the blue blog archives: eating katy

Not only is katy eating up a ton of yarn, but she's eating up a ton of time! Man, cables are slow, especially when there's 11 cables in a row that turn every 4 rows. I was knitting on this exclusively (while organizing the sock swap) for what seemed like an eternity (but was probably only a few nights) and just finished the back.

I'm so in love with this sweater. Those cables are so beautiful, I honestly cannot believe that I made them.

Have we all admired them now? If not, please go back and gaze again upon their loveliness.

Done? Good. Cause I ripped out half of it last night. It was too short. No doubt about it; no denying it; no way out but to rip. Back to the beginning of the armhole she went. Yes, half of katy is gone. Looks like the back will be eating up a few more of my nights. It's not all bad though: more opportunity for me to knit with that delicious copper all seasons cotton, right?

posted by alison at 9:08 am | in katy

Comments

Those cables are delicious. I would have cried if I'd had to rip them I think. It is looking beautiful though, Claudia would be proud!!

Posted by: kerrie at June 17, 2005 9:13 AM

Gorgeous! Beautiful cables! and so lovely and orange!

So sorry about the ripping out, but can I admit that as a relatively new knitter it's reassuring to see that sometimes experienced knitters have to frog, too? Gives me more confidence to go ahead and give myself permission to rip out and start over. So, thank you for that :-)

Long time reader, first time commenter - Kara

Posted by: Kara at June 17, 2005 9:22 AM

Oh no!!! It was so beautiful and orangeliscious!
However, I know how quick you are, so you'll have it back in no time!

Posted by: Lindsay at June 17, 2005 9:29 AM

I agree with Kerrie, I think I would have cried while ripping or put her in time-out (in the bottom of the knitting basket). :) Maybe you will be able to re-knit that portion over the weekend. Good luck!

Posted by: Liz at June 17, 2005 9:47 AM

When you mentioned ripping, my heart almost stopped beating! The cables are so gorgeous, but then I remember, after my Fix-it experience, better to fix it now than later. I'm learning to listen to that little voice in my head. :)

Posted by: erin at June 17, 2005 9:49 AM

It's going to be a beauty when it's done!

Posted by: Bonney at June 17, 2005 9:52 AM

Those cables are so beautiful! Some of the best I have ever seen...

Posted by: Dani at June 17, 2005 9:57 AM

Everytime I rip something out, I tell myself, "Alison would be so proud." It helps.

Posted by: Dava at June 17, 2005 9:58 AM

OH, the RIPPING! Oh, despair! You'll make it all again soon...

Posted by: Jenny at June 17, 2005 9:58 AM

Wow...now that is definitely more patients then I have! I think I would have totally lost it if I had to rip all those pretty little cables. You are a much better woman than I! :) Can't wait to see the finished product. :)

Posted by: Jessica at June 17, 2005 9:59 AM

It's beautiful! I have a cabled sweater in a yarn very like all seasons cotton that I bought this year and I LOVE it. You are going to have such fun wearing this. As for the ripping.. I feel your pain. I have just laid my second front of a cabled sweater over the first (which was too big) only to find the new piece is too small. At least I think it is. I will block it before I decide but I suspect that I now have a back and 1.5 fronts to rip...

Posted by: jo at June 17, 2005 10:06 AM

BEautiful! Hmm...cables. Can't wait to see the finished piece.

Posted by: Lee Anne at June 17, 2005 10:35 AM

All I can say is "Aiieeeeeeeeee!"

Posted by: laurie at June 17, 2005 10:36 AM

hi alison, the cables look so pretty! can't wait to see it done!

Posted by: blossom at June 17, 2005 10:56 AM

... and this would be the stunner blog entry of the day... ripped! Cables! Half! Gone! That must have been torture. It's truly fab though. Totally worth getting it right.

Posted by: Liz at June 17, 2005 11:04 AM

That is one beautiful sweater! I never would have thought of using ASC for it, but it sure does look fabulous!

Posted by: Amy at June 17, 2005 11:04 AM

I SO know what you mean about those cables seeming endless! That looks striingly similar to the cable/rib pattern on my Cool Cagoule sleeves and somewhere along the way, I lost steam. I'll spend an hour or so working and it seems like I've made NO progress.

But, they do look great. Those are my favorite type of cables!

Anyway, your sweater looks gorgeous. Love the colors and the cables! Cool Cagoule is in cotton as well. Doesn't cotten give the BEST stitch definition?

