Saturday, October 28

Caramel Swirl


I don't think I've ever posted any of the "blurry headless pictures in the bathroom mirror" on this here blog. Well, not anymore. I'm just about done with my Caramel Swirl. I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with the bind off for the neckling. I'm considering:

An I-cord bind off - I have I-cord going up the center fronts and I think that would carry along nicely with what I've already got going on.

A sideways knitted on garter stitch edging...for a fold over collar. Maybe with some lace. The sweater is very plain. I have some Garter stitch going up the center fronts (before the I-cord edging). I really love the way that sideways knitted on edgings look and finish off a piece. I really don't understand why they are not in more use. Probably because it's such a pain to describe how they're done if you're writing up the pattern! Very simple though - you just cast on however many stitches that you want your edging to be and knit back and forth, eating up a live stitch every other row. Does that make sense? Probably not - but it works beautifully, and you don't have to worry about your bind off being too tight.

I still have to weave in the underarms - you can see the Denise needle that I'm using to hold some of the stitches hanging down out of the sweater on my lower right in the picture at the beginning of this post. That's a standard stitch holder on the underarm in this pic. Hey, it works, and I'm not done yet. And of course weave in the ends - I also have some funkiness where I increased in a couple of places that I think I'll just have to go back and sew in - hopefully with some of the ends that I have left over.

All in all - I decided that this was something that was probably just going to get ripped out. I was not happy with how the I-cord edgings at the front were pulling the middle of the sweater up - and I'm not happy with some of my increase techniques. But looking at these pictures I think I'm going to go ahead and finish off the collar, and block the bejeezus outta it, and then decide. I wasn't sure if my waist shaping would work - I just decreased for a bit, and then increased for a bit longer (My bust is bigger than my hips) and went from there. Sometimes that's a total disaster - sometimes it actually works. I think I managed to make it work on this sweater.

This is knit with my handspun yarn - a 4 ply that I made a while ago. A ply each of tussah silk, camel down, fawn alpaca and an angora/wool blend, that melds together very nicely if I do say so. And it's soft! And warm! And of course with such precious handspun I want a finished item that will actually get worn, and that I'm proud to show off as my own. The jury is still out on this one, but I have a tendency to be overcritical of my own work, and also after spending weeks working on something, I start to question my thinking... It's too plain - the increases are funky - this i-cord at the edgings is pulling up way too much. My buttonholes are a bit wonky - what the heck was I thinking.

And then I take a picture and see that the shaping is actually very flattering on me, it's a good length - I'm very happy with the sleeves, and at the end of the day it's a lot of work to tear out. Stay tuned! It should be finished soon. Then I'll make my final decision.

15 comments:

KNIT A NEW DREAM said...

That is just gorgeous Abi!!!! Sue

Sarah said...

That sweater looks great!

Hockey Mom said...

It looks great! Some day, I will spin enough to make a garment.

Sner said...

Lovely Abi, I envy the speed at which you whip up these beauties!

Ducktastic said...

It looks gorgeous! I can't wait to see the finished product. :)

Birdsong said...

Yes, I think you ARE way too critical - this is both beautiful and flattering and the color/fiber combo make it extra special. In your climate, it could become your main winter jacket.

Monika said...

It does look good on you. I hope you'll finish it and wear it with pride! But I also understand you thinking. With me, it's like that, that I can't look at the finished project anymore and am happy to give it away. I did finish my vest today, but will wear it only at home. Can't wait to see what's next on your knitting list!

Lynn said...

I know what you mean about wanting something that you will actually wear, not just sit neatly folded on a shelf somewhere. My judgment? That's a keeper! It does flatter you a lot, I think it's a good color on you, it's plain enough that you can wear it with lots of other clothes, yet fancy enough it feels special. Don't you DARE frog that!

Monika said...

Abi, did you desing your caramel swirl yourself? I'm going to use the sideways knit on garter stitch as border on my Log Cabin. I can already see the end, maybe in a couple of weeks, if I don't knit anything else. ;o)

Sarah said...

I think it's gorgeous.

The color and the fit are both great...

I think you're gorgeous too, and know how to make a garment that works...I'm still trying to get to that point!

Anonymous said...

Don't kill it. Aggressive blocking will get rid of almost everything you say you're not crazy about... and even unblocked it looks great.

Stefaneener said...

Well, it looks great to me. I'd go with a plain sideways garter collar, but lace would work fine.

I'd like to see a good clear post-block picture, too.

Tonni said...

I love this sweater! If it was mine, I'd wear it all the time! I agree, you are being too critical. Beautiful yarn... Can't wait to see the collar you choose!

Leah said...

It's looking way better on you than the picture on the rock (which was a nice picture too but it didn't really look like a sweater yet!) Looking forward to the final photo! (pssst....your toilet seat's up!) ~vbg~

Leah said...

Now that I look at it again, the shape is totally cute!