Wednesday, February 1, 2012

E's a' knittin

E has been a busy knitting bee lately, and I've convinced her to give us the lowdown on what she's been working on, so here ya go!

Hunt for the Perfect (Sailor) Sweater Part 1 - Folded

      I have made a few sweaters in my time and I love them all in their different ways. But I have yet to find MY sweater...the one that fits me perfectly and I never take off. Why? Well, two main reasons 1.) I love all knitting and can get completely fired up about any pattern just for the fun of trying something new (top down inverted smocking with fourteen needles? Yes please!) and 2.) Knitting patterns, like sewing patterns, HAVE to be adapted to your shape. Now, I knit for fun and don't want to invent the perfect sweater, I want a perfect pattern!  But I am learning that paying attention to fit constantly while knitting is the only way to go - instead of knitting blissfully till the end of the pattern and being unhappily surprised (ahem). 

     That all being said, what is my perfect sweater? A sailor sweater, of course! I am a sailor at heart and what could be better than a boatneck 3/4 sleeve not too loose not too tight stripey sweater? Nothing! So when I found the Folded pattern by Veera Valimaki I fell in love http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/folded . This is a great sweater, everything I want, nice and loose. Pattern is written beautifully, there is a little fun zing with the front foldy pleats and I used our ultra sexy Pigeonroof Studios Siren Two Sock yarn (2 skeins Celadon, 1 skein Vitals) so that just holding it is a pleasure. After blocking however I had a head smacky moment - when I tried it on I see the waist shaping is a little extreme on me. The sleeves and neck are perfect but the body has enough ease on me that the waist shaping is just not necessary. Do I still love and am going to wear it? Hells yeah. I love this sweater and will be making another one ADAPTED to me. Live and learn (and still end up with an awesome sweater.)




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