So I'm on this kick to finish things. Seam sweaters. Finish secon mittens. And so on. Since I don't have anything in a pick up and go place right now (for the manly lace scarf I need to review the pattern, I forgot which decreases to use, for Tubey I need to pick up stitches across the back, and cast on for the front, and that will involve evenly distributing stitches as I pick up, and math is hard).

So today I seamed the two color raglan that was kinda sorta of my own design (I used the handy book of sweater patterns with shoulder decreases influenced by Baseball from Knitty. You may remember this sweater was last seen lounging on my dining room table, as another installment of Frankensweater.

The last time I looked at this sweater I thought it was so well done (at least, in even stitches and seemingly reasonable length) that I didn't want to seam it until I worked on my seaming technique. In the meantime I bought "The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques" (by Nancy Weismann), and I practiced seaming the Panty Sleeve Sweater (that blue from last week) and my to-be-felted bag (not felted yet, pre & post pictures after I finish that), and I'm really happy with how the seams turned out. I mean, I'm sure there are people out there seaming better and I'll think these seams suck in a few years when I'm better at it, but until then, I think my seams rock.

However, I think I need to add some ICord around the edge, just to give it a more polished look.

It's made with Paton's Classic Merino (which I understand felts if it thinks water may be nearby), using about 4 balls of blue and 3 balls of gray (actually, like 2.25 gray, just enough that I had to buy more, but have most of a skein left).

It isn't particularly noticable in the pictures, but there's ribbing on the sides, from hem to arm, which in theory makes it more fitted without having to actually do waist shaping. In other sweaters this might work. It didn't work here. But it doesn't look bad, just not what I'd hoped for (and in actual patterns, the amount of ribbing on the sides is probably specified better than winging it, based on what the pattern in the book that I was sort of following looked like). Other things that weren't what I'd hoped for, the shoulder width. I've got pretty average shoulders, and this sweater just doesn't sit right on them. *BUT* I think it will fit my mom perfectly, and she won't be able to haggle me about not knitting her anything, since she'll have a finished (wearable) sweater before me.

Next, either the second brown fingerless mitten, or picking up stitches on the back for Tubey. Tomorrow. Now, sleep.

posted by Amber @ 10:10 AM

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