It's been finished for almost two months... and the post is finally here (many of you have been inquiring...)!
Pattern: 'Raspy' by Kim Hargreaves
Source: Rowan 'Denim People'
Materials: Elann Den-M-Nit in 'Mid-Indigo' (17 balls)
Needles: US 7 Addi Turbo 32" circulars
Started: 04 June 2006 | Finished: September 2006
Modifications: Many! The most obvious is that I omitted the dropped-stitches. This may seem ridiculous to many of you, I realize, as the dropped stitches are Raspy's "thing." I went back and forth on the issue in the beginning - as far as the actual knitting goes, dropping stitches would be a lot of fun. In the end, though, I thought I'd get tired of the sweaters "gimmicky" quality much more quickly. And I still liked the idea of a denim raglan pullover enough to feel fine about that decision. The pattern is written for the ladies, so I took out all waist shaping and added the necessary length to body and sleeves. The fit turned out well, despite my fear of shoddy calculations (there's a 20% shrinkage in length with denim after the first wash.)
The neckline was the other big modification. The original pattern calls for a wide boat-neck. You can see the original version here. Not only was this too wide for my tastes, but the front and the back are the same height - meaning awkward, uncomfortable fit, complete with neck-bunching, etc. I changed the neckline to be shaped more like a crew neck. I continued raglan-decreasing on the back side for an inch or two more to raise the back neck. I sloped the top of each sleeve using short-rows and shaped the front as a standard crew neck (also using short rows.) Here's a shot of my modified collar:
Oh - and I knit the sweater in the round. Surprised? I really liked the reverse raglan seams in the pattern and wanted to keep those intact, so I only knit body and sleeves in the round until the armholes. Despite all of my urges to join all three pieces a la EZ and shape the yoke in one piece (obliterating seaming altogether), after binding off stitches for the underarm, I knit each piece flat from armhole to neck. I slipped the first stitch of every row in order to make lining up the seams that much easier (I also like a slipped-stitch selvedge a bit more than a regular one - its cleaner), and I seamed it all together at the end to get those cool, bulky seams.
Its true what they say about denim - its comfortable, durable, and the color is amazing. You can beat the crap out of it, toss it in the wash, and it comes out looking even better. It softens and fades with wear, while still looking presentable - a quality that I wish more of my clothes (that are not jeans) had.
All in all, I'd say it was a success. Wool, however, is still my weapon of choice. Wool, you'll always be my number one.
Many of you have been inquiring about the yellow scarf that I showed you just a snippet of in my last post. To clarify, its Kathy's new 'Shifting Sands' pattern - I just modified the number of stitches in the pattern to accommodate for a worsted (the pattern calls for sport weight).
I wasn't sure how I would like this yarn for this pattern but as it turns out, I think it looks pretty perfect for what I had in mind. It adds a bit more thickness to the fabric which, as you know if you've already worked with malabrigo, is a wonderful thing.
I don't have much more for you today - although I'm hoping to get a lot done this weekend and have lots of fodder for the tweedy fire next week. If we are lucky enough to get a sunny day, I may even have some finished sweater photos for you at the beginning of next week. Cross your fingers for a bath of natural light to wash over Brooklyn and save us all.
Aside: did anyone notice two random yarn lines appear all-of-a-sudden on the knitpicks website a little while ago? Listed as web specials with limited quantities? "Totem" is a worsted wool/modal blend (50/50) and "Salishan" is a wool/pima cotton (45/55). It seems they're basically all snatched up (a few of the less desirable colors are still hanging around, i think). Intrigued, I threw in a ball of the "Salishan" on my last KP order.
Anyone know what these yarns are all about? Maybe they're testing out some new lines...? or I guess these could be really old lines they used to carry before I was hip to the KnitPicks scene? I'll give you a report once I use it, although I don't know how much good that will do, if the yarn is no longer available for purchase.
Have a good weekend. And please, knit.
click for more info
Well, I'm home. But you should know that I've been swimming in my inbox all day. If you've e-mailed or commented, I'm trying to get back to you. Some may get lost in the fray, and for that I apologize.
The west coast tour was a whirlwind. California was beautiful - I could get used to 70 degree weather in late October.
The highlight of San Francisco was the meet-up, in which Angela, Steph, Vanessa and I turned an unassuming coffee shop into a veritable yarn volcano.
see the debacle in action here
I was first hand witness to a history-making-project or two. General fiber intoxication abounded. We visited Imagiknit, if only for an hour - and I made a necessary addition to my EZ library (rounding out my collection).
Portland, the best leg of my journey, acted as a 4 day hide-out from real life. I got a lot of knitting done, but mostly just spent some time decompressing. We hiked. We photographed a ton of stuff. And feasted on amazing food and coffee (not hard to do in Oregon).
Seattle? The only thing that really matters about Seattle is the dish on Sundara right? I know what you all want.
Well. We had a grand time. Spent most of the afternoon holed up in her "apartment" (c'mon, its a dyeing studio) whiffing wool, playing with color, eating muffins, drinking tea and swapping projects, patters, etc. etc. You know, the usual things knitters do when they get together. She showed me the ropes of dyeing (an exclusive behind the scenes look.. lucky me!) and taught me how to... *gasp*.... spin. Using a drop spindle. (I have some ugly ugly handspun that I did not photograph, for your sake. Its not so bad... but it IS fluorescent green)
She also gave me some treats. Not least of which ........
DK silky merino. 500 whopping yards. Woooohooo. Do I feel slightly gluttonous? Maybe. But I'll make something nice, I swear.
There's so much more, but its unfortunately time to get back to real life (oh right, I have a job). Can someone remind me why I'm back here in NY? (no reminders necessary, really, I love NY too.)
but the west side is pretty damn good.
I'm taking a breather here in Portland with my brother and his wife. I've had the luxury of spending most of the last day knitting, drinking coffee (Stumptown, we're not worthy), and playing with the dog. I can't complain.
I thought I'd do a quick post from the road: Progress resumes on the Swish Top-Down Raglan.
I also had a chance to shoot some photos of an old project that I completed last year (read: accosted my brother with the camera at the breakfast table). This was my bro's Christmas gift last year - I was happy to see that he continues to wear it often, especially in this brisk beautiful weather (wow Portland is gorgeous right now)
see the artsy version here
Its 'Shedir' from Knitty's Breast Cancer Awareness Mini-Issue. Knit with Rowan Calmer in 'Coffee Bean' on size US 3 16" circulars. I've always wanted to make another for myself, but I'm just too cheap for non-sale Rowan.
More to come from the road. A proper California update, and meeting with the wonder herself! Happy Halloween!
I'm off for a quick west coast tour - I'll be hitting up LA, San Fran, Portland and of course Seattle over the next 8 days. They're calling it a business trip, but to me its clearly time to see friends and catch up on knitting.
I'll be meeting up with some of the lovely ladies of blogland tomorrow morning - very exciting! As far as projects: I'm bringing sweaters. Only.
it grows.
I may not be posting throughout the week. My apologies in advance if I dont respond to e-mails or comments in a timely fashion. My internet access will be spotty at best.
I'll leave you with some eye candy - it is friday after all.
click for details
Have a great week!
