05-24-10
Using Kollage Square needles, #8, 40”.

And I LOVE the Love It!

06-05-10
Had to switch needles. I love the way the square needles feel, and the weight is really comfortable, but the cord! Ugh! It’s too rubber-band-y, and this cottony yarn sticks to it and doesn’t want to move along. It was slowing me down, and frustrating me, so I had to switch to my trusty Knit Picks Options. Ahh, much better.

Decided I didn’t like the way the button bands looked in the sample photos, so I nixed the buttonholes, and for a smoother look, reversed the ribbing so that it shows on the inside rather than the outside. Only problem with that is that it wants to turn in. Badly. So I solved the problem by sewing on ribbon with hook and eye closures. Miraculously, I found a perfectly matching ribbon at Joann’s.

The first time I did the medallion on the back it was a disaster. Too big and loopy and saggy. Also, because I used all the colors in the self striping yarn, it looked like I had a target on my back. Not what I was going for. So I redid it on a size smaller needle, in one color, and eliminated one of the even rounds. It still didn’t look just right, and hung in kind of an egg shape, so I ran a thread around the circumference and gathered it up a bit. Perfect. But that wasn’t stable enough, so I did a crochet slip stitch all the way around. Came out great, and circular, and non-target-y.

I love the way this turned out, but I don’t recommend doing this pattern with self striping yarn. I had to treat it like separate colors and keep cutting it, to the point that I ended up needing another ball of yarn, which I didn’t have. Being that this colorway has long been discontinued, I was very lucky to find just one ball on the internet. Thanks to KnittersDream.com I was able to make a cardigan instead of a vest. The one ball they had available was in a different dye lot, but it was close enough and the slightly brighter shade doesn’t really show up in the finished product.

I can’t say that I love the way this fits me. The tapered shaping isn’t the best fit for me, and it looks better on my dressmaker’s dummy, Aida. She’s a little bustier than me and has absolutely no tummy bulge. I love her anyway. And I love this sweater anyway. Lesson learned.

And being one who just doesn’t know when to quit, I added beads. I had these uber cute ceramic beads that matched this yarn so well. I considered using them as buttons, but since I decided against the buttonholes, and they were really too small for that anyway, I had to find another use for them. Embellishment of front band and wrist ribbing. I used little clear tear-drop beads to attach them. Done.

Looking at this sweater I see water. Water and droplets and bubbles and waves. It makes me miss the ocean a little less. Just a little. I dream of Carmel-by-the-Sea…