Sunday 24 August 2008

Ravelympics FO: Gathered Pullover

Apparently if you take your knitting with you absolutely everywhere, you'll churn out a complete sweater in 2 weeks. In the spirit of the Yarn Harlot, here is one of the sleeves at a Radiohead concert last week:And at Canada's Wonderland a couple days later:And just one day shy of the closing ceremonies, I ended up with this: (Note: when doing FO photo shoots in parks, friendly dogs that are enjoying their leash-less freedom like to participate) Pattern: Gathered Pullover Needles: 4.5 mm circular and dpns Yarn: Knitpicks Telemark in cilantro heather. Mods: about 4 inches of extra length, and waist shaping. I decreased about 6 stitches on each side for the waist shaping. And in my zeal to race through this project, I accidentally made one sleeve about 1" longer than the other, so I had to undo my cast on cuff and rip it back slightly. In order to preserve the rolling cuff look, I needed a bind off that would mimic my cast on. Enter Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Bind Off. It turned out perfectly, and was ridiculously easy. Magic, I tell you! Also, when I wet blocked it, I added glycerin to the water to prevent felting. So when I ran it through an industrial dryer in the local laundromat in a fit of impatience- it still didn't felt. I'll definitely be using that handy little trick again in the future- I love wool! Notes: According to Ravelry, there are 507 Gathered Pullover projects either completed or on the go, and it's in over 2000 queues. That's one popular sweater. And I completely understand why- I love it. It's infinitely wearable, comfy, and classic. This isn't a sweater that will be out of style next season, or any season. And hey, green is my favourite colour. Cheers to that! Woohoo! I finished the Sweater Sprint for Team Knit Girl!

46 comments:

Aesderina said...

you took it to radiohead?? I'm so jealous of your sweater...

Cyn said...

Gorgeous! Damn. I want one. Congrats on finishing!

Eatsruns said...

It's beautiful, and so are you! I can see why green is your favourite colour, it looks fantastic on you. The gathered pullover is in my queue too, I'm looking forward to knitting it. I've never heard of the glycerin trick before but it sounds good - where do you get the glycerin from?

Amanda said...

Congratulations on finishing! That is a beautiful sweater -- it looks wonderful on you!

the Lady said...

Whoo, very nice!

juicyknits said...

Wow! Absolutely lovely! Congratulations - I understand now why it's such a popular knit.

Anonymous said...

So nice!!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic sweater! :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on finishing and for being the proud owner of such a beautiful sweater!

soknitpicky said...

I love that you took it to Radiohead! The sweater is completely gorgeous, as is your hair--jealous!

lekkercraft said...

It's beautiful - congrats on finishing! I think it looks nice a little longer the way you did it. And I love the Radiohead shot.

Anonymous said...

Ooooie! That is so pretty! Your post was hilarious.. I loved the pictures of your knitting adventures lol congrats on finishing :)
...*

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! :) That looks really, really cute. And I love the color. :)

misplacedpom said...

Congratulations on both your Gold and your gorgeous sweater!

Lisa D. said...

It's so pretty! Great color on you. I'm one of the 2000 that has it in my queue and I'll definitely be making it!

Adriana said...

That is one gorgeous sweater! Good for you for finishing it in such short time. I'm very impressed.

Anonymous said...

It is beautiful and green is my favorite color as well. I've never heard about glycerin keeping wool from felting, but I've heard it keeps it from pilling, which makes sense. Thanks for the tip. Congrats on being an Olympiad with such a beautiful prize!

Mari said...

Congrats! It looks great.

MeowGirl said...

congratulations! i love how much of the world your sweater has seen.

beautiful work on the sweater; it looks amazing on you.

Lara said...

Absolutely gorgeous!

Knit - R - Done said...

Lovely sweater. The yarn shows off the cable well.

Teresa said...

It looks so great! I really love it. The dog photo is pretty awesome too.

Susan said...

I laughed when I saw your pic at the Radiohead concert. Too funny!

Your sweater came out gorgeous! Your FO pic will spark a slew of newly added projects on the Ravelry queue-lists for sure!

Michele Saunders said...

Love the sweater - looks beautiful! Crazy that you took it to a Radiohead concert! Hope it was a good one. Congrats on finishing.

Anonymous said...

nice work! the sweater looks beautiful!

Ella said...

Seriously? What better way to celebrate a beautiful FO than a beautiful beer?

Cheers to that too!

Allegra said...

fabulous sweater! i will definitely be checking your mods when I get around to making mine. I really like the waist shaping. congrats!

Hilary said...

It's absolutely beautiful!! Your mods apparently worked out pretty well because that sweater could not fit you better. It looks SO pretty on you! Congratulations!

Oh, and I love the last pic where you have turned into a Beijing 2008 mascot. :)

erngrn said...

haha, that sweater is great!!

it look so beautiful. the color is amazing too. i'm really into blue and greens lately.

if i brought my knitting out to a show with me i would NEVER hear the end of it from my friends. they just don't understand i tell you.

i miss amsterdam blond. have one for me!

-erin.

Cirilia said...

I love knitting like an obsessive! You and the FO are loverly!

Delia said...

Awesome - I love that the sweater has Radiohead knit into it! Congrats!

Pam said...

What a beautiful sweater! Congrats on finishing it! I think you made some good mods to the pattern - made me want one even MORE than the one in the magazine

Rose said...

the cables are lovely! the color looks great, too.

Anonymous said...

It's beautful and looks great on you! Gorgeous job :) You're too cute!

Anonymous said...

i can't believe you knit at radiohead? How? That's hardcore dedication.

Team Knit said...

Thanks for all teh super kind comments- you guys are awesome!

I have to admit, I didn't acutally do much knitting at Radiohead- but I had the sleeve in my purse, and thought it might enjoy having it's photo taken with the band from afar.; )

As for the question about glycerin- I got it at the drugstore- it's usually right beside the things like witch hazel, rubbing alcohol, epsom salts, etc.


xo
Julie

Katie said...

your sweater looks great! I wasn't that interested in the gathered pullover until I saw this post. And I never knew about this glycerin trick until now!

Anonymous said...

Ah, I wish I had the dedication you have! It looks great on you and the colour really, really flatters your complexion!

Anonymous said...

Now I want to make a gathered pullover even more! It's beautiful, Julie! Loves it!

Anonymous said...

It looks so good on you! iImpeccable fit and congrats on finishing!

Anonymous said...

Great sweater--looks amazing on you!

jennifer said...

Congratulations! It looks wonderful on you! Nice touch with the salute to the Yarn Harlot...very Canadian! ;)

chookie said...

Oooh beautiful. And omg, you saw radiohead. *jealous*

Erin said...

I totally agree--this sweater is a classic. YOURS is perfectly fitting and looks beautiful.

Nudista said...

Great job on the sweater! Beautiful color choice.

You've been tagged for the 6 quirky things meme!

Unknown said...

OMG Stunning! I was so inspired by your gathered pullover that I jumped right in on my own. Your increases/decreases are invisible, how did you do them? I followed the pattern instructions for M1s and am left with two rows of icky holes. Please share your secret...