After my depressing last post, I did not fling myself into a dye vat. I did not impale myself on a bamboo needle. I did not bury my head in a pile of Handmaiden Ottawa and cry for very long.
I have been in my favourite state, too busy knitting to blog about it!
I began swatching. And measuring. And crunching numbers. And I came up with this scheme for a top-down raglan.
Doesn't look much like a pattern, does it?
The end result is a deep square neck, perfect for a shawl collar.
Much has been worked, much has been frogged, and there is much of both to follow, but lookie!
Delicious, faded, stripey goodness:
I opted for a slightly smaller needle than suggested, 3.75 mm instead of 4mm, and the result is a slightly denser but still soft fabric.
Other features:
The shawl collar was knitted (purled, actually) onto the bottom edge as it was worked, to produce what I think is a nice, clean bottom edge with one less seam.
The inner layer of shawl collar was stitched onto the inner surface, in the only sewing this sweater will see.
Yarn over raglan increases, which show far more when the sweater is worn than when it sits flat.
Short row shaping for The Monstrosities. (That is not really a boob where marked, just a conveniently available ball of yarn.)
Up next is finishing the first sleeve and working the second before turning my attention back to the body.
The body is worked down to just about the waist, but it needs to be ripped back and tailored a bit more. Gauge swatches are unkind to me of late.
All part of the process.
The bust darts are well-placed, but are a bit too big. Holy cow, my boobs are too small for my sweater. Let me say that again: my boobs are too small for my sweater!
I am absolutely itching to get back to some sock knitting. I have decided to try Anna Bell's Elfine socks for my Garnet Dreams STR, and I got a package of something quite wonderful yesterday.
Sea Wool!
And here they are in all their glory:
Periwinkle on top, Amethyst on bottom.
I simply must put in a plug for one of my favourite online yarn vendors. As odd as it seems to purchase Nova Scotia yarns from a supplier in Toronto, I have always received the best service possible from Red Bird Knits. Robyn is a nice person, a great designer, a yarn enthisuast, and keeps a terrific stock of the best yarns. She also runs a sock club that I have so far but not much longer been able to resist. See some of her sock club designs here.
Tomorrow I'm off to NB for the balance of the week. Lots of knitting, likely no blogging. Happy VD, all!
Oh boy are you gonna LOVE Sea Wool! My new favourite sock yarn without a doubt!
And the sweater looks great!
Posted by: Lisa | February 13, 2007 at 01:11 PM
I happened to buy a skein of sea wool from LK yarns today! (around the corner from me)
Louise had a bin of "seconds" of sea wool for $7 off the regular price (thanks to a heads up from my spy Lisa who was there on the weekend...
Hey, nice sweater - is that Handmaiden Ottawa?
Posted by: Moe | February 13, 2007 at 03:03 PM
Brava on the sweater! That neckline is absolutely beautiful--and cozy, too, from the looks of it.
Sarah-Hope
http://www.whatifknits.com/
Posted by: Sarah-Hope | February 19, 2007 at 12:36 AM
Elfine is one of my favorite sock patterns. It looks so elegant.
Posted by: Amanda | February 21, 2007 at 04:26 PM