Thursday, May 31, 2007

Some Progress! First Diamond done!

I finally have more time to work on this and now it is going quite quickly and not seeming quite as mind-boggling. As of tonight I'm a little farther than this picture shows. I have finished the first diamond and have started the sleeve cables. Now I just have to make a decision on the size I want to go with. I'm wavering between the 34-1/2 and 38. I just don't want it to be too snug - especially over the tummy! I'll try it on when I increase to the 34-1/2 size.

Everyone's work is beautiful. I can't wait to see more pictures!

Jenny

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

This is going surprisingly quickly!

I've separated out the sleeves for the CDR. Details are here. I'm already thinking about a navy blue version with tweaked sleeve increases.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Intro and progress so far

Hello all! I'm Bethany, and I just started my CDR on Saturday. So far, I've done 1 1/2 repeats of the center diamond cable. I haven't split for the sleeves yet, but hopefully my (not-long-enough) cable needle can handle it!

Specs:
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool in Leaf Green
Needles: US 4 (I'm usually not a loose knitter, so I was surprised that I needed 4's.)
Start date: 5-26-07


Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Chart Help

Is anyone willing to help me decipher this Chart pattern, I've never worked with charts before. please contact me.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Sizing

Can someone let me know if this sweater is true to size, Measurments is 36.5 by using a measuring tape so I want to make sure I cast on the correct size.. thanks

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Finally bought my yarn

I finally bought my yarn with an appreciation gift certificate given to me by my employer.
I am using Ella Rae 100% wool in a deep purple. I have used the superwash blend and been very happy with it.
As I was looking at the pattern in preparation for making it, I don't like the length of the sleeve. I will either make them longer to come to my wrist (with long arms I don't want to look like I outgrew it) or 3/4 or short. I like the short sleeve version made by another person. Also, my coworker tends to have the heat on all year, which drives me crazy.
Because I can try it on as I go, I will be able to see which way I like it best.
I will read through all of the present posts to check on ideosyncrasies that others have found in the pattern.
Wish me luck. Everyone's posted pictures are gorgeous.

J

Friday, May 11, 2007

Getting ready

Hello! I am in the process of purchasing my yarn for this lovely sweater--Berroco Pure Merino. My question is about fit. Should this sweater be sized with negative ease? I just knit Sahara by Stitch Diva and the actual sweater bust measurement was about 3 inches less than the actual bust measurement. This sweater seems like it should also have that kind of fit. My bust measures 34.5 and I see that there is a size that is almost the same measurement. Should I make that size or the smaller one which is around 31 inches? Thanks for any advice!

Sunday, May 6, 2007

The gauge process



Hey everyone,

As you can see, I started swatching for the cable down raglan yesterday. I really am bad with finding gauge and I'm very paranoid about it, so once this gets swatched up, I will send it to my friend and she double checks it for me. I know, a little drastic but at least it rules out the gauge factor if it doesn't fit right?

Anyway, so far it looks like 7 needles will do the job but I will post the findings later.

have a wonderful Sunday

Saturday, May 5, 2007

Greensleeves

First off, hey there. I too was struck when I first laid eyes on this sweater, not only because it's purdy, but also because the beautiful woman sporting the sweater in the magazine is my high school boyfriend's sister! Turns out the whole magazine was shot in my hometown of Portland, Maine. Small world.

I'm knitting this up in Araucania Nature wool that's long been in my stash. While I totally love the subtle variegation of this yarn, unfortunately even skeins of the same dyelot are quite different in shade. As you can probably see from the photo, the first skein was darker than the others, but I only realized this when I started on my second skein. At that point I just decided to soldier on. Ah well, it... gives it character?


(Apologies. Not sure how to get this right side up.)

I was off gauge quite a bit on both rows and stitches, so I knit one size up from what I would have otherwise, and also added one more repeat of the diamond cable. I also made it substantially shorter than the 17 3/4 ins called for from armhole to hip, ending at 14 ins. I just felt like that would be an awkward length, and I couldn't cast off before a whole additional repeat of the diamond cable. Wait, I'm confused - should I do one more repeat? Opinions? Also, the right and left cables as written started a bit low for my taste. I wanted an empire-waist kind of situation, so I started them only 4 inches below the armhole rather than the 6 indicated for my size. Boy, I sound picky.


This has been a real pleasure to knit, and I sooo appreciate the seamlessness. In fact, not having to do finishing might mean I bang this out fairly quickly, because that's usually where I stall. Sometimes for months or years. Onward, to sleeves!

PS In case any of you are curious, fortunately I do in fact have a fully functional right arm. I guess it's just camera shy? My cat, however, is not.

Friday, May 4, 2007

Hey Everyone.
My name is Toya and this is my actual blog I have been following this knitalong for a while and seeing that I got my Brown sheep cotton fleece in Willow leaf (after Anna's version came out so beautiful), I decided to give it a go. I plan to swatch for it,,,, hopefully this weekend and post again.
If there was any errors, can someone let me know? I'm a new knitter so I need all the help I can get.
Have a great day and thanks Anna for allowing me to join.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Not much done...

Well, I've got second sleeve syndrome pretty badly. I just started on the first sleeve last Thursday as I was on a plane to and from Boston. Here's what I managed in my airplane-inspired fear:



I really like Tracey's short sleeved CDR, so I think I might end my sleeves around the elbow...What's funny is that I have to go back to Boston again in a week (yikes, another flight!), so maybe I'll actually finish!