Sweater KAL

Finally, Done!

2009-12-01T21:20:00.011-05:00

Soooo, I finished my Cropped Cardi Sweater! Yay!

This is such an easy knit, but I'm just lame when it comes to actually sitting myself down and getting it done.

One thing I really didn't like was the seaming (the center back and the shoulders)...not just this sweater but in general. I don't like to seam shoulders or sleeves. This might explain why I love to knit hats and scarves. (please excuse the lighting in the pictures)

Once I got passed it, everything was rainbows and sunshine again.
Now if only I could get my other sweater finished by Christmas.
FYI - I am proud to say I made the November 30th deadline - reset by Jen. Thanks Jen! I know, I know, it's one month past the original deadline, but I couldn't have done it otherwise. :-)

Deets you may want to know: The pattern can be found in the Knit.1, Fall/Winter 2008 - #19 Cropped Cardi, by Mari Lynn Patrick.
Needles: Circular Sz 15
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick
Color: Fisherman
Mods: Since it's supposed to be snug and cropped, the only modifications were a few stitches added to make the cardi XXXL for a roomie fit.

Pictures of Iceberg Lettuce!

2009-11-09T13:10:00.005-05:00

It was too cold at rhinebeck for me to truly show it off:
But it had fun! Trust me.
I've finally taken some bloggy pictures though.....

I've posted more on my blog, if you want some scary details, but lets just say it involved a lot of ripping and cursing to get here.
I am glad I got here though! Keep going all of you that haven't quite finished! I can't wait to see!

2009-11-02T01:16:00.002-05:00

It's the first of November and my sweater is not yet finished. I'm not discouraged but I had a problem with understanding how to put the sleeves in. I had to wait a week before I got someone to show me what to do. I was doing it correctly but it just didn't look right. Then I had to do two more rows before starting the yoke and don't you know I must have ripped those rows out at least three times. I couldn't end up with the correct number of stitches. Now that's been resolved so I'm knitting the yoke. It's starting to look really nice. I have two inches to knit and there's 363 stitches on the circular needles so I'm plugging along. I think I might be done in two weeks. I made a shawl from a pattern that Michael's had from Lion Brand. It called for Homespun yarn and I had two skeins that I could use. I have decided that I probably will never buy that yarn again. But I did like the shawl. The finishing was fantastic. It called for a crochet bind off. I loved it. It'll will be a few more months before I get back to Thursday SnB; but when I do I'll bring the shawl with me. I really miss everyone. Hope you are all doing well. Blogless Pat
'

2009-11-01T07:15:00.002-05:00

Oh don't worry, Martha. I'm nowhere near finished!

I'm giving myself until the end of November (make that December) to finish my sweater. I'm almost done with the actual body part of the sweater. Next will be the sleeves and then finishing.

SweaterKAL Dropout???

2009-10-31T18:52:00.002-04:00

Kudos to the knitters that finished their sweaters. Technically, there are still about 8 PST hours left till the deadline. Will I make it? Nah. I'm jumping on Jen's bandwagon (pretty please, Jen?) and pushing my own personal deadline another month. I don't want to be a SweaterKAL dropout. I can hear the song now... (sweaterKal dropout...no graduation day, for you) to the tune of Beauty School dropout from Grease.
Happy Halloween!

Almost there!

2009-10-26T08:15:00.002-04:00

After frogging and redoing short rows on the fronts several time (to allow for boobs), then knitting up a whole sleeves and deciding it looked like ass and ripping it out, I have finally finished all the pieces! I'm sewing together now, then have to knit the belt and...moan...pick up the neck and knit the collar. But I'm almost there!

I Finished it....

2009-10-22T12:24:00.001-04:00

Last week!
and wore it to rhinebeck!!
and still don't have pictures!1!!
Surprise!!

Pics to come... i promise...

My Cardi-Vest Sweater

2009-10-07T15:24:00.005-04:00

So...I have good news and I have bad news.
I'll start with the good news...
I finished the left-half of my sweater!! Yay!!!

The bad news is...
It doesn't fit. Argh!!

