Troy's Woven Cables Sweater

Before I plunge into my Olympic knitting tonight, I should clear up my previous projects. Clean the slate, so to speak.

I am pleased to present the Woven Cables sweater I've been working on for Troy.

Despite some setbacks along the way, the final sweater fits wonderfully, and judging by the frequency that it graces Troy's shoulders, he loves to wear it!

Since the last update, I finished the shoulder shaping and added the neckline ribbing. I did a 3x1 rib inspired by the columns on the front and back.

I also added the ribbing to the bottom, picking up stitches along the bottom edge and knitting down. The 3x1 rib flowed directly out of the pattern on the main body. I had to fudge the stitch counts just a little to make it work out. I made sure to err on the side of adding of stitches because I wanted the rib to lie flat and smooth, not to pull in like ribbing is usually designed to.

After blocking, the sleeves were plenty long. (And in fact, Troy first thought they were too long; I had to reblock it soon after the first time (long story I'm not getting into here), and the sleeves were just the right length when I wasn't quite as aggressive.) And so, I didn't add any ribbing to the sleeve and just left them as they were.

(Didn't I tell you the shoulder shaping of the "Brooks"

sweater design would emphasize his general buffness?!!)

Here you can see the center of the sleeve making its way up over the shoulder.

Project Stats
Started: 02 Sep 09 / Finished: 23 Jan 10
Pattern: devised from Nancy Marchant's Wondrous Woven Cabling and EZ's Brooks Sweater
Materials: Rowan Purelife British Sheep Breeds DK (brown), 10.5 skeins ($72.35)
The cable placement worked out well all around the shoulders and neckline. This is not through any genius of mine, just a bit of good luck. There's always a chance in cabling that one of the twists will fall just too close or too far from the top edge. But not this time!

One more look at my dapper man:
Not bad, right?

Progress Update

Time for an update on the two projects I've got going on the needles.

First is the Woven Cables sweater for Troy. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I found a second error back in November. (You can read about the first one here.)

This time, the shaping was good but I messed up the pattern. The stitches in the red box should have been in reverse stocking stitch to match the stitches in the black box.

A little thing, perhaps. I debated with myself for a while whether it was worth fixing. But ultimately decided I had better because 1) I predicted it would always bother me, and 2) it was located at a crucial part of the sweater (right in front, part of the "framing" of the face) where the V-neck divided and asymmetry would be obvious.

So then, how to do it? I first tried the scalpel method of only raveling the stitches that were wrong. It was going to be hard because they were at the end of the row and involved decreases, but it was worth a shot.

It didn't work. In only the second or third row down, the yarn twisted around itself in such a way that I could not get it to ravel any further. I never did quite figure it out; it wasn't worth the time to continue trying.

I just got out the proverbial hatchet and ripped out the 8-10 rows to get below the bad patch.
That left me with a lot of wool to reknit. But I got it knit up by the next day and have been making very good progress since. I am getting motivated!

Here is the fixed neckline:
I know, subtle difference, right? But still definitely worth fixing to me.

Things have been moving along so smoothly that I am now up to the shoulder shaping. Before going any further, I had Troy try it on last night to be sure of the fit:
Seems to be good. (And don't forget, there will be added length to the bottom and sleeves.)

It seems to fit right. The neckline seems to start at the right place. And I haven't noticed a "backward" cable yet. Things are good!

The other project that was rather neglected for holiday projects are my Outside In socks. I finished the first sock on January 5. (Notice that is well after any holiday deadlines.)

The finished sock is still inside out--remember, I said

I wouldn't show it correctly until they were all done!

I cast on the second and am making slow progress. (I really am getting absorbed by the Woven Cables sweater.)

It's nice to be over all the holiday projects and be able to simplify down to two projects. One good for travel and the other good for sitting in front of the fire. Nice.

PS: I ordered the wool for the Whistler Olympic sweater. You knew I couldn't resist doing it during the Olympics, right? I've joined Team Michigan in the Ravelympics and can't wait to cast on!

Setbacks and Lifelines

Have you been wondering about the "setbacks" I mentioned at the end of the last post? Well, let me start at the beginning...

Shortly after posting that I had made it to the yoke of the Woven Cables Sweater, I finished the straight part and had to figure out the shaping. I decided to insert a lifeline at this point so that if the shaping didn't work out, I could easily rip out the sweater back to this point. (A lifeline holds a row of stitches and prevents them from unraveling any lower than that row.)

See the line of dental floss acting as the lifeline?

The hard way to insert a lifeline is to thread a needle and run it through every stitch on the needle. An easier way I read about was to thread the end of the line through the hole found at the cable needle joint (circled in red below)

and then knit a row. As you knit, the line is threaded through the stitches as you go. I was glad to have a chance to try out this method because it is simply brilliant!

