Jessimuhka Knits

Finally got some pictures of my Simply Marilyn sweater.

This was my "enough with the pictures" pose, but I think it turned out the best. This sweater is nice and snuggly. If it would just cool down here so I could wear it! It shouldn't be over 80 in November.

Here's the back.

Project Stats:
Pattern: Simply Marilyn [.pdf] from Interweave Knits.
Yarn: Rowan Cork in Bug, purchased from eBay user 4to4. 9.5 balls used. I really like this yarn, it has great spring and bounce and is super soft. It does grow a lot with washing though, so definitely wash your swatches.
Needles: Addi Turbos, size 11 for the body and 10.5 for the collar.
Modifications: Lengthened body by about 2 inches, sleeves by 3. Lowered neckline about 2 inches.

I've also got an update on the Norwegian Stockings.

[click to big-ify]
Knitting Fair Isle flat is a royal pain in the ass. I'll be glad to get through this heel flap - only 2/3 left to go. I love how these socks fit though, and the two circs method makes it really easy to try them on. I think I got the heel flap in just the right place.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 03:02 PM | Permalink

I did manage to finish Simply Marilyn in time for the movie. However, it'll be a couple days before I get a picture up - I think the collar needs a good blocking before I can take the official Finished Object photo. The sweater is everything I hoped it would be. It fits great. The body and sleeves are both long enough. The collar doesn't strangle me (it's a little Flash Dance though). It's warm and snuggly without being too warm. All and all a great sucess.

I liked GoF, but will wait to post in more detail until everyone has had a chance to see it. Instead, you all get a rant about irresponsible parents. We got there a bit late to line up - around 9:30 - and were stuck pretty far back in line. We were actually behind the theater, inbetween the dumpster and the wall. The group in front of us included a child that looked about 7 or 8 sleeping on the ground. Why do people bring kids that young to something so late? Then after the movie, as we were exiting the theater, there was a family with two small boys, about 3 and 5, leaving as well. Is it just because a ticket is cheaper than a baby sitter? Do these parents not realize their children are just going to sleep though the movie (if the rest of us are lucky) or scream because they're over tired? Add to that, the fact that GoF would likely be really scary to a 3 year old. It was a pretty dark movie. People, leave your young children at home when you attend midnight movie showings.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 03:00 PM | Permalink

Almost done with Simply Marilyn, all that's left is the collar. Here's how it looks after seaming.

I'm loving the sleeve length. Extra long sleeves make me happy. I'm a little concerned with how much I lowered the neckline, but I'll reserve judgement until the collar is added. Hopefully I'll finish up soon, just 7" of ribbing to go! It's so snuggly.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 02:58 PM | Permalink

I've been making good progress on the Norwegian Stockings,

although I have to retract what I said about the sizing. Now that I have the fair isle going on, they only make it about halfway up my calves comfortably. I really like how they look so far and think they'll be great socks. It should take another 3.5 repeats to get to the heel flap, and then things should go quickly from there.

The two circ method is really growing on me. As much as I love DPNs, my tension much better on these than it was on my mitten. I'm not having much trouble keeping the stitches spread out on the Addis either, and the slickness has been nice so far. The only problem I've had is with the slipperiness of the yarn. If I drop a stitch, it really wants to fall. All and all, this is a really enjoyable knit, and I think I've been sucked back into the world of colorwork. Maybe my next sweater after Rogue will be a fair isle one. I like the Alice sweater from a couple Magknits ago and there's one in the Dale 126 booklet that I like a lot too.

I also finished and blocked the pieces of the Cork sweater this weekend.

By blocked, I really mean washed and laid flat to dry, as I really didn't need to do any substantial blocking. I'm really glad I washed my swatch, as the gauge on Cork expands quite a bit on washing - almost .5 stitch per inch! The pattern is a modified version of Simply Marilyn from Interweave. I lengthened the body and sleeves and lowered the neckline. Hopefully I'll finish seaming this weekend, so the collar can be my reading knitting this week. The original pattern instructs you to knit the collar flat and then seam, but that seems silly, so I'll be knitting it in the round. I'm looking forward to having a big snuggly sweater, Cork is really soft!

And finally, I need some feedback on this last project. The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill's Ariel, a cotton/rayon blend that is slightly slubby. It's really beautiful yarn and I want that to be the focus of the wrap. I cast on a simple feather and fan wrap last night, but I think it might be ugly...

(you can click on it to see a bigger picture) I'm really not sure what to do with this yarn, as it's so pretty but won't really work with a lot of stitch patterns. Any suggestions for something simple yet elegant? I do kind of like the pooling that's going on, but I don't know if the intended recipient will feel the same way.

Posted by Jessimuhka at 02:56 PM | Permalink