I have no problem frogging the whole thing but I have to do some major alterations.
Live and learn. This is what I get for procrastinating, which by the way if you didn't already know...is my middle name. :-)

2009-09-23T23:58:00.003-04:00

It's me again. I'm really getting into doing this sweater. I worked on it everyday this week. I won't finish before the others I'm sure but I'm having a great time working on this sweater. Hopefully when I get done I be able to post a picture (if I can get my nieces to help me). I'm nearing my last decrease row and then I will work stockinette stitch until the piece measures 14 inches from the beginning. Hope everyone is doing okay. Blogless Pat signing off for now.

2009-09-15T08:26:00.001-04:00

I have not picked up my sweater in almost a week although it was packed in my knitting bag and traveled to D.C. with me. I'm hoping to get the Sweater KAL mojo back soon because I would really love to finish a sweater in a reasonable length of time! :-)

2009-09-14T16:12:00.002-04:00

I'm doing okay with my sweater. I'm still working the stockinette stitch and have started making decreases. So far I don't think I've messed anything up. Got my fingers crossed. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding the written instructions. But I'm getting there. Now I have to make decreases every 2 1/4" four times. So far so good. I miss not being at SnB on Thursdays but Tuesdays and Thursdays are band and softball days so I'm running in two directions for my nieces.

Hey Teach! update

2009-09-05T11:11:00.005-04:00

I'm just popping by to say that I've now got the left front of my Hey, Teach! cardigan done. Now I'm on to the right front! It's actually starting to look like something wearable now, and I'm feeling more confident than before that this might actually fit me!
If I've learned anything about myself and my knitting style during this project, it's that I really hate doing plain stockinette stitch. The plain section at the bottom of each body piece seems to take forever and ever, while the lace part, once I finally get to it, just zips along.
I've been momentarily distracted by some gift knitting that needs to get finished up this weekend, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to cast on for the last front section by Labor Day.
I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday!

2009-09-01T15:51:00.002-04:00

I finally got my ribbing done and am now working on stockinette stitch need to get to 4 1/2 inches before anything new comes up. I'm still plugging along. Am going to Rochester NY this weekend for Drum Corps Associates World Championships. Am taking my sweater with me. Hopefully I'll get some more done. Have a nice Labor Day weekend everyone.
Blogless Pat

So far, so good

2009-08-27T14:18:00.002-04:00

I did cast on for my KAL sweater on 8/1! And then, due to weather, other projects, vacation, and life I did not pick it up again until SnB on 8/20. I was a bit concerned that it would not fit over my head (it's a top down raglan style). So I knit a bit, shifted it to waste yarn and voila!! It'll work :)

The pattern I chose is Trellis & Vine Pullover from the latest issue of Interweave Knits. The yarn is Rowanspun DK that I have had forever.

I'm sure that blocking it will help some too. I think this is going to be my weekly SnB project for a while - I need to give it a good dose of time and attention :) We don't need to tell the sweater, but if it misbehaves and gives me too much trouble, I've got a back-up sweater in my bag ready to go!

I officially started

2009-08-26T07:16:00.001-04:00

I did start the sweater! Finally!!!

Well, I am using bulky weight yarn, way too hot to knit it in my 90 degrees house! So, it's actually pretty good if I have gotten this far, right?

I have flashed it when I used my camera, so the leaves details couldn't be shown... you all will see it in person, don't worry...

2009-08-26T01:20:00.002-04:00

I'm sitting here watching Project Runway on my PC and knitting my ribbing. 302 stitches and 2 1/4 inches is getting a little tedious. But I am perservering and hopefully I'll soon be done.

Blogless Pat

Progress!

2009-08-20T17:15:00.003-04:00

One skein of Malabrigo has been knit up into eight and a half inches of beautiful blue goodness.

I keep trying it on to be sure it still fits – and it does.

It even fits in other places.

Hmmmm . . . Tube top?

