Pattern: Flutter Sleeve Cardigan
Designer: Pam Allen
Source: Interweave Knits, Spring 2008
Yarn: Classic Elite Classic Silk, pale yellow #6950
Buttons: wooden, from M&J Trimming, NYC
Needles: US6, US4, US3
Started: July 3, 2008
Finished: September 21, 2008
Did you miss me? It's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything substantive. Life has been pretty hectic lately. Work life really geared up during September. The good news is, I closed several significant sales projects - a grand slam of sorts - good for the income, bad for the day to day life! Work these days needs my attention. Given that 45% of my income is commission based, closing sales is necessary. And as complicated as the job is, it takes a tremendous amount of stamina. Whew!
I did manage to finally finish the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan. There were challenges to confront. Like overcoming the sheer boredom of knitting the seed stitch band up the fronts. And seaming the shoulders, which took me all of two entire evenings to get it just right. Eight hours!! I finally resorted to using embroidery thread to stitch them because yarn was making it look too bulky. Other challenges included placing the little tabs on the sleeves so they are aligned properly and then the multiple blocking sessions to get the shaping just right.
This project was a lesson in construction. How shaping affects fit and the importance of seaming. I gave lots of thought to knitting those dreaded seed stitch bands as part of the fronts rather than separately. But in the end I concluded the bands need that seam to give structure to the overall shape. Here's one instance where seaming is a critical component of the design. I might be wrong on this, but it helped me overcome the mild frustration of actually doing the work.
In the end, I am quite pleased with the project. I like the color, the waist shaping, the kimono shape of the sleeves. I like the yarn but only time will tell how it holds up with wear. Sometimes these 'raw silk' blends end up looking shabby in very short order.
Now, if I were to do this one again maybe I would not decrease as much toward the top of the fronts. For my shape, I'd like just a tiny bit more coverage across the bust/chest area. I think eliminating the last one or two decreases would have worked better. And truth be told, this sweater is a bit snug. I knit it to what I believed to be my size, and I think I maintained gauge throughout. Maybe I grew a bit over the course of the months it took me to finish this. Which of course opens a whole new can of worms -- time to get serious about my fitness! But that subject is for another blog posting.
Designer: Pam Allen
Source: Interweave Knits, Spring 2008
Yarn: Classic Elite Classic Silk, pale yellow #6950
Buttons: wooden, from M&J Trimming, NYC
Needles: US6, US4, US3
Started: July 3, 2008
Finished: September 21, 2008
Did you miss me? It's been a couple of weeks since I posted anything substantive. Life has been pretty hectic lately. Work life really geared up during September. The good news is, I closed several significant sales projects - a grand slam of sorts - good for the income, bad for the day to day life! Work these days needs my attention. Given that 45% of my income is commission based, closing sales is necessary. And as complicated as the job is, it takes a tremendous amount of stamina. Whew!
I did manage to finally finish the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan. There were challenges to confront. Like overcoming the sheer boredom of knitting the seed stitch band up the fronts. And seaming the shoulders, which took me all of two entire evenings to get it just right. Eight hours!! I finally resorted to using embroidery thread to stitch them because yarn was making it look too bulky. Other challenges included placing the little tabs on the sleeves so they are aligned properly and then the multiple blocking sessions to get the shaping just right.
This project was a lesson in construction. How shaping affects fit and the importance of seaming. I gave lots of thought to knitting those dreaded seed stitch bands as part of the fronts rather than separately. But in the end I concluded the bands need that seam to give structure to the overall shape. Here's one instance where seaming is a critical component of the design. I might be wrong on this, but it helped me overcome the mild frustration of actually doing the work.
In the end, I am quite pleased with the project. I like the color, the waist shaping, the kimono shape of the sleeves. I like the yarn but only time will tell how it holds up with wear. Sometimes these 'raw silk' blends end up looking shabby in very short order.
Now, if I were to do this one again maybe I would not decrease as much toward the top of the fronts. For my shape, I'd like just a tiny bit more coverage across the bust/chest area. I think eliminating the last one or two decreases would have worked better. And truth be told, this sweater is a bit snug. I knit it to what I believed to be my size, and I think I maintained gauge throughout. Maybe I grew a bit over the course of the months it took me to finish this. Which of course opens a whole new can of worms -- time to get serious about my fitness! But that subject is for another blog posting.
I picked up the buttons at M&J the other night and was able to actually wear this to work on Thursday. Given that the weather has really turned to fall, it might be the last time I get to wear it till next Spring. Maybe I'll be in better shape by then! ha.
1 comment:
The color, the COLOR--I love it! Such a nice finishing job, too! I feel your pain, work has been killing me as well...
Post a Comment