The Sweater Sampler is finished!
YAY. There were four different cast off techniques to practice, including lace,ribbed, hemmed and I cord, which was way cool because I’ve never tried casting off in I cord and I can think of a dozen things it would be great for. Knitting the “belt” was new, too. I put in the button hole for it but didn’t waste a button and just tied it on.
I did not try the afterthought pocket. I don’t like pockets on my knits, but I can go back and try this later if I need to. After all, it’s supposed to be afterthought. Might as well make it a way-later afterthought.
I’m soo glad I made this sampler. It took less than 2 weeks of knitting, and since I put in only a few minutes a day it’s possible that an avid knitter could knock one out in a day or two. But I learned a LOT. Cable cast on, I-cord cast off, how my ribbing “fits”, and how to knit 2 colors with one in each hand…all of these are techniques I can see myself using in the future. 5 stars!
The next step was to knit the gauge swatch for the sweater itself. I have a ton of Wool of the Andes that I bought to make a blanket. It would still make a good blanket. But I’ve decided to use it for this sweater instead. I like the soft green color, called Bamboo Heather. In sunlight it reminds me of the Roan Highlands. It would look good knitted up into a cable pattern.
However, I have to admit that I’m having to seriously restrain myself from trying a fancy stitch pattern for this sweater. I’ve gone as far as to peruse my stitch books to see if there’s anything that catches my eye. But this is supposed to be a lesson on how to make a sweater in the round without a real pattern. I really really need to do it by the book the first time. Really. I will. HONEST!
Sigh.
The next one will have a fancy stitch pattern.
My “First” Shawl
I have a habit of having two to three things on the needles at the same time. The reason for this is that I ran into a problem a while back with hand strain. Size 2 needles with fingering weight yarn can cause me problems if I’m knitting for an extended period of time. So I found it helpful to alternate the small stuff with a project of bigger stuff, like worsted or Aran. Dishcloths, mostly.
This new sweater will be with size 7 needles and worsted weight yarn, so I thought I’d start a fingering-weight shawl at the same time. I have a pile of Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud yarn that I bought last year with the intention of making a hat and mitts. But after seeing what Diana McFall did with Sister’s Waiting For Rain (https://www.ravelry.com/projects/diannamcfall/waiting-for-rain), I thought I’d try the shawl. Sylvia McFadden sells the pattern for $7.50CAD https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/waiting-for-rain on Ravelry.
What I really liked about Diana’s version is the contrast in the colorways and that she used the light color for the lace sections.I also liked her stripe pattern. It struck me to be a shawl a hobbit would wear! And if a hobbit would wear it, I can wear it. I don’t ever wear anything dressy (at least not since I retired), so I think this will do well with jeans. Something I could wear while watching a football game.
As for the “first” part…it’s not really. More like my second. I knitted a prayer shawl out of Noro silk blend yarn before shawls were trendy. It was nice but a bit on the scratchy side and I probably wore it twice before I gave it away. That was….hmmmm….25 years ago? And I haven’t knitted a shawl since. So technically it’s a red-shirt Freshman. It just never played in a real game.
We’ll see how this one goes. I don’t expect it to win a Heisman. It just needs to be able to play in enough games (or enough outfits) to make it worthwhile.
That’s all on my needles. Visit Kat’s page to see more posts for Unraveled Wednesday.
Originally posted at stillroundthecorner.com
