mods: Instructions are for knitting this flat as it’s a cardigan, but I think I’ll knit it in the round and learn how to steek.

Also doing the sleeves 2-at-a-time, in the round, instead of one at a time, flat.

Did the striping per whims.

Decreases done on a purl row (WS if knitting flat) so p2tog. Seems to be minimizing the warble in the dots some. Could be my imagination.

buttons: You can reach Lynne for a button consultation at ClosureFineFastenings at gmail.com if you’re not local. If you are local, you can get her personal service!

20101225

Casting on the gauge swatch, will cast on for real sometime tonight I think!

later

Funny moment, I couldn’t find for the life of me the handspun. I looked everywhere and then looked again, and it was there. I think I was looking for some sort of different looking yarn, because it seems so small.

Decided against the Mission Falls yarn. That will be something else. Perhaps a crib blanket.

20101216

Finished the picot edge and the bottom stripe, then it’s miles of stockinette for awhile, so I hope to be up to the armpits before they arrive (to show good faith that the knitting will be done by March, not to finish, I have other things to do this week!).

The pattern calls for four colours but I’m just doing what I please. There are a few different colours in the handspun, so I’m just making it look attractive to me, and we’ll call it good.

Translating the pattern into the round isn’t difficult at all, and makes for a lot less angst with the colour transitions. I forgot to knit through them, though. D’oh! I wonder how difficult it’ll be for garter stitch there, or if I should drop down.

I should drop down.

Put a lifeline in before the stripes, as that’s where the picot hem gets sewn up.

Off to drop down and knit up those 6 steek stitches.

And my gauge is about 6.5/7 st in. So it’ll be a bit big on her. I’m not sure whether to start over or just live with it and she can enjoy it when she’s bigger.

20110102

Got up to the armpits on the main body of the sweater while Sydney was visiting. She is excited, she said, that she’ll be getting this for her birthday. We’ll see!

I am changing the pattern (again) to doing the sleeves 2 at a time, and I think I’ll continue to do them in the round. The jog I can live with, I just don’t want to do that much mattress stitch for no good reason.

If they look strangely hideous, I’ll redo them 2 at a time flat.

However, that’s a lot of purling for no reason, too!

I’m going to use only the three accent colours, but will be using a couple of different purple balls, so they are very close but subtly different. Purple is her favourite colour, so that’ll work out fine.

20110106

Almost to the stripes for the arms. Two at a time is working out fine. Teresa and Johanna both told me how to move stitches around when working two at a time, so I was able to handle the k1 yo k2tog parts fine even two at a time. (Put any stitches that have to be handled on the other side on a stitch holder until you can access them.)

It’s going a bit slower now that I’m working again, but still progressing. I doubt I’ll have it finished by the time they are back again, but definitely for the visit after that.

20110115

I’ve been knitting on this a bit more. I hope to have it finished by next weekend for a test fit, and then wash and block and finish it or her birthday.

Knit knit knit knit.

I really like using handspun for these accents. I will do more work like this, it’s very pleasant.

20110117

Just realized, UGH, that I didn’t switch the needles so I have to frog the sleeves… ARGH!

20110124

The sleeves are attached and I’m about 2cm from starting the yoke. Whee! It looks like it’ll fit her, I hope. We’ll see. If it doesn’t, then I guess I’ll be knitting another one and this will go to my new niece.

Sydney has long arms and is very thin, so my main concern is in the arm length.

20110129

Another 2.5cm to the first set of decreases in the yoke. Happy! I’m just doing the stripes as I please, and they are coming out lovely!

later

Hunh. There is NO WAY I will be hitting more than 3 skeins for the main colour. I’ll be finished the yoke soon and still have at least half a skein of the 3rd left for the button bands and finishing.

I must have a seriously cracked gauge.

20110130

Don’t know if I’ll be finished this before February 1st. Yikes. But I’m putting on the pressure to at least take every knitting break with it and it’s almost to the end of the yoke. Then the button bands, steeking and the seaming of the picot edges.

I haven’t decided how I’m doing the collar yet. I had better get cracking on that.

In trying to minimize the wiggles for the “dots” along the yoke while decreasing, I did four rows of the MC, and on the 2nd purl row, I’m doing the decreases there. So they are p2tog, and it seems to be better that the decreases are happening in the row below (knit row).

