Persnickety

June 03, 2006

Green [Brown] Gables

Green Gables is finished! Well, she was finished last weekend but I've been without camera. So here are some shots! (click for larger versions)

(Hey Isel, I figure out pop-up pictures!)

Project Specs

Design:Green Gables by the girls at Zephyr Style

Yarn: Cascade Yarns Sierra in #60

Needles: a variety of circs (knit in the round) and DPNs for finishing off the sleeves

Begun: May 12, 2006

Finished: May 29, 2006

Notes:

I made the size 34, which was perfect with blocking. I typically buy a small in stores, so sizing is pretty true here.

I did not know that you were supposed to use the backward loop cast on and thus I used my standard long tail cast on. The neckline was tight before I blocked it but I stretched the crap out of it and, as you can see, I have a beautiful wide necked sweater

For the under arm joins I used a technique often used in glove knitting. At the join, you slip the stitch on the right side of the hole, knit the stitch on the left side of the hole, then knit the stitch off the stitch holder. It creates a really nice join with no gape-age!

I did the dereases just as called for, but added paired increases about 6 inches below the decreases. That made it fit perfectly around my hips.

I have a REALLY long body so I added about 5 inches to the pattern. If I had stopped where they said to stop, it would have been a belly shirt for sure. I think also the fact that my boobs have been growing lately for reasons unbeknownst to me may have affected the length of the usual shirt I wear.

I adore this sweater. I'm already planning to wear it out this weekend since it's slightly cooler than 90 degrees. The Cascade isn't really the best to wear when it's really hot because of the wool component (20% wool, 80% cotton) but it's going to be perfect for those 75 and sunny days!

12:20 Posted in Finished , Green Gable | Permalink | Comments (16) | Email this

June 01, 2006

Stash-along

Total yardage in stash (as of 05.29.06): 35621 yards (roughly)
Total miles of yarn in stash : 20.24 miles of yarn

Holy cow, that's a LOT of yarn!!! But not as much as some people. What's sad is that this accumulation is only from about 1 1/2 years. Ay ay ay.

I have joined the SOS (aka Summer of Stash) KAL. The point is to knit only from the stash all summer long, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This is absolutely necessary for me. I have about 5 projects in progress right now that I would like to finish, plus about 15 others that have yarn bought just waiting to be knit. Some of those projects are:

In Progress:

Lucky Wrap Around
Phildar Zip Cardi
Salina
Argyle Deep V Vest

On the long list:

Raspy
Phildar "Holey" Sweater
Clapotis
Adrienne Vitadini Shawl Collar Sweater from Vogue Knitting
Small Baby lace shirt (for cousin's baby)
Some sort of shawl from this killer possum yarn (yay for festival yarn!)
Mittens for my Sister
Morocco Shawl from Rowan Cotton Rope Book
Candy & Virtue Hats from Rowan Cotton Tape book
Branching Out

Random Yarn for which I have no projects:

Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora
Some lace weight yarn from handpaintedyarn.com
4 balls of Rowan KidSilk Haze
Rowan Cotton Tape bought on super sale at Elann

I also finished Green Gable! My husband is sadly out of town though working in Louisiana to help victims of last year's hurricanes and he's got our camera. So no photos until next week. But let me tell you, it's oh so cute.
(And actually, it's not even dry yet. It's been so humid here that even with full force fans the yarn is hanging on to that water so hard!)

10:50 Posted in Green Gable , Summer of Stash | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this

May 24, 2006

Stuck in My Sweater

It's times like these when I REALLY wish I had a camera. Never before having knit a top-down raglan, and hearing how everyone has been trying theirs on, I thought that's probably something I should do to make sure this thing fits. Good plan in theory. In my early morning, non-quite awake state, I neglected to think about the logistics of getting a 32 inch circular needle over my, erm, much larger than 32 inch chest. So here is Sarah, standing in the bathroom, totally stuck in a half sweater with no one to help. I finally resorted to just pulling the needles out half way. Lo and behold, the sweater fits like a CHAMP! And now I am stuck with re-inserting needles and fixing those stitches I dropped along the way. Lovely.

09:19 Posted in Green Gable | Permalink | Comments (7) | Email this

May 15, 2006

Weekend Knitting

Finals are over! I now have a week off of school and plan to spend it relaxing, cleaning the new pad, getting organized, and, of course, knitting. So much for the plan to finish Salina this weekend. I got sidetracked with a new project. I said I wouldn't, but I need some instant gratification knitting. Green Gable is looking pretty good so far!

After having a difficult time getting started (mostly the result of a finals-induced sleep deprived state of deleriousness) making stupid mistakes and frogging the whole thing 3 times, I'm making progress! I'm through the lace portion on the yoke of the sweater and have done several rounds increasing toward the bust. I love knitting in the round! It makes the project seem to go so much faster. I am also a huge fan of this classic elite sierra. The color, which is not done justice in the picture) is a gorgeous deep chocolate color. Hopefully the weather will perk up soon so I can wear it when I've finished. It's been so cold and dreary lately, and it's May for crying out loud!

I have also been trying out the math on this:

to make sure I have correct row gauge. There are quite a number of horror stories on the blogs lately about mismatched row gauge which ends up making a giant sweater apparently. I really love this vest so want to make sure it fits like a glove the first time around. Fun with Fair Isle!

09:53 Posted in Green Gable | Permalink | Comments (7) | Email this