Not one, but two

I'm on a roll now, baby! Within a week of finishing Hey, Teach, I finally finished the sweater originally cast on for my new year knit-o-lution. Not Your Standard Issue Sweatshirt, Take Two c'est finis! This sweater has been a pile of sweater pieces for months now. Since May all I've needed to do was finish knitting the front and do the dreaded finishing (seaming...) Then the road trip got in the way, so the sweater just sat.

and sat...

and sat..

Until I finally got it in my mind to finish the darned thing. Finishing Hey, Teach gave me such a thrill that I brought this sweater to some knit gatherings so I could finish it up. On Saturday when the sun made a rare appearance in Anchorage, I sat in the middle of a sunbeam shining onto our living room floor and took the plunge - I seamed the darned thing together.

What a chore. The sides of the sweater are done in seed stitch and for the life of me I could not find a decent tutorial on how to seam seed stitch together. I muddled through and think it turned out okay. Of course - wouldn't you know it - as soon as I sewed the back to the front, I found I'd forgotten to add the last cable on the middle section. Oops - I guess it's now a design feature as there's no way in the world I was ripping anything out. Then there was the issue with attaching the sleeves - I still haven't mastered that. I thought about waiting until my next formal finishing class at our LYS, The Yarn Branch, but I just couldn't wait. Have you ever had a feeling that you just had to finish a project NOW? So a formal tutorial on how to attach sleeves will have to wait for another project (Central Park Hoodie is in my queue - yarn is stashed & ready).
Next I had to sew the hood together, attach it, and then create a place to insert the draw string (i-cord) which meant even more sewing. The photo above shows sweater before hood. I was just tickled pink to have a sweater to wear - so I wore it while I kept sewing. Of course, I haven't taken a picture w/the hood (looks a bit too elfish for my taste - I almost prefer it w/o the hood) & now the sweater is drying after a good wash to clean off the months of dust & get those stitches to lie the correct way.

While it isn't the most flattering sweater - makes me look a bit too bulky, it's quite warm & I adore it. It's mine; I did it. I love cables, I love green. It's mine. Did I mention that I knit it?

Gory Details:

Pattern: Not Your Standard Issue Sweatshirt, Take Two from The Yarn Girls Guide to Beyond the Basics.

Needles: Knit Picks Size 8 (for bottom) and Size 10

Yarn: Classic Elite - Dutchess (40% merino, 28% Viscose, 10% Cashmere, 15% Nylon, 7% Angora) Soft & very warm... Holds detail like cables extremely well.

Colorway: ?? #1097, Lot #221

Modifications: Did a three needle bind off. I just love this for attaching the back to the front.

Thursday night is the 2nd Icelandic Sweater class. Is sweater #3 not too far behind?

Ciao!

Hot For Teacher!

Yes - it's taken 9 months, but my new year's knit-o-lution to finish an adult sized sweater has been fulfilled! So sorry I've been gone from the blogosphere for so long - work calls, children call, and the siren song of yarn prevented me from logging on. I figured you dear readers will forgive my absence if I had a FO to share. I finished it last Sunday, but today provided the 1st opportunity for a natural lighting photo-op.

My 1st Adult Sized sweater is Hey, Teach! designed by Helene Rush for the Summer 2008 edition of Knitty. This was a fantastic project & I'm surprised how quickly (for me...) I finished it. I originally intended the sweater for me, but alas - it's a tad small - so, instant Christmas gift for my youngest sister! As soon as I finish up some other projects (another FO heading to the blogosphere very soon!!) I'm going to order more yarn & cast anew in a bigger size.

The Gory Details:

Pattern: Hey, Teach!

Needles: Knit Picks Size 8

Yarn: Knit Picks Shine, Worsted Weight. This is a cotton blend and is such a dream to work with!!!

Colorway: Mallard. (I might choose this color again for my sweater)

Modifications: Used a 3-needle bind off for the shoulders. Why anyone would bind off and then choose to sew the shoulders together is beyond me. Seaming is the kiss of death, so I avoid it like the plague! I think next time I'll also add a few rows in the ribbing and lengthen the sweater from 13" to perhaps 15".

The downside of a dark colored yarn - I needed a headlamp to find those little bars for the mattress stitch!

Well - I'm off to do a bit more finishing on another project. I promise not to stay away so long. Perhaps I'll write next using my new computer!

Ciao!