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FO Report: Almost February Baby Sweater

baby sweater completed

Project Name: Almost February Baby Sweater
Source: Knitter’s Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Yarn Used: Lisa Souza Sock! Merino, Spumoni
Needle Size: 2.25 mm
Date Started: June 14, 2008
Date Completed: August 30, 2008

Notes: Woo hoo! I’m finally done with this one! For some reason the sleeves are a bit wonkier than I wanted, but hopefully they’ll block out nicer. I used the pattern from Knitter’s Almanac as a guide, but changed it in so many ways! First of all, I used a finer gauge yarn than the pattern recommends, so I had to re-calculate the number of stitches to cast on. Then, I didn’t like the lace pattern in the body of the sweater because I thought it was too girly. So I decided to do the whole body in stockinette, except for the cable and eyelet panels in front. Then, instead of knitting the sleeves flat, as directed, I put the sleeve stitches on holders and knit them in the round at the end.

Overall I enjoyed making this item a lot, but probably won’t do it again in sock yarn because the stitches are so tiny that it felt like it took forever. I’m more of an instant gratification kind of girl!

I guess I should also mention that this was my very first sweater, ever, ever.

Here’s a closeup of the cable detail and the button band:

closeup of cable panels and button band

For the cable and eyelet panel, it is a panel of 15 stitches. The cable in the center is 9 stitches wide, and has a repeat of 12 rows. The crossings happened on row 5 and row 11. The cable is surrounded on each side by a single purl stitch and then the eyelet, and a decrease on the outside edges of each panel to compensate for the eyelet yarnover.

The sleeves were knit in the round to the cuffs, and then knit flat in garter stitch with decreases on the inside edge to form the shaping of the cuff. Since the sleeves are round and I had to knit back and forth on the cuff, for the wrong side rows I ended up knitting in the round from the inside to the edge. I hope that makes sense! I also think I should have been more patient and made the sleeves a tad bit longer. Oh well, I was really worried about not making my deadline! I probably won’t see the recipient very often ever again after tomorrow. (She’s the manager of our swim club and the pool closes for the season tomorrow, and she’s not returning next year because of the baby.)

I don’t know whether the baby who will wear this sweater is a boy or a girl. Whoever you are, I wish a safe and healthy arrival, and I know there are many people who love you and can’t wait to welcome you to this world. I hope someday I get to meet you.

Hugs and Kisses,

Overjoyed Knitter.

August 30, 2008
Quick Peek Before Bedtime

I’ll be sure to get photos tomorrow when it’s done for real, but look:

baby sweater with two sleeves

I finished the second sleeve while at family night at the pool tonight. So, while Diana was busy belly flopping and Steven was bouncing to the moon, there I was, under the floodlight where the light was good, knitting away.

Shower’s at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow. I want to add another buttonhole to the body, do some minor finishing, and sewing on of the buttons. We’ll see if I come even close to getting done.

Stop laughing. I know you are.

August 24, 2008
One Down, One More in Progress

baby sweater update

Lookie! I got a sleeve done! Unfortunately I still don’t think I’m going to be done with the whole sweater by Sunday, but once in a while, miracles do happen. So, just in case I’m due for one, I’m going to keep at it. Either way, I can taste FO status coming. C’mon everybody, say it with me now:

I think I can
I think I can
I think I can

My favorite part of the sleeve is the little cuff, with the split cuff on the inside so it flips up so cute. It’s a little hard to see in the photo because the sleeve cuff is blending in with the sleeve right there, but I happen to think it’s darling. I did sort of wing it as I went, but I was smart enough to make notes on the sleeve as I worked it so that I could replicate the same sleeve on the other side.

Wanna see the cute little buttons I found?

closeup of button for baby sweater

My mom and I went shopping at Jo Ann’s over the weekend. The buttons say “genuine shell” on them, which I suppose means they’re made of seashells, but who knows? I hope they are. In any case, I think they’re a great match for the colors in the sweater.

Ok, I better shut up now and keep knitting. Keep the positive vibes coming! I’m feelin’ it!

August 20, 2008
Today’s Sweater

August 17 sweater progress

Thanks to those who commented via the comments and Plurk. As you can see, I did start the sleeves. The first one is getting close to being done, but alas I have admitted to myself that there is absolutely no way that I can get the sweater done by the baby shower next Sunday. It’ll be close. As long as I can get it done by September 1, which at the moment seems more reasonable, I should be ok!