With this lifeline in place, I merrily knit along. I progressed for many inches (3 to 4, at least). When I started the split for the V-neck I reevaluated. And realized that I had calculated improperly and started the V-neck at half the height it needed. Oh crap!

So I did more calculations to figure out how far back to go. I decided I needed to go back to 10 rows above the lifeline. Ten rows were too much to reknit, in my opinion, so instead of ripping back to the lifeline, I ripped it out the old fashioned way. (Pulling out the needle, ripping back to row I needed and picking up all the stitches again--although it's never quite as neat and simple as that sounds.)

Alas, my calculations were off again (where did this girl get her math degree?) and I ended up taking out five more rows, putting me only five rows above the lifeline. I should have just ripped back to there and knit the five rows. It would have saved me some time and aggravation, and certainly would have made this post on lifelines more to the point! Oh well, sometimes you I learn the hard way.

Since then, I have regrouped and started knitting again. I believe I've started the neck shaping at the right point and am now working back and forth (as opposed to in the round).

The good news is that I made Troy try it on again shortly before I ripped it all out and it looked like the shaping was fitting well.

Meanwhile, I'll just be grateful that anything that needs to be ripped out can be knit again. No small consolation when you think about it.

Sweater Without Shoulders

Last week I finished the second sleeve (to the underarm join) and put the whole sweater aside to "think about it." I had to 1. figure out how many stitches to put onto waste yarn for the underarm and 2. put all the pieces onto a long cable needle. (Blah.)

After letting myself work on some quick projects, I had an evening I could put aside to work out problem 1. Using EZ's percentage system, some measurements, some recommendations from a pattern, and experience, I came up with a number. (18 sts per side, if you're curious.)

2. I slid all the remaining stitches onto a cable needle. (No more bamboo straights :sad face:) I managed to put all the pieces on in the right order and noticed right away that one of the sleeves was inside out. (So back off and then on with that piece with a flip in there to make it right.)

And then started knitting. It's a lot of stitches on one row! I've done about one inch and have one more to go of straight shaping before any of the decreasing begins.

Today I was just confident enough about the shape and size that I sewed up the sleeve and side seams. (Battling inside my head were the thoughts that I would have to take out all that sewing if it was wrong and that I wouldn't be able to tell how it fit unless I had it sewn up. Catch-22.)

But then tonight, I "made" Troy try it on. It was an easy sell because he was excited to see it starting to look like an actual sweater.

Obviously it needs a lot of blocking--and shoulders--but it looks like it is basically fitting. Good news!

Troy was concerned about the length until I explained that I would still be adding either a ribbing or hem to the bottom. He wants about two more inches, so I will probably be doing a rib. I'm thinking 3x1 so that it won't actually pull in that much and then it will integrate right into the cable columns on the front.

The sleeves also need some length. Not as much, however, as my worst fears led me to believe. You can see the length on the outside of the sleeve is pretty good. On the inside, it doesn't look nearly as long but that's because that stitch contracts vertically more than the cable column. Blocking should fix that right up. In fact, I may block the sweater before deciding how to finish the cuff of the sleeves. [Note to self: make a note of that.]

You will not be surprised to hear that this project has ceased to be portable. Every time I leave the house now, I have to debate about what to take with. (A pain for me because I am usually leaving with -2 minutes to spare.)

One option is the lace scarf that I started during vacation in July and haven't worked on much. I'm struggling to find needles that will work well for it. It also still takes a little more concentration than I can give "on the go."

For a while I was taking the quick projects mentioned above, but those are done now.

I'm stalled on my Christmas surprise projects--I'm reconsidering the whole idea, as a matter of fact.

And that has meant I have actually made progress on the girl's pinwheel cardi! (The poor neglected thing.) I finally got the loopy I-cord edging finished (joy and bliss) and Friday at lunch started the sleeves. Alas, when I switched from the cable needle to dpns, I apparently grabbed the wrong size. The dpns are too small and so I'll have to redo all the work I did on Friday. (But the loopy edge is still done. Done, I tell you.)

I have a new sock pattern that I want to try, but I'm sort of saving it for my travels to the AQS Quilt Show in Des Moines at the end of the month.

Meanwhile every trip out the door means some decision making and gathering of tools and materials. It's exhausting!

Woven Cables Sweater Coming Right Along

I have been buzzing along on the woven cable sweater.

Front done?

Back done?

Check!

Check!

They are both done up to the armhole, waiting for the sleeves so I can join them together and do the yoke all in one piece.

