Knitty Time!

Happy Knitalong Eve everyone!

Hope you are all getting your needles and yarn ready for our KAL that starts tomorrow! I'll be using some Karabella Aurora 8 that I bought recently for my stash in a pretty cream color. I'm a bit behind though since I've still got to swatch :)

I know a lot of you are considering knitting this in the round and I've been doing some searching for information that might be helpful in converting the pattern from flat to circular knitting. Most of what I'm seeing has been like this post here. I did find one other post in another spot that was slightly different, but it has eluded me and of course I was at work and didn't write down the url for reference. Basically, it stated that flat knitting accounts for seaming and extra ease and when you convert to knitting in the round, you should take some of those side stitches out to get it to fit properly. I haven't seen this anywhere else, so I don't know how accurate it is, but thought I'd put it out there in case someone else has heard of it or might consider this when changing the pattern. My guess is, that it would probably work either way. If anyone else has any useful advice or has come across any other pertinent info on the subject, please feel free to share!! I also heard a rumor that Kasia might be working on a top-down version (no pressure though K.!). Can't wait to see that!

And I also can't wait to see everyone's knits as they work up! Have fun and get ready for a fun KAL!

~Maryanne

neckline modification?

I want to knit a higher neckline on this sweater but am nervous about the whole business. I wish that weren't the last thing to knit--I will have to knit the entire sweater before finding out if the modification works or not. My thought is to simply continue knitting and decreasing in pattern using the smallest needle size Has anyone else tried this?

Lucy
Dallas TX

Hopefully you all can bear with me and help me out some...

I know that for a good yarn I'm going to pay, but I don't want to break the bank. I have been looking for yarns in the same gauge and found some on Elann... This one and this one... anyone ever used either? In your opinions, do you think they would be an ok substitute?

Also, I see mention of some of you knitting this in the round. Is there an easy way to calculate cast on stitches I would need?

Thanks, and I'm glad to be here!

Karen LG

Why Is the Color Always So Different?

On the site this very much looked like gray with a blue overcast, but as you can see it is olive/khaki/drab...I like it, but I was trying to move away from green, LOL. I guess my chief complaint would be that manufacturers name yarns numbers rather than colors....I would not even be opposed to a family name and number, say olive 898....oh well, it is lovely yarn and I will cast on next week to see if it will work. I seldom swatch, just jump right in.....but I think I may as I am planning to knit the body in the round.

Swatched...

I'm getting excited that this KAL is going to start soon, so I decided to swatch. I am using Brooks Farm Solana, their new superwash wool, which is more like Aran than worsted weight. I tend to be a "loose knitter" so I got gauge on size 6 needles. I am in love with this yarn! It is more of a teal green color than it looks like in the picture, even though I put it in natural light to try to show the true color.



I was re-reading the pattern, and there's absolutely no reason not to knit this in the round. The back and front are the same, and placed on holders at the end, so it will only make it easier if it's knit in the round. Easy as pie - just double the amount of stitches cast on and do every row twice instead of once. I'll have to check the pattern to see which purls/knits might need to be adjusted, but I would think that should be easy to tell too.

Ta da! I can't believe I knitted this!

I knitted it in Austermann Bambou Soft in Burgundy (color 019).

I am not an experienced knitter; I started knitting about 18 months ago, this is my second sweater, the first one was a plain stockinette short sleeve top-down.

As I mentioned before, if I were to do it again, I would knit it in the round.

If you knit in the round, be sure to mark the 'seams' clearly before you start the cable part.

I knit them all flat and sliped the first stitch in each row; I think that was a big mistake too. Since each one of the slipped stitches spans two rows, figuring out the horizontal bars to pickup for the seam was difficult. I later read somewhere that if the edge is going to be stitched together, then one should not slip the first stitches.

The cable part was quite easy and fun to do, I practiced a few repeats on my swatch.

All said and done, I think this was a great learning experience and a very satisfying one too.

If someone had told me two years ago that I will be knitting the sweater on the cover of IK, I would have just laughed :)

If you have any questions send me e-mail, I'll be happy to answer.

One Thing I Know For Sure

is that this will be the yarn I'm using for the sweater:

RYC Cashsoft DK in Clementine. I had originally planned on using this for a pattern from "Knitting Nature", by Norah Gaughan, but decided I really didn't want to do a complete cabled sweater right now. (I already have one on the needles.) Anyway, I did get gauge with this yarn and I did knit up to the yoke, but the yarn doesn't look too great on US 8's. The gauge called for US 6's on the ball band, so...I will be knitting the sweater on 6's. The problem? I need to modify the pattern to get the right size. I'll start tonight and see where it takes me!

Questions

My yarn is on it's way from Knit Picks - Wool of the Andes in Amethyst Heather and I'm pretty excited to get it and start swatching.

I have two questions for those that are going to be knitting this.

The way the sweater is constructed, is anyone going to be knitting in the round? I'm really thinking that it would be easier to do this way, rather than knit the pieces separately and then join for the yoke. It would be easy enough to convert.

My second question is, will anyone be starting the yoke patterning down further? I'm a little on the busty side and a line right across isn't exactly ideal for me. Do you think it would be possible to start it sooner? I figure that the easiest way to do this would be to knit it in the round so I know when to start it. Thoughts?

Thanks!
MsLindz

I finished the sweater a few days ago, and it is being blocked right now.

Yarn: Austermann Bambou Soft (65% merino, 35% bamboo)
Finished size: 35"

I followd the instructions and knitted the front and back separate and joined them with the sleeves at the yoke; then I cursed myself while I did the seam for not having knitted the body as a tube.
The seams are especially hard to do with this one because the pieces cannot be blocked before seaming since they are all joined together at the yoke. So I had to deal with the annoying edges.

I added some short-row shaping at the bust (10 rows I think) in the front, and then added 4 rows at the neck for the back.

I'll post some FO photos soon.

Schaefer Marjaana

Thank you for letting me join this knitalong. This will be my second KAL, but the first in which I start in the beginning line with everyone else.

I recently bought the Summer IK issue, and was drawn to this pattern. To my delight, I have enough yarn in my stash to make this sweater. I'll be using Schaefer's Marjaana, a silk-merino blend. DH gave me this yarn 3 years ago for Christmas, and I've been waiting for the right pattern since then.

I'm looking forward to wearing this sweater against my skin.

Cascade Pima Silk

OK I followed the link to WEBS(I have ordered there many times and live a afew hours away) and ordered the Cascade Pima Silk. I wanted to do this quickly as I am on a yarn diet starting August 15 through October, way too much yarn, LOL. I ordered this colorway...

It seems to have a slight turquoise overcast, which I found to be pretty.

Thanks for Letting Me Join In

Hi All
Long time knitter here, I will be substituting yarn for the sweater just haven't decided what yet, I am narrowed down to 4 choices, LOL.