Pages

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

WIPW: The good and the bad

Remember my Try-It-Out sweater?  This top-down sweater knitted according to Barbara Walker instructions in cheap yarn and in which I am trying out many techniques that are new to me?  It has been my main project in the last two weeks and is almost completed.


The bad:  this project started as a learning exercise, then transformed itself into a real sweater I could wear and finally went back to a giant swatch after I tried it on last.  A few things went very wrong.  But that's ok:  it is made out of six skeins which cost me $1.29 each, so total (even including taxes and shipping), it is still a self-taught knitting class much cheaper than a Craftsy class!

The good:  while I was knitting the first sleeve, I found new techniques to try.  Most of these techniques come from  the TECHknitting blog.  When I started the sweater, I was reading this blog from the alphabetic index, and I was around letter "J" - for "jogless stripes".  I then moved down the index and started letter "R" - for "ribbing".  I am therefore trying to improve my knit column in the ribbing and my ribbing transition.

To complete this sweater, I still have to make one last phoney seam on the sleeve, finish the last sleeve cuff and make sure all my ends are properly weaved in.  The most important step, however, will be to do a thorough post-mortem for this exercise.  I want to identify all problem and try to fix them in....  the Try-It-Out Sweater #2 (yes!  I still have some of that cheap yarn!).







I still have Gabrielle's cardigan to finish.  I finally made my trip to my LYS to buy the zipper I needed....  but was such in a hurry (with my 4 month old and my 3 year old) that I bought a zipper open at one end only.  Zut!  Must go again....






Finally, I will need to fight myself to finish these projects before casting on this wonderful yarn received from Iceland this week!



I want to make the Top Down Icelandic Sweater and featured in the Craftsy class for the girls' godmother.  I promised her a sweater a long time ago.  I finally got her measurements down and chose this sweater for her.  I am sure she'll look fabulous in it!  I can't wait:  that will be my first steek!!




So tune in Friday for the Try-It-Out post-mortem!  In the meantime, check out other projects in progress through Tami's and Ginny's blogs!




12 comments:

  1. Nice to read about your adventures with the try it out sweater. Well done to you:) And the stripy cardigan looks very pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think your sweater looks really nice. Thanks for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's so fun to learn new things, isn't it? I think we could knit all of our lives and never run out of new techniques to try...

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a fun learning adventure! Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gorgeous colors in your yarn! What a great way to look at your try it out sweater. It is a lot cheaper than a class! And can't wait to see the write up when done.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the Tech Knitting blog too! I am working up to more complicated sweaters.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love the sweaters! I hope you have time this week to swap out that zipper for the one you need so you can quickly finish it-so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Little cardigan is adorable! So are you going to reknit the sweater?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Those knits are fabulous - and oh my gosh, that Icelandic yarn is divine. Can't wait to see the sweater you make with it!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for visiting my yarn along post and for the sweet comment. :) Always so fun to see what others are working on and what yarns they're using! Happy knitting! ~Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow, so much fabulous knitting going on over here! Love the sweater and that cardigan is gorgeous! And the yarn is lovely!
    Thanks so much for visiting my yarn along post and for leaving such a sweet comment!
    Happy knitting xxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. A giant swatch . . . ouch!! But you're right . . . cheaper than a knitting class. Love that top-down Icelandic sweater and all the new techniques. Now, that really looks fun. Thanks for visiting my blog on Yarn Along!! : shelley

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment. I love feedback!