Girl Who Knits - rambling_rose

A Rambling Rose

noreply@blogspirit.com (Erin) — Sun, 9 Jul 2006 23:35:00 -0600

Finished.

Okay seriously folks? I am having a good day. Rambling Rose. Hands down my favorite knit ever. I am really not trying to toot my own horn here but...well, yes, that is exactly what I am doing. Please forgive me though because I am just that happy. As some of you know, I struggle sometimes with my sweater knits. I am a perfectionist and am a bit hard on myself when it comes to finished objects. I want them to fit well and look like I envisioned and perhaps shock people when they find out I made it but in knitting--especially with your first few sweaters and major projects--that just isn't always possible. But I am getting better. I am learning what works for me and about the importance of a washed gauge. Oh the importance of the washed gauge.

After Green Gable I feel more comfortable with making adjustments to patterns to fit my body. Before when I looked at my expensive, time-consuming, and failed beginning sweater projects I would get sad and frustrated. But now I can look at them and see what I learned, and that my friends, is invaluable.

Okay, Rambling Rose...

Here are the stats:

Pattern: Rambling Rose

Source: Rowan 39

Yarn: Rowan 4-ply soft, #378 Daydream, under 8 skeins

Size: 36, knit with Size 1 and 2 US needles

Mods: I used wool instead of cotton. I just loved the softness and drape of this yarn.

Notes: This pattern is not very hard...but it is not for the knitter who gets easily bored. Knitting 15 cm of ribbing (sorry to go metric on you but seeing how Rowan is English I am kind of in that state of mind) on size 1 needles was a bit time consuming. The rose pattern on the front is something you have to pay close attention to but it is fun to watch grow so not too bad.

The only thing I would change if I were ever to knit it again is to make the body a bit longer. But it fits so well in my past hard to fit knit areas (arm holes, shoulders) that I am not complaining.

Overall I enjoyed the process of knitting the pieces but the real fun for me came when I was putting it all together. It was just plain fun to seam. This may be attributed to the finishing class I took at my LYS a couple of months ago. I haven't had a sweater to seem since I took the class so I worried that I would forget all I had learned. But not to worry, it all came back to me. I want to give my teacher a big hug--I wouldn't have wanted to ruin a lovely sweater like this with horrid seaming but I think I turned out well. I am sure there are parts of this sweater that I could pick apart but I just don't want to. I am simply pleased.

I love it.

Rambling Rose is blocking

noreply@blogspirit.com (Erin) — Sun, 2 Jul 2006 23:52:34 -0600

Finally, it is blocking. See...

Exciting yes? My worries over it being too small are somewhat calmed. Blocking is magic. Of course, I won't really know how it fits until I seam. I bought the buttons and ribbon yesterday so I am all ready to put it together. After seaming I need to do the button and neckbands and then put the buttons and roses on. And then I am done. This is not a knit for the lazy or faint of heart. I really don't know why I choose it. Glad I did...but still wondering.

I do have one beef with Rowan though. For blocking purposes they don't give enough information on what length every part of the sweater is supposed to be. I know how long and wide overall it should be but how long should the armhole be blocked to? How wide is the neck? Really, I am just winging it. I hope it fits right and if it doesn't it better not be because I didn't block it correctly. That's all I am saying.

This morning Kara and I decided to wind some skeins of yarn. I choose to wind yarns for three of my current knits. Once done it became very obvious what my favorite color is.

(Top: Sweet Georgia sock yarn, moss for Hedera Sock, Middle: allhemp6, avocado for Cool Hemp Ponchette, Bottom: Cascade 220, dark olive for Forecast)

I really need to branch out.

Indecision

noreply@blogspirit.com (Erin) — Tue, 30 May 2006 22:08:50 -0600

I bound off the arms for Green Gables and was finally able to try it on. Want to see?

I think I like it. This is a pretty good picture of the color although it is a bit more vibrant in real life. I am knitting size Medium--sort of. Really it is somewhere between the M and the L since I added some extra rows and increases. I am attempting to cater the fit to me and am going to make several adjustments to the pattern in order to do so. I am going to try short row increases at the bust and add more decreases at the waist. The beauty of this sweater is that I will be able to try it on as I go so I can frog if something doesn't work out.

I finished the left panel of Rambling Rose and I think it looks awesome. My only worry is that it looks a bit small. I hope I don't end up with a too petite sweater. That would make me sad. Here is a peek at the rose pattern. I only added one of the roses so far--just to see how it looks.

I am aware that I walk a thin line with this sweater. It could either turn out vintage and anthropologie-esqe looking or it could look really antiquated and grandma-like. Obviously I am hoping for the former.

Finally, indecision...I have been having some second thoughts on my first Amazing Lace project. I know I said I was going to knit the Baltic Sea Stole but now I am debating if I should begin with it since I realized I don't have enough of the yarn I was going to use. So now I am thinking it might be fun to find yarn for the stole at the Estes Park Wool Market. But then the official start of the Amazing Lace was yesterday and I can't wait weeks to start. I don't know why this project has been so difficult for me to make a decision on. I keep seeing more and more lace projects that I want to knit. Sometimes I feel panicked like I have to get them knitted soon or the good projects will go away or I will forget all the projects that I want to knit. I know, I am silly. I am now thinking I might start with something smaller...perhaps the Trellis Scarf from spring '06 Interweave. I have two very different yarns I could use for this scarf.

Kaalund Expressions in Silky Oak:

Anne, Schaefer Yarns in unique colorway:

Both are stunning yarns that I love. Which would you pick?