I’m trying this because of this article by Techknitter where she goes into how colour changes on the active row, and TEXTURE changes in the row below.

The double width of the p2tog seems to slide to the back of the work, so there is little impression on the front side, and the warble of the dotted line seems to be less than in the photos of the pattern, so I’m calling it a limited non-replicated success… ;)

I’m now arguing with myself if I should have done garter stitch across the steeked area instead of stockinette. It’s a small area, and I don’t think it’ll buckle unduly, but I didn’t know how the garter stitch would handle it.

Of course now I’m doubting all the mods, because they are a stretch for my skill set, but oh well, a good stretch is worth it and it’ll be worn by a sweet little 3 year old who will probably not give two figs about whether the button band is done perfectly or not, only if it’s functional.

And if I’m wrong about that, I’ll declare her a fashion prodigy and work with her to nurture her insight and perception.

later

Oh crushing. I’m 6 stitches off. Too small. Why? Because I decreased too many times. I’m not sure how I managed that, but the fact remains it’ll be snug around the underarm compared to the rest of the garment. BAH!

What should I do? At this point I’m awfully inclined to just finish it. It was a size too large and the extra decreases made the smaller (right) size with the longer arms. Which would suit Sydney.

I’ll get her mom to measure her around the chest tomorrow and see if it’ll be a problem. Boo!

To bed.

20110130

Her dad called me back and reported that laying flat, a garment that fits her well around (but is too short), is 13.5” at the armpits, and 12.5” long.

So the length would have been fine (about 14” finished), but the width isn’t going to cut it.

ARGH!

So.

It will have to be frogged. sigh So frustrating! Stupid error, only a few stitches, huge resulting problem. Boo.

20121112

Wow. So. I got stalled on this on the sizing, then I ended up with a surprise divorce and kind of took a year off knitting. I’ve brought this out into the open again, though, and I’m going to finish it for Francesca and cast on another one in a bigger size for Sydney and do it properly.

Maybe I’ll even follow the instructions. :)

At least I can’t be distracted by another divorce, lol.

20130331

I can’t believe how much of this is already done and I just gave up! !! What on earth is that about?

Anyway, going to finish off the yoke and the button bands and see what size it is.

20130402

Finished the yoke last night and bound off. I think I may pick up around the collar and do some ribbing, though. Maybe? It looks so unfinished compared to the hems on the body and sleeves.

Going to seam the armholes and hem the sleeves, steek the front, then hem the body, then do the button bands. I think that’s the right order of operations, anyway.

So it’s all over but the finishing (and button bands)!

later

Cuffs are hemmed, really nice results. So far so good. Hemming body, then armpits, then steeking. Changed the order, happy with it.

later still

So, yeah. Love finishing. Absolutely loving this part. The picot hems are adorable and easy. Kitchenering isn’t a big deal.

Let’s see how the steeking goes…

later still

Body hem is completed. Taking a break for work now. Whee!

20130403

Worked late last night with a lot of time waiting for systems to update, so I did the crochet stabilizing thing, and then this morning cut apart the sweater. Just did it. Snip!

Button bands at some point now.

20130407

Fits Sydney perfectly. She put it on, looked at it and said, yes, I would like one like this, but bigger, and pink.

So, we’ll be starting over, lol… And it’ll be a good sweater for some little girl! My sister says my niece won’t wear it, without seeing it or touching it, lol, apparently she’s very picky about clothing.

In any case, it’s all done but the buttons and sewing down the steeks and a little bit of weaving in at the ends of the button bands and arms.

Whee!

20130408

Ends of the steeks stitched down, ends woven in. Will do the rest of the steeks lightly when I get the buttons.

20130410

Purchased buttons from Lynne’s new shop, Closure Fine Fastenings, currently housed in an economical 6 sq ft of Shall We Knit?. She looked at the sweater and said, oh! and picked them out. We picked out two other colours and styles, but the first pick was really just right.

You can reach Lynne for a button consultation at ClosureFineFastenings at gmail.com if you’re not local. If you are local, you can get her personal service!

I’ll be sewing these babies on tomorrow night, then it will be done, done, done! Oh, and securing the steeks. That, too.

20130411

The buttons are on! I still need to affix the steeks and block it, but I’m calling this totally finished for now as that won’t happen for weeks in all likelihood.