Some of you are wondering why I didn't just do the front and back in the round too and avoid those side seams. Well, this is just how I prefer it. I find the separate pieces more portable and I love my straight bamboo 4mms. (As I've said before, and apparently couldn't help but say again.)

And the sleeves?

First?

Second?

Check!

Um...working on it. Yes I'm working on the second sleeve. As I learn the pattern more and more and have to look at the paper less and less, it just seems to fly off the needles faster and faster. (Plus I'm sure I'm still improving on my Norwegian purling method.)

I'm still in the fun part as I just have a lot of knitting to do. Once I have the second sleeve done to the armhole, I will have to work out how to put it all together. The drawback of making up your pattern as you go along--you have to figure these things out. But for now, I just knit and knit and knit.

Observant knitters among you will also notice there's no ribbing or hem along the bottom of the main pieces or the sleeve. I will admit I first did this because that's what EZ told me to do in the Brooks pattern that I'm following. But I've realized it also gives me a lot of flexibility in how long to make the pieces.

After I have it all together I can have Troy try it on. If the sleeves need 2 more inches, I probably won't do it all in ribbing. (Actually I'm not sure what I'll do if they're that short...but they won't be!) If I need about an inch, ribbing will work. If I have the length I need, then I will probably do a folded hem. Options, options. They're wide open for me still.

A more old-fashioned reason to do this is that sweaters get a lot of wear on the cuffs. When they wear out, you can easily ravel them and just put on a new cuff, without having to knit the whole sleeve. Ingenious really. But no one really mends like this any more, do they? By the time a sweater wears out, we're usually done with it.

But just in case, I am ready!

One Thing [Almost] Started; Another [Almost] Finished

I have thus far restrained myself from waxing poetic about the British Sheep Breeds 100% undyed wool that I picked up the other day. I was afraid I would not be able to stop myself once I started singing its virtues, its ease of use, its silken feel as it slides over my fingers. In short, its status as fiber from heaven.

I bought the stuff for an idea I've been hatching for a sweater to give to my sweet hubby. He has worn previous knitterly gifts with such appropriate appreciation and care as to "deserve" another. I'm not going to follow the specific pattern, but I did fall in love with a woven cable design by Nancy Marchant from the Best of Knitter's Aran & Celtics.

A swatch was started the very evening I got the wool home. That reminds me, in addition to working with really wonderful wool, I get to use my [second] favourite needles: the 4 mm bamboo straights. (My first favourite being the 4.5 mm.) The bamboo and wool get along very very well. Oh yes, I am pretty much bouncy with glee whenever I knit this stuff with those needles.

Needless to say, I got the swatch done in fairly short order since I couldn't keep my hands off of it. It's probably the widest swatch you've ever seen, but I wanted to do two repeats of the pattern to get a more accurate gauge measurement. (And when you love the knitting so much, who's counting stitches? And even, who's in a hurry? The sooner you're done, the sooner you have to stop knitting it.)

And then I was very good and blocked the swatch too. It is close to being dry and looks great. The blocking has straightened out the stitches; the pinning has squared the whole thing up. And guess what...I only love it more. (Troy had better watch himself when he wears this sweater...then again, I doubt he'll mind!)

I have decided on EZ's "Brooks" sweater from her Opinionated Knitter for what shape the sweater will take. I like how the center sleeve continues up the shoulder like an epaulet. The shaping will only help to emphasize the pecs Troy's got from all his lifting weights. And I should be able to center the cable pattern so it will continue from the sleeve right up the epaulet.

Now I just have to calculate my gauge, apply that to the measurements of the sweater I want, and figure out how many stitches that produces for every piece of the sweater using EZ's percentage system.

On the other side of the coin, the project [almost] finished is my Deep V Argyle Vest. I have finished knitting the body of the vest; another project I finished sitting in the parking lot after work. It is a very odd shape right now as I have not cut any of the steeks at the sleeves, front neck or back neck. This also makes trying it on rather impossible. I have to decide it's going to fit and then cut the steeks. Because once the steeks are cut, it's hard to go back.

The back.

The front. (The vertical stripes--well, horizontal on the picture,

but vertical on the vest--are the steeks. Visible here are the two sleeve

steeks and the long front neck steek.)

After the steeks I have some ribbing to do on the armholes and neck and then it will be done.

Both projects are at a point where I will let them be for just a bit while I think about them and gear up for the next stage. Just in time for this break I have another smaller project to fill the gap. More on that soon.

And what happened to my girl's pinwheel cardigan/wrap that I was just writing about? Once again, it has been abandoned for more exciting projects. Sorry, Cardigan, but I know you'll wait for me.