Guess What I Got Done!

Yup, that would be my Making Waves Cardigan!! It is so perfect I want to wear it even though we are having a heat wave. (It is so warm out, I actually am deciding not to.) Just a few degrees lower, though, and I will be rocking it with a pair of shorts...

Yeah, kind of like that.

I mentioned that I blocked it the other day. That went very well with the blocking wires. I did end up having to steam the side seams flat. The hem got a crease blocked into it at the side seams and it stuck out funny when I was wearing it. A little steam took care of it though.

The fabric is light and airy but still warm. I think it will be perfect in cool air conditioned places and on summer evenings. Not right now though. It really is stinking hot. Whew!!

I got the clasps in the mail on Tuesday and sewed them on that night. They're not real metal and are very light weight.

That's a good thing with this fabric because it wouldn't be able to support anything heavier. I ordered four and thought I was going to use them all, but two seemed enough. I think they are sweet without being cutesy.

I don't have too much else to write about the final project
so I will let the pictures speak for me.

So happy to have it done!! So happy with it!!

Now for a little cooler weather, please?

Project Stats
Started: 30 Apr '11
Finished: 18 Jul '11
Pattern: Making Waves by Mary Annarella ($6)
Materials: Fleece Artist Saldanha Two, 1 skein Ruby ($31.80); 2 petit fleur clasps ($4.50)

Sneak Peek

Going to the airport and getting some serious hand-craft time in and meeting this week's deadline on my secret project early has led to some serious progress on some other projects.

Here's a sneak peek at what I finished this week:

All the knitting is done and I got it blocked tonight. The blocking wires were a great convenience. I managed to slide a set in the folded hem of the front and back. It worked perfectly!

And I also managed the whole sweater from one skein!! All I had left was 5 g (out of 100):

But this wasn't a "cutting it close" as Troy accused me. I had bought a second skein because I thought I would need it. Now I'm in the beginning stages of thinking of knitting a matching T, shell or even dress to go underneath. Hmmm....

I'm waiting for some cute clasps I ordered to come in and then I'll be able to wear it!!

Wherein the question, "What do you mean it's not the same?" is answered with, "It's not."

Confession time. Confession of dumb things I do.

Remember my recent post bemoaning the change in gauge in my Making Waves cardi?

I ripped back the sleeve this weekend and started knitting with the larger sized needles, the ones I purchased just for this project. Before I had finished two rows I knew it wasn't right.

I got a sneaky suspicion of what went wrong and checked my Ravelry notes to find out. Sure enough, I had been using the wrong size needle in the first place!! Instead of using the size I used for the first sleeve, I was using the smaller set that I had used exclusively for the last rows and cast off.

Two results:
1. I learned (again) that you can never have so much experience that you stop making dumb mistakes.
2. All is right in the universe once more: using different needles produces a different gauge and using the same needles does give me the same result. Phew!

I have recommenced the sleeve with the correct needles and all is going well.

Plus I am very relieved to have solved the conundrum of getting such different results from the "same" needles. I can't tell you how much that turned my world upside down. (Honestly, it's like finding out putting the car in reverse makes you go forward faster. It just wasn't right!) Now, deep breath. All is good.

What do you mean it's not the same?

When I last wrote about my Making Waves cardigan, I was finished the body and waiting for my new Harmony dpns in the right size to start the sleeves. The needles arrived in good time...and then sat around waiting to be opened. (Troy almost couldn't stand seeing that unopened package day after day, but I knew what was in it and wasn't ready to tackle the sleeves yet.)

When I was ready, I moved the stitches from the waste yarn to the new needles and started stitching. The needles didn't feel right though; they felt too fat. I measured them in my needle gauge to check them against the needles I had been using for the body, and they matched. So I soldiered on. After about 3 inches, I couldn't ignore it anymore.

I got out my gauge ruler and measured about 7 sts/in on the top portion of the sleeve and only about 5 sts/in on the new portion. Gah!! That was not going to work. So I ripped back to the beginning of the sleeve and conservatively chose to work with one size smaller needle. Of course, that was one I already had and this meant I hadn't needed to buy a new set!

After only about an inch with that size, I could see that I was still getting too loose a gauge. So I went down another size. This one was "just right" as Goldilocks says and I marched on down that sleeve like nobody's business:

Things are quicker when it's only a 3/4 length sleeve! Here is a view of the ruching at the cuff:

I'm not sure it has enough gathers so I may try adding even more stitches for the front trim. We'll see.

I did cast off "firmly" as instructed by the pattern, but it was too tight to sit comfortably on my arm. I undid and tried again, and I think I found a good balance. The designer made the point that if you cast off too loosely, the ruching isn't drawn in on the outside edge and you get something more like a ruffle. (Could be nice, but not what we're going for here.)

