This is the unraveled mess that became the Boatneck sweater. I was halfway done with the front when I became a little suspicious. I began muttering that this thing looks waaaay too long. I knew that my row gauge was off. I knew. I cannot deny this fact. I, however, choose to ignore that fact and proceed full speed ahead with the pattern. Well, let me tell you something. I got smart and pinned it together with clips and “holy crap Batman!”, this thing was going to hit at my knees. I want a sweater not a a dress. Commence the frogging of the entire front half of the sweater. Sigh..

(I did proceed to drink 2 pitchers of sangria with Tiffany and Kellee right afterward to take the edge off. It helped. Next time I will listen to those voices in my head telling me this is never going to come out right.)

But the show is back on the road. I have the front done, the back and now I’m on the other shoulder. Should be done very soon if I didn’t have to work lunch tomorrow, go to a graduation for the best girl ever, then celebrate her awesomeness afterward. I’m proud of you my baby girl Sophie.

Back to the pattern. I had to change the cast on for the front and back to 22 stitches. Increase every 6 rows.  I made the shoulders 4.5 inched and am kinda winging it on the width. I want a 39 inch bust, which isn’t in the pattern.

I think with this yarn that I like the stockinette stitch side verses the reverse which is the right side in the pattern. I’ll wait till I’m finished before I decide.

Happy Knitting!

I repaired the Summer Tank Top. The straps are the perfect length and I added a hem to stop the edge from rolling and to take up a little bit of the length.  It fits perfectly and it looks great. I can mark it off as a finish. All done. Ready to wear. Now if the weather would start cooperating…

On another note, new yarn came in the mail. I started the Sloping Hem Boatneck pattern using Billow from Knit Picks.  The color is Gosling which is a soft gray with almost a hint of mint green. I love, love this yarn. It is so soft and supple. The drape is amazing. I want to make everything out of this yarn.

This yarn is a bulky weight, which the pattern calls for, but I could not for the life of me reach the recommended gauge. I am, for the most part, getting stitch gauge. I cannot get the row gauge at all. In fact, it seems impossible. Scratch that, it is impossible. So, I am just winging it. It is a rustic type yarn, thick and thin. I don’t know if that is what is affecting the row gauge. Doesn’t really matter.  This pattern is easy enough to just keep measuring and go.

This is the gauge swatch for the pattern. I am about half way done with the sweater. I am really excited about this sweater and this yarn.

It’s so pretty!!!

It is May 2nd. MAY. Why do we have a forecast for up to 5 inches of snow? Yeah, you heard me right. 5 freaking inches! It was not a typo in my last post heading when I said spring had sprung. It has now run away, screaming with its tail tucked between its legs.  Yesterday it was 80 and sunny. Beautiful. Today is it barely pushing 40 with a fierce wind sucking the life and warmth out of the world.

What am I supposed to be knitting? I was working on a spring top. But now I feel like I should be knitting a hat, or mittens, ohh, how about a parka?

Anyway, last August (I know) I started on the Demeter Camisole. I finally finished it, but the straps were a little bit too long. So, I let the poor thing just sit in the UFO basket. It needs about one hour worth of work. An hour. I would have had a top that I could have been wearing. It knit up beautifully in the cobalt blue color from Cascade’s Ultra Pima Cotton. The pattern called for wool but I decided I wanted cotton for summer. It was honestly the first time I had knit with cotton. I had always avoided it. Some knitters hate, and I mean hate, cotton yarn. It can be stiff, inelastic, and unforgiving. I had always assumed I was one of those knitters that hated cotton yarn.  It is like hating green beans before you ever tasted them, and I love fresh green beans. What was I thinking? I’m not a stubborn six year old who won’t try new things. I’m an adventurous knitter, by golly! I bought the yarn and just dove right into the fray. I love this yarn! It’s so soft and silky, shiny and elastic. It feels and knits like wool. Oh, where have you been all my life? I felt like I had found my soul mate. I became a convert. There is nothing like a born again knitter.  I have become a cotton junkie ever since. I have even ordered some cotton yarn and it’s on the way..

Back to the camisole. It is beautifully shaped and has nice drape. One caveat, it is somewhat heavy. That is the draw back to cotton. It is more dense than wool yarn and a finished garment can be quite weighty. I am a teensy bit concerned it might grow lengthwise due to the weight, and it is a tad long as it is. I left off the lace edge of the pattern because, well, I didn’t really like it. It wasn’t me. So, the summer top needs a little surgery and she will be back to normal and ready to wear to a Royals game.

Here is the strap, getting ready to be grafted (aka the kitchener stitch) back together. I took out two inches of strap for a better fit.

 The color in the photo is off. It looks purple. It is really a royal blue. I hope to have this done by tomorrow.

Btw, as I was typing this post, the new yarn came in the mail!! More on that later…