I was hanging out with my friend Renee tonight, assessing the potential fit of my Owls sweater in progress... when the hilarity of the situation dawned on both of us. I tried on the body, pre-yoke, putting what is essentially a tube sweater over top of a tube dress (10 bucks at Jacob outlet today, Yo!).
I realized how ridiculous I must have looked... so we ran for the camera. When you look ridiculous, the only thing to do is embrace it... so I threw on what I had of the first sleeve, and... well... here you go:
I told y'all I'd be back when the sweater was done...
She be done. Cast on September 11, 2007; Last ends sewn in April 20, 2008. Knit from Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. Soft and squishy.
This is the first adult-sized sweater I've ever made.
I'm pretty happy:
Modifications: Did provisional cast on and attached hem as I knit. Added one cable repeat to each sleeve (for more sleeve circumference) -- divided 4+4 on either side of the centre of the sleeve. (if you knit it, that comment makes more sense). Also added about four inches in length (I'm not a croppy sweater kind of girl... I'm more of a croppy SHIRT kind of girl, then I need a sweater to cover my belly... see above.)
Kate Gilbert is my hero: this is a gorgeous sweater design. I also got to know Kate a bit while knitting her sweater... through email and also from the design. She has beautiful, complicated things inside her, she's very clever, and she doesn't necessarily like to do things the easy way. I like Kate an awful lot...
There were moments when I didn't know whether the non-typical construction would become anything like a sweater that would fit me. But it did. And the reversible cable makes me excessively happpppyyyyyyy.
I learned how to graft cables for this sweater. Seamlessly. If you look at the centre, top of hood... it is TOUGH to see where it was grafted. I'm pretty proud of myself for that... it took many tries and an abundance of swearing. I probably won't wear the hood much, only to cover my pointy arwenian ears from time to time...
Yep, I'm pretty happy with the whole thing:
special thanks to Broomwood manor for photography (among other things...)
Wow, it's been so long since I've been in here that I almost forgot how to log on... anyway...
The knitting part is done.
Now comes the sewing up, and the "seamless grafting" of my cable panels... can't wait to see how that turns out. I'll settle for "nice looking seamed cable panels" if I can't work out perfect grafting in pattern (I'm reaching for my Montse Stanley right now). And of course, the sewing in of ends. Then comes the singing and dancing, hysterically pleased with myself for actually making a sweater. A full sized adult sweater that I can wear, that I made myself, that is soooooo beautiful. I am a champion!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Wish me luck with construction. I am trepidatious, and a little cautious with my optimism... but I hope to be back with pictures in a day or two.
Just wanted to let y'all know I *am* in Ravelry. missewe
Also to say that I *will* blog again, but it will be pretty sporadic. Basically, I'm so busy that there isn't a lot of knitting content about which to blog. And frankly, this is strictly a knitting blog, and I don't want to blog about my personal or my professional life. So...
I'll see you when my Cardi for Arwen is done... hopefully before end of 2007!
I know, I know, I haven't been blogging... but this is kind of important, I think.
Interweave recently sent out a Knitting Daily asking people to vote for their favorite patterns of the last 10 years. The winners would be published in a free ebook. We all enjoy getting something for free, but personally I do not like to do so on the back of a fellow artist. While it may seem like an honour for a designer to be chosen as one of the favorite designs of the last 10 years, having a pattern published for free is not.
What Interweave does not mention, and as I understand it, depending on the contract for the pattern, there could be a (small) reuse fee for the designer, or possibly none at all, and having the pattern out there for free means that the designer is no longer able to make any money from the design through web sales or in wholesale patterns to stores.
IK is planning to publish more and more online, and while this makes sense for them from a business perspective, and seems nice for the knitters (to get something for free), I think it will take more and more away from our favourite independent designers.
As a musician, I have strong feelings against the illegal downloading of music, and photocopying of scores/music. This is to protect the interests of the performers and composers. That has made me think twice about photocopying patterns (I don't), and I believe the issue extends outwards to the art of our friendly neighbourhood knitwear designers.
Art is a tricky business: if you sell something you have created, it's still yours in design or concept, isn't it? And in order to continue to afford to make the art, you have to sell it somewhere. But depending on the terms of an agreement, the artist sometimes stands to lose an awful lot depending on how the purchaser decides to use the art. I think this may be the case here.
On behalf of my favourite artists and designers, I ask you to consider not voting for ANYTHING, talking to other knitters about this, and if the issue concerns you at all, sending your opinion to Knitting Daily.
I might as well just admit it. I'm going to take a hiatus from blogging. Sorry, friends, but I'm just not feeling it right now, and I make it a personal policy to try not to do anything (that's not mandatory in life) that I'm not really into. I think I'll be back in a while. There's certainly still knitting going on. But lately I just don't feel like cataloguing it all, blogging, reading all the blogs. I'm tired of watching the way certain things catch on and suddenly everyone seems to be making the exact same thing in the exact same colour. I'm tired of reading the sycophantic worship of a handful of "major" knit bloggers. I'm feeling a general malaise with the blog world, and I need a break. So, a blog vacation for me. I'll likely be back soon. For now, take care...
I haven't died or anything... I'm still here. Actually, I've even been fairly productive with my knitting as I avoid packing and anticipate forthcoming babies (other people's... not mine!).
But packing... yes... I have completed Monkey socks, about a zillion little flower petal bibs (okay, 4 so far), and the better part of a Baby Surprise Jacket, but unless I drape them over cardboard boxes, picture-taking is a little stunted right now.
I learned how to graft cables for this sweater. Seamlessly. If you look at the centre, top of hood... it is TOUGH to see where it was grafted. I'm pretty proud of myself for that... it took many tries and an abundance of swearing. I probably won't wear the hood much, only to cover my pointy arwenian ears from time to time...
