December 7, 2009, 5:07 pm
I didn't update with Day 3, but by the end of Day 3, all I had to do was the collar. I got all the knitting finished on his birthday (December 2), and got the sweater wet-blocked over Thursday and Friday.
The kettle-dyed Wool of the Andes wasn't quite colorfast (I am still not sure all the loose dye came out, though it does not appear to have shed onto Grant's shirt), so it took forever, but eventually the sweater was complete. And today (his first day back to work since the blocking was finished), he even wore it. Awwwww. What a sweetheart.
Grant models his birthday sweater!
(Yet another bad cell phone picture, this one from the iPhone. We're just out of luck on cameras lately.)
He appears to like it! We're currently pondering which sweater will be his holiday sweater from me. Now that I've gotten started making sweaters, I don't seem inclined to stop. :)
December 1, 2009, 10:44 pm
People sometimes ask me "How long does it take you to knit (x)?" This usually makes me crazy, because I feel like there's an implied sense that if it doesn't take that long, my efforts are less valuable. But some projects just plain don't take long. I once knit a wine cozy in the time it took us to drive to our friend's house, but it was still a cute gift!
It's also hard to say, because some days I work on a project for ten minutes here, half an hour there, and other times I am literally slamming out stitches as quickly as I can for as many hours as my hands will put up with it. That's been the case yesterday and today (although today I had to go run errands as well). And 4.5 st/1" still knits up hella fast. So:
2009 Birthday Sweater, Day 2
It's almost impossible to tell scale and progress here, but the sweater is finished (save for some weaving under the armpits — sixteen stitches per side) up to about 3" above the armpits. The cables on the sleeves are going to go all the way up to the collar, and they're mirror images of each other. (I am very proud of myself for not having screwed them up yet; cables are kinda new for me, but now that I've been working them on this project and they've been turning out so well, I'm hungry for MORE MORE MORE.) All measurements indicate that this should fit, although if it's a bit snug, this particular sort of wool will block a little big.
I've been experiencing so much pattern scatteredness lately — I keep starting projects and starting projects and starting projects, and finishing nothing. It's nice to have something where I've just been able to work it and see it coming together almost instantly under my hands. I just hope it looks as good on Grant as it does on the needles, because it is really looking pretty great on the needles!
Also, I'm sort of envious. Now I want one of these for myself! Except that my version would need side shaping, bust darts, and a V-neck, and I'd probably give it cables up the front, too. Maybe next project… hmm… maybe I should order yarn. >_>
