Yes, I finished a sweater. In just over a month. Cast on December 28th, buttons sewn on Feb 2. Oh, I am a pleased knitter. I love the process, but I do knit to wear the stuff I make, so this project has been a winner!
What, you want to see a picture? If you must [self-timer photo in our bedroom…not ideal, but it’ll have to do] —>
So here’s what you’re looking at. Cecily Glowik MacDonald’s Goodale pattern, knit in the size closest to my chest measurement. If you look at the 2nd picture, you might say I should have knit a size smaller, and you’re probably right. The body is too wide, but I do like that it closes more on me than it does on the rather wee model.
What’s the yarn? This was an interesting mix. I bought Misti Alpaca’s Serena from The Purple Purl, after recently learning that I can tolerate knitting alpaca. Serena is an alpaca/cotton mix and I love the yarn. In this case, a thicker yarn was required.
So I went to the stash and found a skein of Tess Designer Yarns’ Raw Silk in a solid dark grey that matched the grellow colorway of Serena perfectly. At $28/900 yards, the Raw Silk is a STEAL and a really nice yarn, to boot. And you could easily knit this sweater with two strands of the Raw Silk held together, if you’d like.
In any case, the combination was really nice here. But about 4″ from the hem, I was close to running out of Raw Silk. So I switched to 2 strands of Serena, and made sure to alternate the silk/Serena with the Serena/Serena for several rows to soften the transition point. The bottom is more yellow than grellow, but it’s a gentle transition and I’m very happy with the result.
The final result is a little oversized, but comfy and pretty to wear. The blend of yarns turned out to be a great asset to the sweater — warm but not heavy — and I am very happy to have discovered that alpaca is not my enemy. I won’t wear it against my neck, but over a long-sleeved tee, it’s perfect.
P.S. for newer knitters who are hard on themselves, thinking no one makes mistakes like they do, you need to see this [it’s also a much better representation of the color of the yarns]
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What is it? It’s the first time I knit this sweater, almost to the part where you separate for the arms, when I finally noticed that the two fronts were totally different widths. Because I hadn’t bothered to count when I cast on the stitches and placed my stitch markers. In row 1.
I ripped the whole thing back and started fresh. And still finished it within a month [because I counted this time].
Feel better now?
Your Goodale turned out so well. It’s in in my Ravelry Queue for some time. I even have some lovely Fleece Artist yarn set aside for it. I hope mine turns out as well as yours 🙂
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It looks great! Yay for finishing a sweater in a month 🙂 This is on my list to make, too!
Now I feel so lazy! I started this cardigan at the same time – the 38″ size, knit with malabrigo lace held double. When I went to separate the arms etc, I found I’d done too many increases in the first section of the yoke, requiring me to frog back 2/3 of what I’d knit. Instead of getting on with it, it went into detention 🙁
Yours is lovely (I do enjoy grey and yellow together). Maybe I should rescue mine?
Do it! The only thing that prevented me from abandoning it after the ripping was to cast on immediately and knit a chunk.
It’s a great sweater! Just don’t knit it too big!
You did a great job on this, it really looks cute on you. And – hurray – you can wear alpaca! 🙂
You did a great job on this, it really looks cute on you. And – hurray – you can wear alpaca! 🙂
Very attractive sweater – looks great on you.
The sweater looks great and comfortable. Thanks for telling us that you make mistakes too. I just had to tear out a mitten and just about had it done. Knitting does teach patience.
Your Goodale looks great on you. I’ve had it in my queue for a while but wasn’t sure how it would look on my full-figured body.(I am round) Seeing it on you gives me encouragement to knit one up. Thanks for sharing your pix and experience.
Your Goodale looks great!
And I am in awe of your ability to finish a sweater in a month.
You did a great job! I love the idea of knitting up an entire sweater in the Raw Silk (but probably not in natural).
I have to say thank you for pointing out your error. I know for me that I think oh someone like (insert professional knitter name here) would never make a mistake like this, when I make my mistakes.
Nice job Amy! I love these projects you do in non-wools…
I prefer your more “closed” sweater to the one in the pattern photo, which looks too small! Yours drapes in a very flattering way.
I think the yarn color is BEAUTIFUL!
great job!
and thank you for sharing your mistakes. makes me feel normal.
Thanks to you all! You’re very sweet. 🙂
I don’t think it looks too big! I think it’s lovely and looks great on you.
I actually think this fit looks great! I’d consider making one that fits the same way!
The sweater is beautiful. The size seems just right. Any bigger would be too big. Finishing in a month?! If only I could knit “full time”! The yarn and color is very nice.