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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

An FO and a Reminder

I've never done such a fast finishing job in my life (I suppose it helps that this project is itty bitty)!

Pattern: cardigan from Pea Pod Baby Set (pdf) by Kate Gilbert, offered as a Web knit by Interweave Knits, summer 2006
Size: 6 months (20 1/2" chest circumference)
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport (60% pima cotton, 40% modal), colorway Sky, approximately 3.5 skeins
Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) 32" Addi Turbo circs
Started/Completed: July 5/July 16
Recipient: baby boy Bowden, due to make his arrival in November

I am, to put it simply, in love with this sweet little sweater for so many reasons -- not least of which how quickly it knit up. I love the little peas created in the border by a yarnover and cleverly placed cable. I love the lace panel and how it breaks up the soothing monotony of stockinette. I love the asymmetrical placement of the opening and button band. And, as always, I love the miracles a good blocking worked in terms of (1) opening up the lace panel, (2) smoothing out the stitches, and (3) allowing me to cheat the gauge monster.

As this sweater is for a little boy, and as the lace panel might be thought by some (not me!) to be a little girly, I went with very plain faux horn buttons I had in my collection and sewed them on with a light blue thread to complement the yarn:

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this yarn. This particular colorway (a total of six skeins to begin with) had been in my stash since around the time I completed my Tivoli, for which I used the same yarn in a different colorway. I'd contemplated making another Tivoli at the time, but never cast on, so it had been marinating in the stash for many months. Then came the explosion of baby making among our friends (or so it seems) and I thought it best to make use of the baby-friendly and washable fibers in the stash when knitting for them. This yarn fits the bill: it's natural, it won't melt in the face of fire, and it's machine washable.

However, this batch I had shed like -- well, I guess like a long-haired dog who sheds. Every time I got up after a decent knitting session, I found myself covered in blue fuzzies. (Fortunately I did most of my knitting at night, in my pyjamas, so I didn't have to go out in public looking like a blue Muppet.) I discussed this fuzziness and shedding problem at length with Jenn, who is using the same yarn to knit her Josephine but who has not had any shedding problems. We've decided that Knit Picks must have "reformulated" their Shine, along with their other yarns, to make it less sheddy; we've certainly noticed that the Essential sock yarn has gotten softer.

There's one more feature of this sweater that I must point out -- in my opinion, my first fully successful set-in sleeve!


Tomorrow is the third Wednesday of the month, which means that the Hurricane Knitters and I will be at the Waterworks Barnes & Noble for our monthly meeting. Hope to see you there!

8 comments:

  1. I WILL BE THERE!!! I have my directions all written out (printer isn't unpacked yet) and my knitting bag ready to go. Sweater looks great!

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  2. Oh. My. Goodness. That is so cute!! See you tomorrow!

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  3. I REALLY like this sweater. I'm having an outburst of babies at work and it looks like I won't have to go hunting for the next pattern to make. You did a beautiful job!

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  4. Anonymous8:55 AM

    Awesome sweater! I will see you later today!!

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  5. The sweater looks great, and I think it's plenty "manly" enough!

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  6. Anonymous8:57 AM

    The Pea Pod is ADORABLE!! and just look at that perfect set in sleeve!

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  7. What a precious sweater AND you have it completed so early and so beautifully. After seeing your Pea Pod, I wish I had a baby to knit it for.

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  8. Great job on a really awesome pattern. You have tempted me to knit this for the next baby up.

    And there seem to be a lot of hatching out there!

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