how much knitting I cut away for the armholes:

I felt bad about a lonely ball of yarn traveling from Holland by itself so I ordered some Kaffe Fasset sock yarn to keep it company.

I have plenty to do before the yarn arrives. I can finish the inside of the bottom hem with white. I think I'll knit in my name and the year. That's an Elizabeth Zimmerman idea I've always liked. I'll experiment with the sleeve cuff. And I have to permanently sew in the sleeves.

Have you seen what Jean Townsend is doing? On her blog http://www.justmejeanie.blogspot.com/ she shows the bird pattern she's knitting on this sweater. I can't wait to see it. I think it will be lovely.

Leslie

Set in sleeve

I've been thinking about setting in the sleeves. Here's the sleeve basted in with the traditional dropped shoulder. Here's the sleeve set in:

This is what the armhole looked like:

I cut a slit in the sleeve to allow it to fit. The slit is the same width as the armhole, 10 cm in this case.

What do you think? I'm favoring the set in sleeve.

Yes, I'm planning a cardigan. The steek is in the back for these photos. I really love the rose pattern on the button bands. Has anyone started them yet? How are they going?

Leslie

Help with sleeves

I am starting the sleeves and I am not sure how to handle the increases. I am doing the middle size, that tells you to right away after doing the edge increase 12 stitches (final 58) and begin doing M4, but the pattern repeat is 12 stitches, so I am planning on increasing 2 more stitches to make it to 60, a number divisible by 60. Then they want you to increase 2 stitches at a time for 32 times every 3rd or 4th row, but if you do that there will not be enough stitches to repeat full pattern stitch for a while, what do you do then? How you handle that?

Thanks

Aurita

New KAL idea?

This is a cardigan that makes me drool.... really! Not just the pattern, but also the yarn.

100% extrafine merino (superwash) and not so very difficult to knit, needle size US 4-6 (3.5-4mm).

http://www.astridsdutchobsessions.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=2428

Have a nice weekend!

love,

Astrid.

xoxoxo

Help

Well I was moving right along enjoying to the max the knitting and here we are. I finished chart M3 and my sweater measures ~22.5 inches. According to the instructions, it should be 21.65 when I am next to done with the next chart M4. I know I am off but I like it like it is , longer. I just need your help to figure out what I need to do now. I know that the sleeves will have to be wider I guess to fit the steeks, but I deal with that when I get there.

I am planning on knitting chart M4 complete because I want to see those roses like they are. I need to figure out when to start casting off for the front neck. In the pattern it says knit M4 and when pieces reaches 21.65, cast off 34 + 5 steeks ( I am doing the middle size). Since I am past that length and I have not even started chart M4, how many rows in general of chart M4 do you knit when you had to cast off so I can use that as a guide? Or what should I do, I do not want to rip, it is not that I do not want to do it, I like it like it is now and desperately want to find a way to do it.

Assuming that you and me can figure out the above question, now the second. Somebody I think Annie, after casting off the necessary stitches, added back the steeks stitches to keep knitting in the round, but if you do that, how do you then keep casting off 2 stitches every other row to shape the neck.

I am getting all confuse here, so I am stopping until I hear from you or I can understand this, I keep reading and reading the instructions and nothing clicks.

Thanks and looking forward to your input

Aurita

Completed

Well, here it is, all done, steamed, buttons sewn on, and photographed. The buttons were from Joann Fabrics and are absolutely perfect on this cardigan, and were fairly inexpensive as well. The button band fabric is the best I have ever made, being very firm and even. My buttonholes leave something to be desired however, but I suspect I will get better at that in the future.

After looking back on the techniques, I'm not sure that I would change anything, except to attempt to knit in the rose border. Mine looks messy on the inside but looks great on the public side. Okay, I would change one thing: I would knit the armhole steeks in pattern instead of having extra steek stitches. That way, I could custom size the cutting of the steeks to absolutely match the sleeve width. (My sleeves matched quite well, but sometimes they don't.)

This is my most successful stranded sweater thus far, but now I have to take it off. It's way to warm!! Come on winter!!!

It has been a real pleasure being part of this KAL. Thank you everyone, and especially Jeanie and Astrid for organizing and putting up the blog site.

Sweater finished !

Fresh from the needles .......

love,

Astrid.

xoxoxo