I’m glad now that I have two pairs of each size of smaller needles in Harmonies. I actually had the sweater on the 24″ needles, but also had a pair of 40″ needles. I knit the sweater body onto the 40″ needles and started the sleeve in the round with the 24s. I incorrectly stated the other day that I was using size 2.5 mm needles; I was wrong. They’re 2.25. I like the nice, dense fabric I’m getting, which despite the light weight of the fabric should still make for a fairly warm sweater. I don’t think I’ll be doing a baby sweater with really thin sock yarn any time again soon, though… this one is taking me forever!

Oh, and in case you’re interested, here’s a closeup of the cables:

closeup of cables

I didn’t like them at first but they are growing on me. It’s a simple braid, over 12 rows, crossing on row 5 and row 11. It’s a much more relaxed braid than the 8 row variety that is my usual favorite, so the relaxed look wasn’t doing it for me at the beginning. But as fussy as this yarn is I wanted to spread the cable crossings out a bit so that the yarn would be easier to work with. Did it help? Not sure, but I bet it probably did. I found the cables fussy to do as it is, and had to fix them several times during the process. I’m not quite done with the body length yet, so there may yet be more fixing up of this sweater as I near its finish, but I do think I’m finally getting the hang of it. We’ll see.

The title of today’s post is a nod to my favorite podcast, Cast On, and its wonderful host, Brenda Dayne. She seems to be struggling a bit with a podcast format/frequency schedule that works for her. I just wanted to give a shout out and say to Brenda that I love Cast On, and will take it in whatever way works best. Just please don’t go away. I need Cast On for the connectivity to knitters, much the same way that you say you need it. I’m glad you’re back and can’t wait for the next one, whenever it happens to be.

Over and out… I actually have to put the knitting down for the night and make some progress on some writing I’m doing. Yuck. I’d rather knit.

August 17, 2008
Too Distracting!

Dear Michael Phelps,

Congratulations on being able to achieve that which so many thought would never be done again. I am a fellow Marylander, and, with the exception of a minor dozing off incident last night, I have been watching you with most rapt attention and cheering you along.

But you see, Mr. Phelps, therein lies the problem. I have this deadline to meet. And with you being on TV nearly every night for a week now it has been hard to pay attention to what I need to do. I know you understand about making it to the finish line in time. Mine is next Sunday, and I’m never, ever going to make it if your races continue to be this exciting. I just can’t take it! I’ll never make it to the end this way.

So, do me a favor, and just knock that last one out of the park, ok? No more nail biters. I know you can do it. A nice, boring win for the last one would be ok. I’m rooting for you.

Thanks very much,

Nervous Knitter in Maryland

What Should I do?

baby sweater progress

I’m thinking at this point I should cut the yarn at the end of the row, pick up and do the sleeves, then go back and do the body. Maybe that way, I’ll have a better chance of having a completed object by next weekend? I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Please leave me your opinion!

Back to the knitting….

August 15, 2008
Fixing Mistakes Again

Wouldn’t you know it, last night I found another mistake in the knitting. It bothered me as I worked all evening, so this morning I decided to fix it before starting my work day. (I’m feeling under the weather today and am writing this post slowly between bouts of shutting my eyes. Perhaps it’s a migraine? Don’t know… all I’m feeling is the nausea. Yuck.)

Anyway, the mistake involved skipping some stitches in a particular column, which had the effect of having several slipped stitches in the column, which resulted in having the work look like this:

accidental slipped stitches shown in purple circle

I highlighted the mistake in a purple circle so you can spot it easier. Now, I should point out that I am a huge fan of macro photography, so the mistake in the photo is much bigger than it is in reality. But, that’s how huge it felt to me, so I couldn’t let it go.

So, I dropped the stitch off the needle and laddered down to the point of the mistake. The yarn is a bit sticky so I had to coax the stitches down.

crochet hook inserted in ladder of stitches

It was time to break out Aunt Honey’s trusty red crochet hook, and after what seemed like forever, I got the stitches worked back up.The yarn was a bit splitty so it was very slow going. I often did three stitches and ripped back two, up, back down, up, back down, until I finally got to the top and could replace the stitch back onto the needle.

column of stitches after laddering back up

So here it is with the job all done. As you can see, it’s going to take a bit of blocking for the stitches to get in shape. Wish me luck on that one… back to the knitting!

August 14, 2008