Week 4 Progress Report, Sweater 2

A little backwards progress this week. It had become obvious that the flashing and pooling was a real issue. Like most knitting issues, if I had accepted reality a little earlier, it would have been a quicker fix. There are several ways to deal with flashing and pooling, and the best way here was to back up to the start of the new skein and alternate two skeins.

All of the skeins are the same dye lot. For reasons that remain mysterious, the first skein did not pool. I tried a randomized sample of the other skeins, and they all pooled. So alternating skeins was the answer.

I'm not sure it's completely clear in these close ups, but in the first picture above, the original fabric, when viewed from a distance, created large blue blobs all over the sweater. Breaking up that pooling with the other skein gave me the more randomized result in the second picture, which is much more what I was going for.

And I bet you anything I will have to continue doing this up the sleeves and on either side of the front. Because while the other way to deal with pooling is to change the number of stitches, I don't believe for a moment that the number of stitches I drop down to will stripe in a nice, randomized manner.

Week 4 Progress Report, Sweater 1

This week's exciting discovery was that the increases occur almost four times as rapidly as I thought they did, which means that I am already halfway done with them. And when they're done - next week - I get to start the sleeves!

I realize it looks about the same as last time. And I keep having to move further away to get it all in the frame. But it really is growing!

Week 3 Progress Report, Sweater 2

I have nearly achieved the elusive 15 inches. I am knitting exactly to gauge, and could just count rows, but I'm taking a belt-and-suspenders approach, and measuring as well. I am also using up the yarn at about the rate I expected to, which is nice.

New yarn has been arriving, which makes sticking to projects that are in the boring stage a bit difficult. Onward!

Week 3 Progress Report, Sweater 1

First waist increase done. This is definitely the boring part.

Meanwhile, I made some facecloths. I'm really sorry that Bernat Gloucester has been discontinued. It was a nice soft cotton with no excess plant matter in it at all.

The pattern is nalhcib's Pearl Brioche Dishcloth #12, which was easily memorized and produced a lovely squishy fabric. I chose to work it on US 8 (5.00 mm) because I find a more openwork cotton cloth dries more thoroughly.

Week 2 Progress Report, Sweater 2

Coming along, slowly but surely. I'm almost through the second skein. It's maddening that identical dye lots knit up differently on the same number of stitches, same needles, and despite countless efforts to start at the same place in the color scheme.

Week 2 Progress Report, Sweater 1

Waist decreases done, now working on the main body of the sweater. Stripes and the occasional increase are the only things happening until I reach the bottom of the neck opening. But it's going fast.

And when it's time to start the sleeves, I get to start over with the rust and green again!

Week 1 Progress Report, Sweater 2

Moving right along, but smaller gauge and flat pieces means it will take a little longer than the other. I do love the color changes in the yarn.

I moved it off onto a circular needle right after I took the picture; it clearly needed more room to breathe. I'm getting gauge, though. No surprise, after actually making a swatch.

The stitch markers are serving as hemming pins - I was going to sew the hem, then decided to sew the side seams first. I have no idea why. Not having a pattern means I can do what I want.

Week 1 Progress Report, Sweater 1

I have completed stage 1:

and stage 2:

It looks a little bit like a whale, I think.  It's a fantastic pattern, very clearly written and illustrated. When I misread an instruction as "with both right sides facing" instead of reading ahead to the next line, which added "you," it was my own fault. And no harm done, since at no time did I think it really wanted me to do the former.

I also discover that this poor designer has had her pattern hijacked and cheap knock-offs of the sweater are advertised on FB scam ads which - adding insult to injury - use one of the photos from someone on Ravelry who has made the sweater. Intellectual property theft from two different knitters.

New Beginnings

How long does it take to knit a sweater? How about two? Requests for sweaters in hand, with no expectation on anyone's part that I will finish before Christmas, we begin.

Yarn purchased:

Yarn wound:

Let the wild rumpus commence! (I'm not taking sides in the "start vs. begin" quote war brought on by different editions of a children's classic. Life is too short.)

And you're quite right, that lovely rust is not enough for the first sweater. Other colors will appear in due course.