Presenting…
Here is my dad in his finished sweater. Ta da! He wore it on Christmas Day when my parents went out, he wore it on Boxing Day when they went to visit other relatives. When they came back he passed on tons of compliments about the sweater…and I accept them all! It’s a great sweater. I’m really proud of it and happy that he wants to wear it all the time.
Calum is Finished! Where’s my Cookie?
I finished Calum last night. Usually I’m disappointed with the way my projects turn out, but not this time. I love it! It looks really great. The sweater is actually a very dark navy but the flash washed it out. Here’s a full view.
I started off by following Bonne-Marie’s tutorial but it wasn’t working out for me. I ended up just basting the zipper on one side at a time, slowly lining up the teeth edge with the neck opening. Then I machine stitched it on. I think I basted a little too well because it took me longer to pick out the basting than it did to use the sewing machine.
My first zipper was a success, and now I’m more confident to approach other projects with zippers. I really want to knit Mariah (Knitty) and that’s a zip-up cardigan. I’m worried about all those cables, though. I understand how to read charts and I know how to do cables, but it’s really time consuming and certainly not the mindless knitting I like to do in front of the tv.
The pattern takes Patons Classic Merino which is pretty affordable. I’ve got something a little more rustic that knits up in the same gauge in my stash, but it’s a dark turquoise-blue. I’m not sure if I want Mariah to be that colour. I like the original black, but I certainly don’t think I’ll be able to knit up all those cables with black yarn. Too hard to see.
I also think I need to add about 3 or 4 inches to the body. I’m tall. The pattern’s 14.5″ from armpit to hem is going took like a boob top on me. I generally like my sweaters to be 18″ from armhole to hem.
Zipper Time
Mommy, I’m scared. I just came back from the mall with a brand new zipper and some dark blue thread. I’m still wearing my coat. I also bought some nested seagrass baskets - a set of 3 for $29.99. Michaels was selling similar sets for $70! Travesty! But that’s neither here nor there.
The zipper is a bit long. I needed a 9″ zipper, but they only had 7″, 8″ and 12″. Why not 9″? It’s not the biggest of deals since I can just hide the extra bit of zipper inside the sweater.
Now I have to dust off my sewing machine and see if I remember how to make bobbins.
I’m nervous!
Woo Hoo!
I’ve finally finished knitting Calum! Right now it’s spinning in the machine, and I’m going to block it as soon as it’s done. Tomorrow night I’m going to knit the collar. Sunday I’m going to buy the zipper. Laura pointed me to the Chicknits zipper tutorial. Thanks, Laura! I knew it was there, but I totally forgot about it.
What do You Mean, 14 Days?
My Man-Along project is almost finished. All I have to do now is knit the final sleeve, seam it, learn how to install a zipper, install the zipper, block it, wrap it and put it under the tree for my dad. I could certainly finish in the next two weeks if I could somehow manage to cast on. I keep picking it up and putting it down, in favour of knitting something else (the Silk Garden and Galway thingy). It’s driving me crazy. I think I’m scared of the zipper and that’s why I’m procrastinating.
We went to New Jersey for five days last week. The drive takes about ten hours and if you can believe it, I didn’t knit more than a couple of rows the whole way down. I sat and stared out the window. It was very exciting. I saw cows. The way back was a different story…I knit until it got too dark. But not on my dad’s sweater. I am a bad girl.
Where Have I Been?
I didn’t do much knitting in the past couple of weeks. Jeremy, Alex and I went to Ottawa to visit Jeremy’s family. When we got back, Jeremy got sick and then gave me his cold. Right after that I learned I can’t have caffeine anymore, so the majority of last week was spent in the throes of caffeine withdrawal.
In the last couple of days (feeling better) I finished Jeremy’s sweater. Right now it’s in the washing machine, then I’m going to block it.
I don’t love it. Don’t I always say that? I never seem to be happy with my projects. This one I don’t like because it turns out I made the neckline too wide and shallow. I don’t love the bulkiness of it. It’s cozy and warm, and very soft. However, it’s really heavy and I think the yarn would have been better suited to a raglan knit from the neck down to avoid shoulder-to-sleeve seams.
Tomorrow when it’s dry and blocked, perhaps I’ll get a shot of Jeremy wearing it.
At the end of the week we’re going on another trip. Thursday morning begins a long car ride, when I’ll have time to work on Calum for the Man Along, my dad’s Christmas present.
I also started something new a few weeks ago, but I didn’t mention it. This one’s a mix of Noro Silk Garden and Galway, because I can’t afford to knit a whole sweater in my size in Silk Garden. More details later.
Calum Update
Sleeve one is done, and I’m about 8 inches up the back now. I caved and decided to order that extra skein of yarn, because the length of the sweater from the armhole to the ribbing is rather short according to the pattern, and I do want to add at least an extra two inches. This way I don’t have to worry.
Since Camilla Valley charges the same amount to ship to me for one skein as they do for 20, I decided to order a little something else as well to kind of get my money’s worth. I ordered a Thrum Mitten Kit, which comes with the pattern, yarn to make a complete adult size, and carded fleece for thrumming. Looks like a fun and fast project. And it seems like everyone is thrumming lately, anyway.
It’s Gonna be Close
I’m almost done with the first sleeve. I’ve started the raglan decreases and it looks like the sleeve is going to take up two skeins of yarn. I have nine. That will leave me five skeins with which to knit the front and back, so I’m a little worried. I ordered enough yarn for the large, not the extra large.
One thing I don’t like about this pattern is that the first sets of decreases for the raglan are done on each end of every row. I’ve never been able to get that to look neat, no matter which decreases I use. Also, the ribbing doesn’t match up on the seams in every size. That part isn’t a big deal because as long as the seams are symmetrical, I don’t mind so much. But there is a little twang! the anal retentive part of me has when I look at it and know the ribbing pattern doesn’t work out perfectly.
Fuck!
I measured my dad. I measured him. With a tape measure and with the wrapping around his chest and with the measuring, dammit!
Calum is too small. I got about 3/4 of the way through the back and I held it against my dad. I spent about half an hour trying to talk myself into it being okay…that I could block an extra inch or two out of it widthwise, but then I had to tell myself the truth. It just wasn’t going to fit him over another shirt.
I ripped some out and began a sleeve in the next size up. I’m frustrated, but I’m glad I came to my senses. I want him to wear it, not just look at it wistfully and sigh.
Counting is Hard
I need to go back to kindergarten or something because I have a problem with ribbing. This happens to me nearly every time I cast on for ribbing…I screw up on my first row because I can’t count. In this case, I could not alternately count to 4 and then to 3. I had to start over again 3 times before I finally got it. It’s not rocket science. It’s counting to 4. I may not have completed high school but I thought I had the numbers from 1 to 10 totally under my cerebric control.
It’s coming along and I expect to get the back finished tonight or tomorrow. In the photo I’ve just about used up one ball of Peace Fleece, 8 more to go.