After the first sleeve was done, I let the poor project languish around for a few more days. I finally got started on the second sleeve on Wednesday. I was so happy to have all the figuring of the needle size behind me so I could just knit and knit without thinking. I got between 1 to 2 inches done:

Can you make out the problem?

Ya, for some reason the gauge is way too small.

Can you see how it pulls in about an inch below the needles?

I don't ever have trouble with my tension. It's smooth and even. (That's assuming I'm throwing like I'm used to. If I'm picking, all bets are off!) I have never measured a difference between my tension knitting back and forth or knitting in the round. Usually I can just pick up the needles recommended by the pattern and go.

And now I can't even get the same result doing the same thing twice. Frustrating. I have read that your tension can change from the beginning of a garment to the end if it is a complicated stitch pattern because as you get used to it, you are able to do it more handily. (Knitting a large swatch will ameliorate this.) But this is bloody stocking stitch!!

Nothing to do right now but take it out and try the larger needles (after I moan and groan a little here, of course). I'm jumping up two sizes to the new ones I bought, however. It would be nice to be able to put them to use.

Making Progress on Making Waves

I have made good progress on my Making Waves cardigan. I finished the body a week and a half ago. The instructions tell me to do the sleeves next. I debated starting the ruffled trim instead so that I could use the same ball of yarn and the trim would match the front.

But I decided that I would rather have my sleeves match the body and the trim contrast than the other way around. (The only reason they might contrast is that at some point I'm going to have to start using the second ball of yarn. They looked pretty close, but hand painted stuff is notorious for varying from skein to skein.)

In order to do the sleeves, I "had" to order some more Harmony dpns. The size I needed was one size too big to be included in the socks set that I got. I didn't mind waiting for them, however, because I started another project that has me obsessed. I'll write more on that later.

In the meantime, I will show you where I am with this piece. I pinned the front so it would mostly hang right (remember that the trim will make it a little wider in the front yet):

I have to still fold under the hem and sew it, but the length looks pretty good. (It'll block slightly longer if anything.)

I did waist shaping as instructed as I decreased, but I only did the hip increases on the back--something I learned from making the Sahara. I do not need increases in the front; it really doesn't hang right on me.

The armhole seems to fit well. You can see the raglan shaping here:

A lot of raglan styles really emphasize the line made by the increases, but this sweater really downplays them. That's good in my opinion. I don't think the raglan style is particularly flattering on my body.

My new needles arrived this week and soon I will get going on those sleeves.

The Start of Making Waves

I have started a new cardigan. I have been watching Mary Annarella's work for a while on Ravelry. I had noticed her sweaters were lovely and in fits and colours that I loved. (She was one of the first people I friended so that I could follow all her projects.)

I didn't notice at first that she designed most of them. But when I saw that the pattern for this design was just coming out, I knew I had to have it. I really like the ruching trim detail even though I know it will be a big tedious pain in the butt. But totally worth it.

It also happened that at the same time, Amy at the Red Purl had a completely gorgeous shade of red in Fleece Artist's Saldanha (a lace weight merino wool) that would work for the pattern. Lucky me!

I cast on the last day of April just in time for the "red" month of Project Spectrum. The cardigan is knit from the top down, and I have all the shoulder and neckline shaping done. I tried the project on quickly when I got to the bottom of the armholes to make sure the armholes weren't too tight. Once that was done, the sleeves were put on waste string and the back and front were joined.

I have now finished the waist shaping and wanted to try it on again to make sure I was headed in the right direction. The big advantage of working from the top down is that you can put all your stitches onto a string and try your piece on at any time.

It is a big advantage, but I also find it to be a pain in the butt. It takes too much time to put the stitches onto a waste string, and then to put them back onto the needle. But I have to remember that it's all to save time later by preventing reknitting because of a bad fit. The problem is I think I'd rather do more knitting than spend time trying on the piece. I know...that is a rather immature way to look at things so I try to test the fit as often as necessary. (If I worked on cable needles I would probably be able to try it on with the needle in, but I like straights so I'm stuck with transferring to a string.)

Enough talk. End of the story is that I tried it on tonight and tried to see what it looked like from every angle:

The fit seemed good. I still have to add the trim to the front edge and it needs to fit with a little negative ease so that there's enough pull on the hook and eye closures to keep them closed.

And I'll just throw this one in because I thought I was having a good hair day:

Ok, quiet in the peanut gallery...I do consider this a good hair day so pipe down.

I hadn't really thought about my progress on this sweater, but looking ahead in the pattern shows me that I don't have that much more to do on the body. I could be about half way since the sleeves are 3/4 length. Oh wait...there's a lot of knitting in that trim. Ok, so maybe I'm a third of the way...

It would be nice to finish it this month for Project Spectrum, but I'm not going to push too hard on it. No matter how far I am, all I can do is keep knitting. That's the only way to get it done! The lace-weight yarn is a little thin for my taste (for how easy it is to knit, I mean; it looks great) but I am using my bamboo straights and that is always a pleasure.