Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Clear sailing


This is about the Drawstring Raglan cardigan from the latest issue of Interweave Knits. I fell in love with the style, the pattern and the colors. And it looked so quick and easy to knit up. So I went to my knitting model in SK and she was happy to have such a pretty sweater.

What an exciting day when the yarn arrived. It was shiny and drenched with color. The photo doesn't do the colors justice. What looks like blue is actually a lustrous silver. I quickly started the ripple pattern and was delighted with the results. Then I got to the underarms and sleeve caps. Well! I had been reading in Knitting Daily that there might be a problem casting on 64 stitches over a two stitch space, so I was prepared to have to work at this. But, I tried double points and another circular in attempt to get some flexibility. Nothing worked well nor did it stop the obvious end result of stretched and distorted stitches. The rows were ripped out twice.
OK. I give up. Over to the Ravelry discussions...surely someone has finished this one. Thanks to all the knitters who have worked this thing through. And to Sandi with her EZ solution - I have passed the challenge and it's clear sailing from her on.
I have been knitting for over 40 years and have never had a pattern that had such a strange construction technique. Oh, some have errors and you get screwed up until it's obvious something's going on. I've ripped out more unsatisfactory knitting than I care to remember. But, this is the first time that I've encountered a pattern which actually incorporates in its design something which is not only difficult but which doesn't enhance the appearance of the garment.
That's my rant for today.

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