Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Progress Report

This thing's a fast knit - even with minimal knitting time these days, the two fronts are done! Now on to the sleeves - I only wish they were knit shoulder down instead of wrist up, both because I would like to make sure they're long enough (which is to say, too long), but also because I really really like it when the number of stitches per row gets smaller instead of bigger. I do see one problem - once you've finished the fronts and back and sleeves, by all rights a sweater is done, but then there will still be the hood left. At least I started early enough that I should get it all done before the end of the KAL!

I did finally buy some batteries, but now I can't find the actual camera *sigh*. I'm cleaning out my library so with any luck it'll show up sometime soon and I can show off my progress in pictures and not just words.

5 comments:

Marjorie said...

If the pattern is clear enough, you could just take the measurements and knit from cuff to the armhole. If there is a schematic, then you have the measurements already. If not, use the size of the cables on the fronts and back to check the size, substitute increases for what will probably be decreases in the printed pattern, and you should be fine. The only major change you'd have to make is sewing the sleeves to the armholes instead of what I assume is picking up stitches around the armhole.

Marjorie said...

Oops...sorry. I thought they were shoulder down in the original pattern, not wrist up. If you think the cable will be ok if it is positioned upside down, you can do the reverse of what I'm suggesting--pick up around the armholes and use the schematic measurements in reverse. You would decrease instead of increase to shape the sleeves. The key issue would be the appearance of the arm cables if they're going in opposite directions from the body cables.

Christie said...

You are going to town! I'm so proud at how fast you are getting that sweater done...well, proud and jealous.

Find that camera!

Karen said...

Thanks Christie :-)
And Marjorie - I would, but I swore I'd just knit it as written, since I have knitted half a dozen sweaters that I don't wear, just because I mistakenly thought I knew better than the designer. (I may not be a fast learner, but I can be taught!)

Marjorie said...

My first few sweaters (knit decades ago) were absolute disasters, and I began to design my own to cut down on the finshed sweaters that didn't fit, using purchased sweaters for sizing. The sweater patterns in magazines and books are much better now than they used to be, but I still find some things I want to change no matter how fabulous the design. It is good to look at patterns critically to see what they're asking you to do. From the picture for this sweater, I think it would be hard to reknit the sleeves from the shoulder down, but I did find a set of instructions that had you pick up stitches at the armhole and then graft them to the sleeve. I will try this technique, which is new for me, soon to make a smoother join at the armhole.