I went on a minibreak to Mont Tremblant in Quebec the same day as the Ravelympics started. If you want to get a lot of knitting done, I suggest sequestering yourself in the Canadian wilderness with no cell service, television, internet, or computers. It does wonders for your knitting.
I cast on that morning before I went to work (with my backpack for the cottage packed beside me!):
And knit a bit in the mind-numbingly awful traffic out of the city after work (I swear I'm fully stopped on the highway, I'm not actually endangering anyone):
And somewhere between this
this
this
and this
I came back home with this:
That's the Gathered Pullover, right after the cabled motif and just when it sections off for the neckline. I also got started on a sleeve:
This happy green sweater is going to be done in no time. I have to say, it's been a real eye-opening experience about my own knitting process. Give me a deadline, and suddenly I'm not only capable of project fidelity, but also racing through. Typically, when it's time for finishing or sleeves, I start to pick up another project and leave the first to languish quietly for a while.But I'm shockingly dedicated, even when the new
Knitscene is tempting me with so many great projects. And with all the lovely yarn showing up in my mailbox lately, I have to admit that I spend a lot of time thinking about which project will be next.
Great yarn, and great projects for that great yarn? I'm in absolute heaven.
Phoe was responsible for sending the Silky Wool my way, and I purchased the Handmaiden Seasilk off of Ebay- I couldn't resist that colourway.
By the way- when cottaging, this product was awesome:
great sunscreen, great coverage... loved it. And cheap, too!
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!