2009-08-18T16:09:00.003-04:00

Now to the adventures of Blogless Pat. I picked my sweater. It's Ditto from Berroco. Of course I'm just using a worsted weight yarn. So then trying to be good I knitted swatches for gauge. Then I decided on my needle size. But of course I didn't have one of the needle sizes as a circular needle. So for the ribbing I cast on 302 stitches on straight needles. Needless to say it's been an adventure. I frogged it twice after only knitting about two or three rows. Then I somehow got turned around and one side of the ribbing was wider then the other!! Well I got that straightened out and now I'm working on my 2 1/2 inches of ribbing. Just to let you all know that I'm probably not going to be at knitting on Thursday nights for awhile. I've sort of become a part-time band parent. My oldest niece has joined marching band and we've divided shuttling her back and forth to practice and band camp. She has also volunteered me to sew flags for the color guard. This should be interesting. Well, I'll keep my posts knitting related in the future.

Getting Started

2009-08-17T10:52:00.002-04:00

I finally decided on a sweater!!! I will be knitting Coraline by Ysolda Teague. It took me a long time to decide, as I wanted it to fit several criteria: a cardigan that would look good worn open or buttoned; a fit that would flatter both my pregnant and non-pregnant self; simple but not boring in construction. The only hitch was I needed to buy the pattern and yarn. Darn... ; )

A fruitful trip to Webs led me to choosing Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in Cardinal for the project. This yarn and pattern will be lovely together, I think. My only hesitation at this point is that I will be knitting it on size 4 needles...my previous sweaters have all been in worsted weight on larger needles!

Glad we have until the end of October for this!

2009-08-16T20:49:00.001-04:00

Got my yarn and I love it! I've done about 8" of the back and am liking it so far. But I have decided patterns without rest rows are evil.

Hey Teach! Progress Report

2009-08-15T13:18:00.003-04:00

In keeping with the academic spirit of Hey Teach, I thought I'd post a progress report:

Ease of knitting: A+ It's ribbing, stockinette, and a lace pattern so simple even I managed to memorize it.
Behavior: B I'm still really loving the yarn, and everything seems to be coming out the way it ought to, but since it's knit in pieces I'm just going to have to hope it's all the right size and shape and press onward. I wish I could try it on like Knelly did with hers. :)
Overall progress: Very satisfactory!

One nice thing about this sweater is that it really seems to grow quickly (by my slow knitting standards, at least). Here's a photo of the completed back section.

I finished this up last night while watching tv, and stayed up just a little later than I meant to so I could cast on for the first side of the front.

Shazam!

2009-08-14T13:50:00.003-04:00

I think I'll be able to get by without breast reduction surgery or liposuction! I think it's going to fit!

Opinion?

2009-08-14T13:07:00.002-04:00

The last time I posted on here, asking for an opinion, I decided to go with none of the options I had put forth for discussion. With that awesome track record behind me, I'm once again asking for opinions.

Which buttons? They are the two choices I have on hand. As you know, I am not one to make up my mind, so I might find even better buttons down the line, but if you had to choose between these two....

2009-08-14T08:05:00.003-04:00

Whoops!

I posted my progress on my own blog but forgot to post on this one too.

Here is my progress through 5 out of 8 sets of raglan increases. I managed to almost complete one set of raglan increases last night at SnB.

I also suceeded in strongarming Knelley to join our KAL to encourage her to complete Tempting. Hurray!

I'm Giving It a Go!

2009-08-14T01:07:00.002-04:00

Hi friends -
In order to push myself along on my sweater knitting endeavor, I'm going to count on peer pressure. My plan is to knit Tempting from Knitty. It's an endless mass of K2P2 rib, so I'm really going to have to push myself. My sister already told me that she doesn't think it's going to fit me when I'm done and that knocked me down a few pegs. I swatched, got gauge, and I'm knitting the size that should fit me. Even if I have to have a boob reduction and lipo, I will wear this sweater when it's done!

Here's a peek:
Thrilling! Can't wait to see what all of you do!

Hurry up and wait

2009-08-06T09:59:00.001-04:00

I'm still waiting on yarn to arrive. In my great stupidity I sent it to the wrong address, but people are watching out for it. Cross your fingers.

