Blue Skies

Memorial Day weekend was hot and muggy. I finished this spring/fall sweater, from Rebecca No. 27, that I've been working on since last spring, but I think it's already too warm to wear it. I'm naming it Blue Skies because the weather was lovely (though hot) when I finished it, and the names that appear in Rebecca magazine are just too boring.

However, the storm clouds blew in today on strong gusts of wind and, with the break in the heat (I don't have air-conditioning) I decided to vacuum the floors and model my sweater!

The sleeves are the teensiest bit tight. They look that way in the magazine, but I might want it a little looser. That's okay, though. Next time I wash it, I'll just block the sleeves a little larger; there's still a lot of give. Overall, I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

Pattern: Sweater with Lace Pattern and Cables, No. 19 from Rebecca 27 (see what I mean about boring names?)

Start Date: Spring, 2005

End Date: 29 May, 2006

Yarn: Dale of Norway Stork (100% cotton)

Colour: #6, a pale, powdery blue

Yarn Source: Capital Yarns (Chantilly, VA)

Yarn Cost: $5.25/ball. I think I got six, and used about 5.

Needles: Really old (Boye?) straight needles I got from my mom, Sz 3 (3.25mm), and Pony 3.25mm circulars (80cm long) for finishing the neckline.

Size Made: I made the smaller size.

Pattern Changes: I didn't follow the stitch pattern chart correctly. The eyelets should have been on different rows from the rows with cable crosses. I ended up doing them on the same row; it made remembering the pattern a lot easier.

I had to made some changes on the sleeve shaping, where it increased at the bottom from the cuff. I inreased every 8th row 11 times, then on every sixth row. I wrote those changes down in my notes. Unfortunately, I forgot to write down why I did that, and now I can't remember.

I didn't bind off the centre-front or centre-back stitches, just put them on stitch holders and knit them when it came time to finish the neckline.

Comments: This was my first pattern from Rebecca. I remember seeing some old issues of it in the archives of one of Cornell's libraries, but it was all in German. Recent issues have come with an English-translated booklet. I'd always heard that Rebecca patterns are well-written, but this one did give me some problems, and it was right at the beginning. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how the stitch pattern fit into the number of stitches I was supposed to cast on. It wasn't just me, either. I took the pattern to the ladies at Capital Yarns, and we spent 15 minutes figuring out exactly what the pattern direction meant. It was very counter-intuitive. Not clear at all.

But, once past that initial hurdle, it was smooth sailing from there. Shaping-wise, this sweater isn't difficult at all. The challenge for me was that it's my first sweater with an all-over pattern that I had to accomodate to increasing and decreasing for the sleeves, armholes and neckline. It's not exactly perfect, but it's still a sweater I'll be proud to wear. I'll look back fondly on those mistakes, hopefully, and know exactly what went wrong.

Of course, no rest for the addicted. I told Moocow today that I absolutely had to start another lace project, to get my fix. I don't have the budget to buy any new yarn right now, so I have to work with what's already in my stash. The only lace-weight yarn that's in my stash at the moment is some KnitPicks Shadow I bought because Moocow said she liked the colour, Oregon Coast.

The colours are a little more intense - though still very subtle - in real life, but you can probably see from the photo on the left that it's a beige-y rainbow colour. The overall colour is beige, but there are green, blue and purple highlights. Really rather nice. (By the way, can anyone figure out why I can't take pictures on the macro setting with my camera without huge shadows at the bottom? I've tried everything!)

Moocow said that she likes the Peacock Feathers Shawl pattern from Fiddlesticks Knitting and, joy of joys, I had bought that pattern a while back, because I really like it, too.


So today I started with a little gauge swatch. The pattern comes with directions for knitting a gauge swatch in one of the patterns that appears on the shawl. The swatch on the left has been blocked. It's smaller than the pattern gauge (I'm using thicker yarn and smaller needles), but Moocow's arm-span is only 64", and the pattern's measurement is 88".

What do you think, Moocow? Should I proceed?

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Posted by Lana to Bumbling Bees - Girls with Purls at 5/30/2006 06:03:00 PM