Friday, May 6, 2011

Off the needles

Finally!  I thought this  little sweater was never going to be finished.  For something without long sleeves and high collar, it seemed to take forever to knit.  I'm sure my own lack of attention had something to do with it.  I found this yarn at the thrift shop.  I liked the color - green plied with black - and thought it would knit up well.  It turned out to be a linen/cotton blend.  I measured and weighed and chose a pattern that I'd been wanting to make.  This is Slanting Gretel Tee designed by Petra Manis and all my testing seemed to say: GO!

 So I did.  You have to know this is knit in the round and there are always a lot of stitches on the needle.  After 21 rounds I decided that it wasn't knitting true to gauge and I ripped it out.  Cast on again.  I think I must have been trying to get back those lost rounds as fast as possible because I twisted the cast on.  (I have to interject that I have never - in how many years knitting? - twisted a cast on before.)  And then I somehow knit 45 rounds before I even noticed.  Another, bigger ripping out.  Are you thinking that this project is doomed?  Me, too. 


After a week of baleful glances, the rewound ball of yarn was picked up and the stitches were cast on again.  Focus, focus, focus!  Did I mention that this was not a challenging pattern?  Happily, all went just as it should after that.  In fact, the ending was a bit of a let down.  Maybe because there was no seaming to hate.  

Now, it's done.  It's the lightest weight sweater I think I've ever knit.  It's like fairy dust in my hands.  It will be nice and cool should we ever get any warm weather at all.  I like the color - a lot.  Best of all there are two balls of the yarn left over.  I'm thinking about what else I could make.  But, it'll have to wait.  I want to knit a bit with wool for something easier on the hands than this yarn was.  Socks are calling me. 

11 comments:

Rudee said...

Well it's drop dead gorgeous and looks wonderful on you. I'm glad you persevered.

Margo Kelly said...

Beautiful!! Great job finishing. :)

Paws on the Run said...

It looks great!

Ginny Hartzler said...

This is very pretty, and will make a great dressy outfit when worn with a skirt, too. How about a matching drawstring purse?

SELVIDGE by Rachida S said...

Wow that sounds like a lot of fun!!! Anyway, the results look fabulous on you. Enjoy wearing it and I hope the weather warms up because here, we are having summer weather; all of the roses are in full bloom :)

Mimi said...

Oh, the extra work we create for ourselves when we rush into projects!
But yours turned out beautiful in the end!
And you told the story so well, in itself, it was an enjoyable read.
Love the colour too.

Joanna said...

Third time lucky! I looks fantastic. I love the colour on you.

Annie Jeffries said...

Linen/Cotton! Perfect for Spring.

Unknown said...

Ah, when I looked up the pattern I saw that it's your own take on it! A different color makes it a totally different Tee -beautiful, Stephanie!

koko said...

The top looks very smart on you! You did a great job. I'm sure you had too much on your mind when you started it...

Anonymous said...

Beautifully made. Love the cable. :O)

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