Thank You, Michelle!

I've been remiss in posting and thanking Michelle for the gorgeous prize I received from her for my March Sweater Madness sweater.

I received 2 X 4oz braids of custom dyed Corriedale Superwash! Isn't it beautiful?! I hope I can do it justice with my beginner spinning skills.

Thank you so much again, Michelle. I had a blast during this March Sweater Madness. I am thrilled that I have a sweater to show for it that has been getting plenty of use (still need to post a modelled shot). Of course, I'm looking forward to next year's Madness?

By the way, has anyone else finished their project??

Done!

This sweater is now officially done, but it didn't get this way without its share of knitting pains. The instructions were about as clear as mud and there were numerical errors. I would not recommend this pattern to someone without extensive knitting experience. On the other hand the cable patterns were easily memorized if somewhat unconventional (the smaller cable and part of the larger one is executed from the wrong side, something I've never encountered before). I did my share of tweaking to this pattern, starting with a different yarn, and therefore a different gauge. Not a major issue, as I simply ended up knitting a smaller size (once I realized that just because the gauge on the ball band matched the required one by the pattern didn't necessarily make it so!) Instead of short rows at the shoulders, I shaped them by casting off in sets of four stitches at the beginning of each row and working a k2tog and the end of each row to create a smooth contour. I cast off the band on one side but kept knitting the band on the other side once the shoulder stitches were cast off to create the neck band. I sewed the band to the sweater as I went along to get the right length and attached it to the other side. This turned out much nicer than my attempt to knit the back of the neck band as written. Because I was worried about running out of yarn, I worked a provisional cast on for the sleeves and once the body was done I simply worked the sleeves down until I ran out of yarn (I had tried to calculate the yarn required for the final cast off but ran out half way through the second sleeve and had to rip back a row of seed stitch on both sleeves to be able to finish the cast off). This is all that's left of the yarn after I finished all the seaming! Talk about stash busting. Now the sweater is going for a nice swim in some Eucalan and a blocking. Final picture once it dries.

Thanks for another great month of Madness, Michelle!

Almost!

Just have the underarm stitches to kitchener in the morning! Yeay!

Getting There

I finished the lower body. I'm about to start the sleeves, but I will do a provisional cast on and only knit a small section on each one before attaching it to the body and finishing the body first. The amount of yarn may become an issue and I'd rather end up with short sleeves than an unfinished body. Here goes nothing.

Half Way Through March?

How can that be? Yikes!

Well, gauge did not like me snubbing my nose in its general direction and so with two balls knit and at about 3.75", I had to rip right back to the beginning and restart--two sizes smaller! Story of my life. I recall another sweater with a similar fate. I'm on track now. I don't dare measure to prove myself delusional. I've finished one waistband chart (4 rows) and will evaluate after one more. This photo represents 19cm (7.5") of knitting. This is the side view.

Maybe....

Maybe a sweater vest is a cop-out...but at least it's a men's sweater vest!  All of a sudden, I have a lot going in my life.  I've been unemployed for 6 months.  Out of nowhere I'm looking at three offers in less than a week.  I spent a lot of the last week interviewing.  I've also been teaching classes and doing a lot of pattern development for a local yarn artist and a lys.  I have half of the sweater vest done.  Both my cameras are dead and I've yet to put them to charge.  I'll post pics soon.  Casting on for the other half soon.

After a Week

This is all I have to show: That's only the band and set up row, one ball worth. I'm already starting to worry that I may not have enough yarn and if that turns out to be the case this could turn into a vest or a short-sleeved cardi. After all, this is a stash busting project for me.

How are the rest of you making out?

Welcome to March!

Did you all cast on yet? I'm planning on casting on tonight. Throwing caution to the wind by not knitting a swatch. But having just said that, I expect to regret my choice.

Excited for the Madness!

I have my sweater designed and ready to go.  Pattern development is one of my favorite things, besides knitting.  I can't wait to see how it turns out, as well as everyone else's.

Can't Wait for March 1st

Woohoo! Just found a pattern I'll be knitting for March Sweater Madness. It's Turn of the Glass by Kathleen Dames from Knitty Winter 2011. I am so excited!

What will you be knitting??