Presenting Rusted Root!

Presenting... Rusted Root!



My first sweater. After three weeks and four skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece I have a lovely spring/summer/fall sweater. I love it, and not in an obligatory because I made it kind of way, but in an over the top lovefest sort of way. The color is perfect, the fit is perfect, the design is perfect, and the knitting is, well almost perfect. Here are my thoughts on the various aspects of the process.

The yarn: I really like Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. It comes in a great variety of colors and is reasonably priced. Being a cotton blend yarn (80% cotton / 20% wool) I had feared it might be a tad hard on my hands like many cotton yarns can be, but I had absolutely no problems with it hurting my hands. The yarn is soft to the touch, and does have considerable more elasticity than 100% cotton yarn. My only gripe about Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece is that it can be incredibly splitty. There were many stitches I had to go back and make sure I had the entire loop on the needle not just a few of the strands that make up the yarn. In this respect I had to pay more attention to each stitch then I would have if I was using a non-splitty yarn. Overall, I'd recommend Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece and will use it again in future projects.



Pattern: The pattern is incredibly well written except one small section that could be confusing to those new to top-down raglan sweaters (ie ME!). It was written to M1, K1 right after the lace pattern instead of K to first marker M1 K1. This put the increases for the sleeves right after the lace pattern unless you knew to knit to 1 st before the sleeve marker. So for a few rows until I realized what I was doing was wrong I made the increases right after the lace pattern. I caught it only a few rounds in, so I decided to let it go and not rip back. It is barely noticeable. Aside from that one minor flaw in the pattern, I didn't find any others. One thing about this pattern I found after browsing through the Craftster archives is that the sizes tend to run big. I am normally a size XL, but I downsized to a size large for this sweater, which is a good thing because it fits perfectly. The beauty of the pattern (and top-down raglans) is that you can try them on as you go. I tried mine on quiet a bit while in the process of knitting to make sure everything was working as intended. I know that several people over at the Sexy Knitters Club Sexy Knitters Club were having problems with the sleeves ending up not being poufy enough. I didn't really want super poufy sleeves because a large chest + poufy sleeves = not flattering. What I did want was the sleeves to be a bit longer. My sleeves actually turned out a bit larger than intended (see gauge below) but I'm not sure if it bothers me enough to rip them back. I didn't notice how large they were until after the sweater was blocked, they didn't bother me before it was blocked.

Gauge: My gauge differed from the recommended gauge only in the number of stitches per row. I was spot on for the number of stitches per inch, but I was getting one less stitch per row which meant less knitting!

Needles: I used Knitpicks options needles and boy are they great for this type of sweater! It is way simple to try it on as you go by leaving the cables in with the endcaps on. I used a US 6 for the body and a US 4 for the ribbing. Definitely love these needles.

Modifications: I didn't modify it very much. I did a few more rows of ribbing on the sleeves and bottom, but that's it.



Overall Thoughts: I will definitely make this sweater again and I am already thinking of a long-sleeved winter version with a cable motif where the lace panel is currently. I love the asymmetrical look to it and really like the versitility the lace panel affords as it would be really easy to swap out stitch pattern of a similar size. I really like top down raglans, in fact I already have another one on the needles (more about that later). I loved the process of this knit. I learned so many things, top down sweater construction, lace patterns, and beign truthful with myself about patience over progress. This sweater felt like it went incredibly fast and I was unusually monogamous with it. I am by no means a monogamous knitter ( uh hello log cabin blanket, I'll get back to you eventually!) but I had such a great time watching it grow on my needles that I pushed myself to continue. I finished it in three weeks but didn't block it until last Sunday. (I had a tremendous amount of guilt about showing you all photos of an unblocked Rusted Root, so I decided to delay the F.O. post to show off Rusted Root how she deserves to be seen, all shiny and clean and de-lumpified.) And me? I'm still basking in the "I just completed the first-ever sweater" glow.

New Literary Additions*

Not very much has gone on in my little knitting world since my last post. I am chugging away on Rusted Root. I have even gotten past placing the sleeves on scrap yarn! Yay! I have tried it on and it fits!! Double yay!! I am so excited by this fact I can't stop using superfluous** punctuation marks!! I don't have any up to date pictures because really the thing doesn't cover the monster boobage yet, and I am just not that confident to publish the oh so unflattering pictures. I am probably 35-40% done and I'm loving every moment (we'll see if that is still the case when I have to pick up a bazillion stitches to knit the collar).

I do, however, have something to show you from my other obsession...BOOKS!! These are my most recent purchases from the past two weeks.



Vintage Knits I found this book after drooling over Megan's awesome Salina sweater. Overall, I have fallen in love with many of the sweaters in the book. I have a feeling that late summer/early fall knitting will consist of lots of sweaters from this book.

Sensational Knitted Socks After I frogged my Monkey Sock Laura suggested I get my hands on this book. Thanks Laura!! It is a great resource even if I haven't knit a whole sock yet. Someday I will (someday soon-ish, I hope).

Hawaiian Applique This is a quilting technique that I fell in love with after I visted the Islands a few years ago. I love the somewhat abstract, bold patterns, and the lovely echo quilting technique that looks like ripples on water. I also love the history that goes with this traditional craft. For more information check out Quilts Hawaii.