Posted by: paula at June 17, 2005 11:09 AM

definately lovely - too bad about the shortness.

i had to rip out the back panel of a bag the other day and didn't get my needles back in right..... take some tutorial photos for me as you're re-doing ;P

Posted by: rebecca at June 17, 2005 11:28 AM

How sad! It is amazing, the cables look just perfect. I can see how it takes up a lot of yarn though. Plus that ASC seems to go really fast anyway. I started a tee in ASC and while I am fairly wide, I still only got like 5 inches in before I ran out of my 3 balls. But it is a nice yarn :)

Posted by: Vicki at June 17, 2005 11:47 AM

YIKES - I'm shaking just thinking of the frogging!
(How you whipped this up in a few days is beyond me, but so appreciate your speedy knitting.)

Posted by: Leslie at June 17, 2005 12:18 PM

Lovely, lovely cables! So sorry you had to rip! I looked back and saw that the yarn is ASC Copper. I just bought a bag from Julia over at Moth Heaven and can't wait to see it in person and give it a try.

Posted by: Siri at June 17, 2005 12:22 PM

Oh my it is gorgeous! So sad to rip it back...but if it had to be done, it had to be done. No use putting all that work into something that you wouldn't wear so short. Love the colour!

Posted by: Carolyn at June 17, 2005 1:21 PM

Yes, the cables are delicious, and fortunately the ASC frogs well and eventually you will have a Perfect Katy!!! :)

Posted by: Karma at June 17, 2005 1:31 PM

Deliciously coppery and cabley...

Posted by: claudia at June 17, 2005 2:05 PM

When I started knitting Katy a year ago I was afraid it would be too short so I added an extra inch before the decreases for the arms. However if you feel its too short I need to see if I should extended it another inch! Maybe there was a reason why I didn't start my arm decreases!

That orange will look great on you!

Posted by: susie at June 17, 2005 2:43 PM

oh my gosh!! my jaw literally dropped when I read you ripped them out...I wasn't ready for that, but it is so pretty and I love cables too! Knit on girl and thanks again for organizing all us sockknitters :) Have a great weekend.

Posted by: michele at June 17, 2005 3:10 PM

Wow, it's simply gorgeous! And quite an undertaking too, what with all the cabling. I knit almost an entire front of an Aran sweater, ignoring cable mistakes and too-long length before I finally gave in and ripped the entire thing back out.

I have a suggestion for sock patterns:
Socks Socks Socks by Elaine Rowley. Lots of neat socks, 70 patterns!

Posted by: Karlie at June 17, 2005 3:17 PM

I can't believe you could bear to rip those cables out. They're gorgeous! You must be one hard knitter lady....

Posted by: purlpower at June 17, 2005 3:35 PM

So pretty! Bummer that you have to backtrack.
I'm loving that color!

Posted by: Christie at June 17, 2005 4:06 PM

So sorry to hear that Katy is too short but at least she'll be perfect when complete! She is so lovely!!

I don't know if you want really *early* pics but I posted a progress pic of my Sockapal-2-za socks today.

Have a great weekend, Alison and company!!

Posted by: Debi at June 17, 2005 7:11 PM

What an amazing sweater that is going to be. I've never done cables before and am in awe of the fact that you would knit a sweater with so many of them. ..twice! Wow. It's going to be fabulous when it's done.

The denim is lovely too, hope it works out okay.

Posted by: Mira at June 17, 2005 9:16 PM

I am knitting Katy along with you, in a (gulp) discontinued color of ASC. I added an inch before the decreases, and it looks like the back will take up 4 balls. I have 14 altogether, so I hope it will be OK. How much yarn do you anticipate using?

Thanks for turning me on to this sweater pattern! It's perfect for this yarn.

Posted by: Heather at June 18, 2005 7:19 AM

She's gorgeous...where's Tom ;-) What is it about good yarn that you need to always buy so much of it in order to make a project. I'm working on Mariah and it looks like I'll only need 3 skiens for a size small sweater...can't beat such yardage.

Posted by: Orli at June 18, 2005 10:17 AM

Your cables are gloriously gorgeous! Just wish I liked the v-neck style of the original, but I do love those cables, too.

Posted by: Nancy J at June 18, 2005 7:18 PM

I don't think I could have ripped those lovely cables. I love the color - I think that's the same ASC I'm using for a sweater for my daughter.

Posted by: ShelbyD at June 19, 2005 8:23 PM