HAHA!

2009-08-04T11:45:00.003-04:00

I've cast on. It wasn't for anything that I considered before a moment of desperation last night at 11:30 pm, but I've cast on!
I blogged, in more detail, here:http://costumechick.blogspot.com/2009/08/ants-in-pants-and-possibly-lettuce.html

I Made Up My Mind

2009-08-03T23:56:00.001-04:00

Click over to my blog to see my decision!!!!

Timing

2009-08-02T07:55:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday I thought this knit-along had started already, and that it was too late to join. Then Jenn reminded me that it started August 1, so there was still time. Hurray!

Then I had temporary amnesia, and started the sweater I meant to knit for the knit-along... last Sunday, fully a week early. And I'd already finished the back and most of one front (it's a cardi) by yesterday morning, so there was no pretending I was just knitting a large gauge swatch that, oops, turned out to be a sleeve. Fortunately, I need to design a sweater (and knit the sample) by the end of August--and I'm allowed to blog about it--so I think that will be my knit-along sweater instead.

Too bad I want to finish the sweater for me first!

Hey Teach(ing Assistant)!

2009-08-01T19:57:00.003-04:00

My project for this knit-along is Hey Teach by Hélène Rush. I've been eyeing this pattern for a while now, and this knit-along seemed like the perfect occasion to get started. Plus, as a soon-to-be teaching assistant this fall in grad school, I thought the name was kind of appropriate. :)
I haven't yet managed to finish an adult-sized garment yet, so I've got my fingers crossed for this one.
I'm using Knitpicks Comfy yarn in cashew, a nice tan color. It's a very pleasant and squishy cotton/acrylic blend. So far today I've finished my gauge swatch, cast on, and gotten partway into the stockinette section that forms the bottom portion of the back. Only 5 more inches of stockinette to go (sigh). I'll try to post a picture tomorrow, when hopefully it will look like something more interesting than a long strip of fabric.

Mr. Greenjean...better known as Ms. Pink Fair Isle

2009-08-01T19:47:00.005-04:00

After a somewhat rocky start, I am glad to say that I cast on for my Mr. Greenjean's sweater this afternoon!!!!!

I had trouble with the set-up row and could not figure out how I cast on the correct number of stitches, followed the pattern I had originally printed out, but still ended up with the wrong number of stitches! I went back online after dinner and, lo and behold, there had been a change made to the pattern in the interim. I cast on the stitches again, started the set-up row and it was smooth sailing from there.

I will post a picture tomorrow when I am further along.

I think I changed my mind.

2009-07-27T11:27:00.002-04:00

Kel suprize.
I think this is the winner: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stella-cable-and-lace-jacket
It is a little complicated (read as "a lot"), but really really cool.
Pros:

It's called "stella Cable and Lace Jacket" but I read the whole thing 4 times and can't find a single cable.
It's really "fashiony" but quite wearable for everyday if I do it in a wardrobe staple color.
It's got crazy complicated construction, making it a challenge, but one I'll enjoy.
obviously, I'll look like I'm in a photo shoot at all times when I wear it... at least that's what I understand from the photo.

Cons:

There might be hidden cables I didn't find. Damn cables.
It needs a lot of yarn, and I only have a few choices in my stash that might work, only one of which is a nice basic color.
I read the gauge instructions to swatch the other night, and there are different gauges FOR EACH SECTION! One for the sleeve cuffs, one for the sleeve body, one for the lower body, one for the upper body, one for the upper back, one for the collar, and one for the front edging. It calls for 6 (I think) different needles. My plan is to just cast on a damn sleeve and measure as I go. (This is a tad scary.)
I have a tendency to look more like I'm in a photo shoot for the "Don't" section of a fashion magazine than the uber awesome fashion layout section, so my dreams of look amazingly stylish might be a bit overzealous.

The other front runner, currently, is this :http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/balloon-sleeve-jacket

Pros:

Vintagy feel, so I, of course, love it.
there are no cables, or other annoying bits.
Straight forward construction, with only two needle sizes, making it take a long friendly.
I haven't knit anything from this book yet, and I made myself a goal to knit at least one thing out of each book I own before I buy more books. (For the record, this will never happen, but I'm giving it a go anyway.)
I will look like Lana Turner in it.