Denyse Schmidt Quilts Since I have never quilted anything before (though I do know how to sew and own a machine) I thought it would be useful to, uh, learn before I got in way over my head with the Hawaiian Quilts. Plus, after watching Ashley make not one, but 3 (!) beautiful quilts I think I am hooked.

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off The Yarn Harlot has done it again! I loved her other books, Knitting Rules! and The Secret Life of a Knitter and so far, this one isn't disappointing either. I just wish I could have seen her in person on her book tour.

Simple Sewing I first heard about this one over at Not Martha. It has a bunch of really cute projects, and I'm especially smitten with the garden tote (which is probably beyond my sewing skill level, but oh well.)

I must admit books and music are probably my first obsession even before knitting. I am ashamed to admit how much money I spend a month on them, but to me they are a necessity to maintaining my sanity, and more importantly my creativity. I found a great online website Library Thing where you can catalog your books online. I love it! You can find my profile/catalog here. I would love to find something like this for my music collection which number well into the hundreds of CDs. If anyone knows of one, please let me know!

* Get it? Literary Additions/Editions? Ha, ha I crack myself up sometimes.
** Quite possibly my most favoritest word ever!

Progress

I have cast on for Rusted Root, and so far, so good. The pattern is incredibly easy, and well written. I think I am addicted. I am so glad I went with the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. I recently had a chance to fondle my alternative, Lion Brand Cotton-ease in person, and I am glad I decided against using it. Maybe it is the addition of the acrylic in their blend, but it has a weird texture, plus I wasn't totally smitten with the color choices. Cotton-ease comes in a limited range of subtler colors. While I know many people were excited with the new color offerings, I like my colors bright. Very Bright. (Thankfully I have a very understanding fiance who lets me decorate as I wish.) Here's how far I have gotten, only 36 rounds, but it feels like it is going incredibly fast. (Sorry for the craptastic photos, I had to take them indoors due to high winds and no sun.)



Here's a better shot of the lace pattern:



I have to admit I was having problems with the lace pattern at first. I don't know why, it is easy enough, but I was coming out with the wrong stitch count at the end of the some of the rows. I finally frogged back a few rows and it is finally clicking.

In other semi-knitting related news, I joined Runagogo My parents got me an elliptical machine on the condition that I pay them back gradually. (Oh, the joys of being a recent college graduate with a low paying job.) Well, they said if I lose 20 lbs. I don't have to pay them back. So, I am in the process of getting back into shape and becoming healthier. Runagogo has totally motivated me since you can keep track of your mileage. I am already over 1/10th of the way to my goal of 100 miles by July 4th. Along with my exercise goal, I have also made a goal for Rusted Root. My parents are throwing Justin and I an engagement party in the beginning of June, and my goal is to have Rusted Root done and have a somewhat sleeker figure. I am making progress on both fronts, but there is still so much to do...

I'm a-Swatchin'

I didn't get much knitting done over the weekend since my parents were in town, but I did receive the yarn for Rusted Root. I decided to go with the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Perry's Primrose. I ordered my yarn online since my LYS doesn't carry Brown Sheep. I ordered from Flying Fingers I am very, very happy with my purchase. Not only was the yarn cheaper than most places online, but shipping was really very fast. Plus, it felt like I was opening a present. Check out the awesome tape:



This is what it looked like when I first opened it:



See that photo of the sheep on top of everything? That's a handwritten note from the owner. The owner! The skeins were wrapped in tissue paper and arranged like a gift. It's the small stuff like this that will truly make me a return customer. Here's what Perry's Primrose looks like:



I started swatching last night, but nearly fell asleep doing so, due to a VERY long day at work yesterday. I had to get up at 4:30 am (AM!) to go on a field trip to D.C. to look at three houses. I didn't get home until after six, and was in bed by nine. It was a long, long day. So far I like the cotton fleece, especially the color. What I'm not happy about is just how damn splitty the yarn is. I had a rough time getting used to this, and only made it about 5 rows into swatching. I'll finish the swatching tonight and wash and block it tomorrow, then I'll be starting Rusted Root.

Sweater Time

So I have decided it is high time to knit a sweater. I have no idea why the idea struck me at this particular moment especially since it was, oh, 83 degrees here today, definitely NOT sweater weather. Inspired by the Sexy Knitters Club Knit-A-Long, I have decided to knit Zephyr Style's Rusted Root Sweater A cute cap sleeved sweater with a nice lace pattern down the front.




But when I think of Rusted Root all I can hear in my head is THIS (Big plus that they are from my hometown)

I'm still deciding on the yarn and color. The pattern calls for Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. I am not really enthralled with any of the colors that WEBS carries, and at $8.20 a ball I'm not sure if I want to drop that much cash on my first sweater which I'm sure won't be perfect. Maybe I'll look around for more colors at other online retailers. I'm also thinking of using Lion Brand Cotton-ease. Lion Brand is definitely not one of my favorites to work with, but when I don't want to spend a lot of cash for the good stuff it is always another option. I definitely want a cotton/cotton-blend yarn for this sweater since it will be a spring/summer/fall sweater. Who am I kidding, it will most likely be a fall sweater since summer here in Virginia equals humid, 85-95 degree days, and spring...well by the time I finish this it will be summer. Any suggestions for a yarn sub would be appreciated. The gauge is supposed to be 5 sts/ 1 inch on size US 6 needles. The Knit Picks Options needles are ordered, now I just need to pick a yarn...