My promise ...

I've had this :



laying around for the past couple of weeks.

I promise to get to it this weekend.

Progress??

So . . . where is everyone? How are you doing? Making progress? Stuck? Loving your yarn? Your colors?

I'm not quite to the armholes yet, but almost there . . . I've been stalling, I think, because I just don't want to sit and do all that recalculation for the shaping. (You'll remember, of course, that my gauge is completely different than the one in the pattern. There's no way I can work with the ratios given, and for the short row shaping? It's going to make a difference.)

Finally, I started.

Finally, I finished the sweater that I was determined to finish before casting on for this.
Meanwhile, my yarn came, and it wasnt' the fuschia that i thought it was going to be, more a dusky rose. That went Perfectly with a piece of wool that I bought in Toronto in the late 1970's. A gorgeous stripey jacquard woven piece that has been languishing for want of what to do with it. So, I scrapped the idea of a dk grey contrast to this yarn and went and found the perfect green - weird combination but it is marvelous with that piece of fabric. And now, I know that I can make a pair of pleated trousers and a skirt and have the perfect sweater to go with. ;)
oh, and again, I just love the Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. love it.
Edit: I'm not sure if its' blogger or the camera that didnt' pick up the green in the jacquard, but it is there. and in real life the color combo is great. You may have to take my word for it.

Oh, and Eunni, your blog is great. Love your lace project. To join here email Deb, the listmom whose email addy is in plain english under the pic of this sweater on the sidebar. She can add you. And welcome.

How is everyone doing?

Hello everyone!

I'm just curious how everyone is coming along? I just passed the point at split from the front and back body last night.

This is my first sweater in the round and I like it! I really don't mind seaming, but it's nice to have the fronts and backs finished at the same time, and it's nice to just cruise along in st st. The small gauge needles really are not as bad as I feared.

For you people who have finished, I think you have been cross bred with knitting machines somewhere in your family tree! ;)

Show of hands, please!

I've been neglectful. I meant to add asterisks next to the names of the people who've finished, but got distracted. . . . Now, I can go searching through the archives, but just to be safe and sure that I haven't missed anyone--if you've finished, please let me know!

--Deb, aka the List Mom

i started!

I played around with my yarn last night, got very close to gauge on size 3s, and have started! I'm past the bottom hem and have already done the first decrease round (I know it occurs soon after the hem, but still, progress). The alpaca is soooo soft, I'm definitely in love.

You can see more in my first blog entry about it.

my yarn has arrived!

Despite the prediction that it will be off gauge, I went ahead and got the Knit Picks Andean Treasure. Main color Sunset, edging Woods. It predicts 6st=1", so I'm going to swatch it with size 3 needles and see where it gets me (hopefully as high as 26 per 4 inches?). I'm generally a pretty tight knitter, I think. I'm so excited; I really love the structure of this sweater. I'm also not afraid of math, so I'm fine with doing some modifications to the pattern.

I'm thinking about not doing the flap, however, and having a simple boatneck. I also like MeBeth's ideas for the neckline.

Yay! Body is Done!

I completed the body today (after another finishing-triggered swearing spell similar to that provoked by the Hourglass Sweater) (I'm a little sensitive to demanding hems). It's a bit loose although my gauge seems roughly correct, but not so loose as to look schlubby. I actually dig the shape of it so far. My other potential beef is that the yarn (Frog Tree Alpaca) seems a bit itchy. I'm not sensitive to itch, particularly, so I'll probably get used to it, but it's still annoying.

Is anyone else concerned about the rolling of the top and bottom hems? They seem to want to curl rather forcefully... it's unclear whether blocking will eliminate it entirely. Any experiences with this, or advice?

Wool in Union Square

Just wanted to let everyone know that I was walking through the Union Square Greenmarket today and I saw at least two vendors selling wool from small farms in upstate NY. Thought it was a fun coincidence considering the name of our sweater, and its always great to support the local producers!

Also, I made some minor modifications to the pattern and posted them on my blog. I'll continue posting them as I work them out, in case anyone is interested.

Misti Alpaca Sport

Hey KAL friends,

Just a quick post to share my yarn news. I just swatched for my USMP with Misti Alpaca Sport and found that I got a pretty close gauge on Addi Turbo size 3 needles. So happy!

I'll be using the lovely grape color for the main color, and pistachio green for the contrast. Sadly, Misti doesn't make the pistachio in sport weight, so I'll be carrying three strands of lace weight together instead. The color combination is really fun, though, and there isn't so much contrasting color, so I think it will work out just fine.

I got my yarn at Little Knits, which is good for two reasons. 1) They are making a serious effort to make a large contribution to Hurricane Katrina victims and 2) they're offering free shipping for Misti orders of $50 or more. Go check it out...

I won't be starting my pulli for a little while, though, as I finish up other projects, but am excited about the progress everyone else has shared!

Karma

Making Progress

Everyone's finished sweaters look so beautiful, I am inspired to work a bit harder on mine.

I finally restarted, but I just couldn't seem to figure out the cast on. I gave up and used a regular cable cast on. After I cast on 166 stitches, I threaded a length of contrasting yarn through the cast on row while keeping it on the needles. I knit 9 rows and then, to make the hem, I just picked up stitches from the cast on row using the contrasting color to help me see which stitch to pick up. I did this one by one - I grabbed a loop from the cast on row, popped it on my left needle, and knitted it together (k2tog) with the next stitch waiting on the needles to be knitted. Then I grabbed the next loop from
the cast on, and repeated the process 166 times. It seemed to work well
and it looks fine to me, so if you're having trouble with the cast on and
hem, you may want to give it a try. Here's a photo of the cast on edge...



Because my gauge is a bit crazy I am making a number of other modifications to row count. I'm sort of winging it as I go, but I'll try to post the info on my blog in case others are interested. I'm also thinking about a sort of funky modification to the neckline, but I'm not sure about that yet, I'll keep you posted.

Another finished sweater!

I finished my sweater yesterday and I took photos today.



I am happy with the finished sweater. The Cashsoft yarn I used is very soft and the sweater feels great. I did adjust the sleeve width from 92 stitches to 72 stitches, which I think helped a lot. For more details, you can go to my blog and see my entry here.

Thanks to Deb for hosting this knitalong. I always find it motivating to watch others knit the same project. I hope everyone has fun knitting this sweater!

A French Union Square Market !

Hello girls,
Here is my pullover. I knit it in Sierra Andina Alpaca from Adriafil.

Color with flash or in the sun

Contrary to the pattern, I knit with straight needles. I do not manage to become used to the circular needles. Here is the front of the pullover with these small buttons in mother-of-pearl. I have already put the back on my needles. But like Tammy, I feel that my knit seems a little bit big... So : Knit and see !

Finished - but not too thrilled with the results

It's finished!!! You can check it out on my blog, Knits-N-Purrs. I'm kind of disappointed. It came out too big, both in the body & in the sleeves. The sleeves are too long, and the bell shaping makes the sleeves seem even bigger. I had intentionally made the body a little big so I would not get too tight a fitting top, but it came out a little looser than I was expecting. The picture you see is in reverse because it is the reflection in the mirror.