Cons:

It is not as "everyday wearable" as other patterns.
I have yet to make a jacket construction sweater that actually fits me correctly, and given that track record, I'm inclined to think that this one will be the same level of success.
I tend to get hot with my sweaters closed up, and I'm not sure this will look good unbuttoned.
I, in no way resemble Lana Turner currently, and unless there is magic yarn on my closet, I don't see this actually happening.

Or, you know, maybe I'll just knit the Tilted Duster.

Sweater? What Sweater?

2009-07-13T21:22:00.002-04:00

OK. So I finally posted my options on my blog. Please head over there and check it out and give me your opinion! I'll tally the votes on Friday 7/24 around dinner time!

2009-07-11T12:28:00.002-04:00

I'm going to make Starsky from Knitty for a friend. However, I'm going to have to do some adjusting--she wants it longer and I'm going to put the pattern down the sleeves and bell the cuffs (why do I do this to myself?). I have lots of math in my future, but what else is new?

I've Made Up My Mind.......

2009-07-11T09:25:00.006-04:00

Even though I got more votes for the Summer's End cardigan on my blog,Costumechick and Jennsquared made really good points in their comments.

I think I need a little break from lace and I will be making Mr. Greenjeans...except it will not be green. It will be a done in a really pretty pink yarn (Wisdom Yarn Fair Isle-Raspberry).

Haven't made up my mind...

2009-07-10T19:28:00.004-04:00

There are couple of sweaters I want to knit.

I think I have yarn for all of these project. I just don't know which one I should pick...

I think I have decided. Maybe.

2009-07-08T11:11:00.002-04:00

I am pretty sure I am going to knit the Tilted Duster Sweater from Interweave knits.
Unless I change my mind.
I have about 6 choices of yarn I *could* use for this in my stash, but I am leaning towards a neutral color so I can wear it as an "everyday" sweater.
Or the red. Maybe purple.
Anyway, the reason I am leaning towards the TD, aside from the wardrobe staple aspect, is the miles of ribbing and stockinette. I will need a KAL to prod me so I stay on track. And it had seaming. Seaming, putting in ends, and sewing on buttons will keep me from finishing something for months. All of you guys bitching at me, er... I mean "encouraging me", should so the trick!

Sweater Options

2009-07-03T16:09:00.008-04:00

Does this qualify as a sweater? Ever since I saw it on an episode of Lipstick jungle, I've been dying to make it. I have the yarn stored in a bag. Once upon a time, the yarn used to be a shrug that went terribly wrong. I found pattern corrections at a later date on the Lion Brand website, but there was no turning back at that point. For the time being, I'm using the yarn to make hats... and maybe this cute sweater in the near future. The scanned photo and pattern can be found in the Knit.1 Fall/Winter 2008 issue.

There is one more sweater I have in mind for the KAL. I found it this morning on Crimson Purl's Ravelry page and tagged it as one of my favorites. It's called the ballet T-shirt. The pattern is found in Teva Durham book, Loop-d-loop. Unfortunately I don't own the book...yet.
The photo below shows a similar sweater. Looks simple enough, right?
So, I'm almost ready to begin.

2009-06-29T23:57:00.000-04:00

All right I'm all set

Welcome

2009-06-26T12:31:00.006-04:00

The idea for this sweater knit-a-long (KAL) came up one night at SnB.

A bunch of us decided it would be really fun to create a KAL that would be open to anyone who wanted to complete any sweater pattern that they want and be encouraged all along the way.

We decided to begin the KAL on August 1st to give everyone enough time to find a pattern that they like, purchase the yarn needed, buttons, etc. We will have a soft ending date of October 31, which seems fair.

If you are interested in posting to the blog, please e-mail me at wifemomknitter-blog@yahoo.com by July 31st and I will add you on. This will also give you the opportunity to post your progress and any pictures to the KAL.

Thank you very much!