the blue blog archives: green day

I think this is the most pleased I've ever been with a sweater I knitted. I'm just so proud of myself for successfully adjusting the pattern for the yarn I had and after so many mistakes and outright failures on other sweaters, finally producing a sweater that fits me exactly as I wanted. All in all, this project was a real joy. I fell in love with the both the yarn and the pattern immediately and knew I had to put them together. The yarn was easy to work with - those 5mm needles were a welcome relief from my usual size 3's! - and moss stitch makes weaving in ends a lot less painful. If only it could be like this everytime!

Inspired by greensleeves and St. Patrick's Day, I started swatching some light green cotton chenille which I'm thinking about using to make a baby sweater for a friend who is expecting. No matter what my favorite color is on other days (I've got two boxes of blue yarn under the bed and purple and more purple on the way to me right now), today it is green.

posted by alison at 7:06 am | in greensleeves , minimono & co.

Comments

Great sweater ! It fits you perfectly. You have been so fast !

Posted by: Clémence at March 18, 2003 7:24 AM

That looks great, you must be so pleased with it. What a beautiful colour and a perfect fit..

Posted by: kerrie at March 18, 2003 7:31 AM

Looks better on you than on the model the pattern showed! I love that cable -- very striking and very tempting to try . . . Congratulations!!

Posted by: Kerstin at March 18, 2003 7:45 AM

that came out great!! in the book i liked the idea of it, but it seemed a little big and goofy but looks great on you -- and seems fitted, nice. did you add shaping? or was book just like size 2 girl wearing size 10 sweater. very impressive!

Posted by: carolyn at March 18, 2003 7:57 AM

A perfect fit. I didn't like photo of Able in the Rowan magazine - it looked like a sackcloth to me but the waist shaping you've put in has totally transformed it.

Posted by: Linda at March 18, 2003 8:01 AM

Alison, you've improved that sweater from the original with your modifications. It looks great on you, and you really deserved a trouble-free project!

Posted by: claudia at March 18, 2003 8:21 AM

The sweater looks very nice!!! Congrats on making it looks so beautiful! ;)

Posted by: ~Jo~ at March 18, 2003 8:57 AM

Fantastic!! You did it. Pat yourself on the back go onto your next adventure.

Posted by: Chris at March 18, 2003 9:04 AM

What a neat effect, it almost looks like you are wearing a sweater with a matching scarf. Very cool.

Posted by: michelle at March 18, 2003 9:09 AM

You've done well. You're added shaping is proof positive that sweater styling benefits greatly from some shaping at the sides...unless the wearer is big, big big. As a matter of fact, I think that larger women would actually look smaller - good-curvier with shaping as well. Down with sackcloth sweaters [unless cropped!], up with shaping - Kudos - the neckline looks fa-bu.

Posted by: pubah at March 18, 2003 9:11 AM

I agree with the others - much nicer than the example in the Rowan mag.

Such a nice shade of green too!

Posted by: Carol at March 18, 2003 9:31 AM

Wow!
Congratulations, the sweater looks great!

Posted by: noemie at March 18, 2003 10:04 AM

it's absolutely gorgeous. congrats! :)

Posted by: kismet at March 18, 2003 10:42 AM

Your version is WAY nicer than the original. Just shows where some vision will get you.

Posted by: Kathy at March 18, 2003 10:49 AM

Great Sweater! The fit is fabulous. Congrats!

Posted by: Cindy at March 18, 2003 11:18 AM

Great job! I love the fit; I hope mine will look as good on me as yours does on you!

Posted by: Dava at March 18, 2003 1:40 PM

Wow! Such a great fit, and the color is stunning :-)

Posted by: Becky at March 18, 2003 1:50 PM

Congratulations ! You have every reason to feel proud of yourself . You've made a perfect for you garment . I love the colour ,and the shaping has worked very well .I'm sure you'll enjoy wearing it for years.

Posted by: Emma at March 18, 2003 1:54 PM

Wow, what a beautiful sweater, and it is so beautifully made. Congratulations.

Posted by: Darilyn at March 18, 2003 3:10 PM

I like your sweater even more than the one that is modelled. Great color, great texture, love the way the cable rises out of the sweater. It's perfect.

Posted by: Melissa at March 18, 2003 3:15 PM

I love it! Great job!

Posted by: Sarah at March 18, 2003 6:43 PM

Well done!

Posted by: Leigh at March 18, 2003 7:35 PM

Thanks everyone! I hadn't realized how different my version appeared when compared to the oversized version in the catalog. Amazing what a little fitting can do! I wore greensleeves all day yesterday, even though it was a little warm for it. I suppose I should wear something else today. Too bad! ;)

Posted by: alison at March 19, 2003 7:28 AM

The sweater is beautiful and looks like it fits you perfectly!

Posted by: Teresa at March 19, 2003 7:18 PM

I love it! Great job changing the pattern -- after seeing your finished version I may actually do this sweater myself. When I saw the pattern in the book I was like, "YUCK" but your version is gorgeous. Wear it proudly! We're supposed to be getting a storm front in the next few days. ;o)

Posted by: ivete at March 20, 2003 12:11 AM

What impresses me is how well the sweater flatters you. I made one sweater for me - it came out well enough but looked like a big old
sweatshirt when I wore it!! For all that work and money, I needed it to look better on me! Maybe I'll get brave and try again! In the meantime, it's been socks for me and sweaters for my grandson and my husband!

Mary

Posted by: mary at March 20, 2003 5:56 PM

Thanks for the sneak peak, I've been knitting the same sweater and have been having doubts, I feel better about it now. I'm using the Rowen Tweed in a peach color.

Posted by: Robyn Lamb at March 24, 2003 6:38 PM