My blog about knitting, teaching, and being a mother to two energetic young boys.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Road Trip Sweater FO

As promised - a post about my 3rd Road Trip knitted finished FO, albeit much later than intended. We've been home for a few days now, but haven't had the weather cooperate enough for a photo shoot. So - when the skies finally "cleared", I grabbed my sweater, camera, and photographer and set out to finally get some photos so I can finally write this blog post.

Details:

Pattern: Mondo Cable Pullover by Chic Knits. Before our road trip I was looking for a pattern that would be an easy knit for the road. Luckily for me, my knitting/blogging friend at OneMoreRow shared that she was currently knitting this & I thought "That's Perfect!" (And it was!) Thanks HollyJo!


Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Peru" - A blend of silk, angora, and merino wool. Total yarn yumminess! The yardage on the skeins of Peru are so generous (500 yds/skein) that I only used 1.5 skeins for the entire sweater! I think I used one skein for the entire body of the sweater & only dipped into the 2nd skein for the ribbed edge of the body & the sleeves. My knitting goals for the road trip knitting were to complete as many projects as I could (check!) and also reduce the stash. I thought knitting a sweater would be the perfect project to destash. So - it looks like to fully complete my goal I have to knit another project with this yarn. I'll share that project soon, I hope.

The Raglan Detail - My First!

Needles: US8 on my knit picks options (love them!) I only chose the 8 because it was the recommended size for this yarn & seemed to give me the gauge I needed for the size. After completing the sweater & blocking it, I think I could even have gone down a needle size. However - the size 8 created a nice drapey fabric - perfect for a sweater that I can throw on in a pinch, or pair with a nice pair of slacks or a skirt for a more dressy occasion.

Have I mentioned how much I love cables?!?

Mods: This was my first top-down sweater (!), so I didn't want to embark on any drastic changes. However, the original design is more of an "A-shape", and I thought with the yarn, perhaps a more fitted shape would be better. After searching ravelry for suggestions, I decided to do some decreases rather than all of the increases called for in the pattern. Then, as I neared the bottom, I increased again to help account for my hips. I think it worked okay, not perfect, but okay.


Overall - I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of this sweater. It's so soft, comfy & warm. Can't wait until it's sibling project is complete. It was the perfect choice for knitting on the road & other than having to learn how to graft live stitches to a cast on edge (for the neck), I think I did pretty well.

Happy Day - more reports of our travels coming soon (I hope....)

Ciao!

4 comments:

pdxknitterati/MicheleLB said...

Congratulations on an FO well done. The blue is great, the cable is great, and the fit is great! I think you did a good job thinking your way through the shaping, too.

Holly Jo said...

*swoon* I like yours better than mine. :) The blue is fantastic. I think you will get lots of wear out of it on the weekends, but not too soon okay? I still want some summer. :)

Mrs.Q said...

What a gorgeous sweater! I'm sure I've got something in my stash that would work...

Enid said...

vvvveeeerrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyy nice. body of sweater looks nice and smooth, colour suits as well