another phildar sweater from the phildar fanatic



modified version of model #7 from Phildar magazine #377

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One third of my projects-to-wrap-up-so-I can-move-on-to-spring-things done!

I'm very pleased how this sweater came out, especially considering the mathematical mess-ups I had all the way through. I didn't have enough yarn to do the original pattern (from Phildar catalog #377) with big bell sleeves or the huge turtleneck. So I nixed them, knitted the sleeves straight and added a short collar. Then I suspect that my row gauge must have been off, since the armholes came out too short. Plus, Phildar ladies must have some seriously skinny arms, because those sleeves were tight! A bit of ripping and a few more stitches added here and there and it's a perfectly snug fit. Thank goodness the Giboulees yarn has some stretch. And because the yarn is a thick/thin bumpy yarn, the sweater is also very airy. It really is great for spring.

Beginnings of the last blue sleeve. I can't wait to finish this sweater, block it (I'll take an extra centimeter anywhere I can get it!), and wear it. The yarn is so soft, I can really imagine wearing this right up against my skin. No need for turtlenecks and the like here. Just what I'd order for early spring: one soft sweater please, hold the layering.

Oh and can I get another sweatpant leg on the side?

I've sewn up the chickie front and back panels. Looks like it'll be just the right width for me. Maybe my math skills are improving! I did find a minor problem though - apparently I knit one front panel about a 1/2 inch too short. Rather than ripping out the whole armhole shaping and reknitting (I AM getting sick of the stockinette!), I fudged the seam and made it fit. It's not noticeable at all, but I'll have to do some similar fudging on the button bands, so that the size difference doesn't show up again there. And my final problem is that I'm having a heck of a time deciding on buttons for this cardigan. I'm thinking I may want some toggle buttons, but haven't really seen any I like. I've still got the sleeves to finish, so I've got at least another week to flake out on the buttons.

And blue is also back together. Fits okey-dokey.

That means I can proceed with the last sleeve (like my covering the bra strap pose?). Looks like I'm going straight from seaming overload to sleeve hell. Funny, for someone who declared a February finishing frenzy, I didn't really finish much! But I did do a ton of seaming though - banff, mya, chickie, blue, the sweatpants - and I sure am liking this new 'sew as you go' policy of mine. So look for some finished projects coming soon!

The blue blog is back! New domain, new MovableType install, a new page or two. Poke around a bit.... you like-y?

Well, this isn't a blog about blogging, so let's get on with it!

Believe it or not, I did manage to do some knitting during the move. I've reknit the armholes on all the finished pieces of my bumpy blue sweater that was coming out too small. I still haven't seamed them up yet, so who knows if my calculations made enough of a difference. And I still have the last sleeve to knit, but I'm waiting until I can be sure that I've got the numbers right before I start that last piece. I don't know if its the accomplishment of having reknit half the sweater, or successfully moving the blog, but I'm starting to think that I might have enough yarn for this sweater after all.

And look what I got on my last visit to Circles Knitting Salon, my lovely local yarn store with the mom's knitting group.

A beautiful little treat for all my hard work last week.

Problems with blue.

Does this look small to you?

As we recall, I decided to stay with the original pattern, changing only the sleeves to be knitted straight instead of bell sleeves. I finished the first sleeve (long and lean!) and was more concerned about the size of the sweater than the amount of yarn remaining. I seamed up front, back and the one sleeve to try it on and barely got the thing on over my shoulders. For some reason the pattern calls for the body armhole opening to be shorter than the sleeve caps. The sleeve cap is a nice length, but cinched up to match up with the body it makes the armholes way too tight. Very strange. So I ripped all three pieces back to the armholes (I guess can't stop ripping!) and rewrote the decreases so that armhole and sleeve cap match up and so that I have 8 more stitches extra all the way around. Now to reknit each piece according to the new numbers, seam them back together again and pray.

Time to gush some more about how much I love this pattern and this sweater in this yarn. It was so the right decision to rip out my ribby to make this sweater. There's no way I'll have enough yarn to finish it, but I'm having too good a time knitting this to worry about that. I'll think about that tomorrow! For now, I'm moving blissfully along to another sleeve.

