This is exciting. This is also probably my last Knitty pattern for some time, since it seems I just can't bear to simply follow a pattern for a wearable garment; no, I have to change things.
This, my very first sweater, is a rather odd alteration of Jenna Adorno's "Blaze." I substituted the yarn rather dramatically and added gussets at the underarms, because it did not look like it would move well otherwise. In all else, it is unchanged. It was begun in early May and finished early June.
Let me say a word about the yarn. I was cheap, so I wanted inexpensive, and I didn't feel like making it in the mohair blend that Jenna uses. I went for another "M" instead, settling on an appropriately-weighted (washable) merino yarn: Giunco, by Laines du Nord. I ordered it from the WEBS site, yarn.com, where I've sometimes found excellent deals on yarn. This time my feeling were mixed: the yarn was colored VERY differently from what displayed on my screen; I thought I'd ordered a yellower golden-brown, and ended up with a chocolate color not at all flattering for my hair color. This may not have been their mistake, however; afraid that I hadn't purchased enough for the project, I ordered a backup-ball the next time I shopped there, and it came a deep, deep coffee brown! Luckily I didn't need to use it, or I would have had to rip out my borders backwards-like to make the dark neck look like it was on purpose.
But aside from the radically-differing colors sold under the same label, I wasn't enchanted with the yarn. It did what it was supposed to - it solidified Blaze's simple aran pattern nicely. But it was not at all soft, and hasn't softened much in the washing. I think from here on I will avoid "washable" wools, as hand-washing is alright with me!
All in all, I'm pretty satisfied. After the amount of trouble I had with gauge swatches/worrying I didn't have enough yarn, I'm very glad it fit! (Remember: always check to see whether swatches are supposed to be in SS or in the pattern.) But really, kind of boring to knit, with no shaping at all. Glad to move onto other projects.
3 comments:
This is a gorgeous sweater! I tried to learn to knit with zero results. Couldn't keep the little stitches on the needle and they just slipped off the end when it was turn around time. You obviously have no such trouble. I love the color, love the pattern, love the way it fits you perfectly. Wow.
Matriarch
http://chroniclife-today.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your comment! One of the secrets to a sweater like this is that you never have to turn the needles, since it's knit in a circle! So those stitches stay right where they're supposed to be.
Don't feel like you're `bad' for changing a pattern, I do that all the time. Sometimes I take the shape from one pattern, and the stitch pattern from one or two other patterns and combine them. I'm happy with the results, and as long as you are with yours, that's great! It makes you a creative knitter instead of one who just stitcks with the pattern for fear it won't turn out right.
Post a Comment