And in an effort to move more of my too numerous wips along, I've begun to reknit the sleeve of my bumpy blue phildar sweater. I'll be knitting the sleeves straight, giving up the bell sleeves in the hopes that the yarn will hold out. I'm not feeling too confident though, especially since I'm trying to save my good yarn karma for Banff! Think the yarn gods will look more kindly upon me if I buy more of this yarn in a different color to make another bumpy phildar sweater??

Banff-ers, phildar fillies, how you all doing?

And finishing off the rip-a-thon, a little cool down exercise. Remember blue, my bumpy giboulees sweater that I knit half of using the wrong pattern? I've decided to stick with this pattern, but since I don't have enough yarn to do the big bell sleeves, I ripped out the sleeve that I'd started so I can reknit it straight. Ready for one last rip?!

Before and after:

Breathe out. Begin to knit again. I was glad to read in the comments yesterday that so many of you were inspired to rip out old dead-end and unloved projects and are excited to start knitting with the old yarn again. I had so much fun, I'm already thinking about other projects that I might want to rip and redo. Might just have to make the rip-along a regular event!

The blue sweater grows and grows. I finished the back, started the front and even fiddled around with a sleeve when the raglan row counting got to be too annoying. And then I remembered...

I didn't want to make this pattern. I've been planning and replanning what to do with this yarn so long that I'd forgotten my last decision. In my excitement, I cast on for this sweater (yes, the same one Kerrie was working on) and now that I'm done with about half of it, it occurs to me that I initially wanted to make this sweater. I think that's the one Kim knit that made me want the yarn so much. The image of Kim's sweater popped into my head while I was working on holiday gifts and I decided that once I was done knit-gifting I was going to pull the yarn out and get started right away. But I'd slipped a copy of the other pattern in with the yarn at some point, toying with the idea of changing the sleeves from set-in to raglan. So I got out the yarn and finding the pattern in there was impressed by my organization, and knit happily away. Now I have blue sweater with raglan sleeves and a stockinette edging, which is rolling a little too much for my tastes.

See the shadow from the roll?!

Still, I like the sweater as it is, but don't have enough yarn to complete it according to the pattern (those bell sleeves!!). What should I do?

A. Simple, buy more yarn. That solves everything, doesn't it?
B. C'mon, be creative: alter the sleeve design, uh, somehow.
C. Use the same solution you always do, Alison: cut off the edging and redo it. But this time follow the right pattern - the one you have enough yarn for!
D. I hear someone's doing a rip-along going on next week. Hint. Hint.

PS - Did you read Kerrie's sad story about her Giboulees sweater? This pattern must be cursed.

Lots of new projects going on and coming up here at the blue blog! So many that I can't seem to settle down and just knit. Although I have been knitting off and on over the last few days, I probably spent more time organizing the stash and planning my next few projects. Besides thinking about the yarn I'll be claiming from my ribby cardie and getting the yarn together for my Must Have Cardigan, I managed a few more rows on the tiny-gauged, wrist-pain-inducing baby sweater. With 198 stitches across (it's a wrap style-sweater, so that's a back and two fronts in one piece) and babying my wrist all the way, I'm taking this an inch at a time! Also made some progress on my blue phildar sweater, getting up to the raglan decreases on the back. But I got confused on the numbers (must... use... row... counter!) and put it aside. It is impossible to count rows in this crazy bumpy yarn!

How many rows do you see?

In other news, I'm working behind the scenes here on the blog and hope to have a little something new to show by the end of the month. And we've entered a brave new world in child rearing, as we have finally taken the sides of the boys' cribs down. There's no turning back now!

Yes, Virginia, there is blue Dora fabric!

I'm a fool for Phildar. Barely finished my big orange monster sweater and I've started another Phildar pattern. This will be my larger gauge project to knit alternately with the fine gauge baby sweater.

I got this Phildar Giboulees yarn in a pre-Christmas splurge last year. It's so cool - all wavy and thick and thin. I don't know how I managed to wait a whole year to get around to making something with it. It's producing the most interesting textured fabric. And because it's a wool and acrylic blend, it's also very soft. This one is going to be neat to wear. Kerrie is also just finishing a sweater with this yarn. Becky made one last year. And so did Clemence and Kim. (Kim's was the one that convinced me to buy this yarn. Wish she had an archive picture so you could see it!)

So I'll be starting the new year off right with a blue sweater for the blue blog. Here's hoping that in the New Year you have health, happiness, and find wonderful yarn in your favorite color in your stash!