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The Agony of Defeat.....

Well, it was fun while it lasted! I got sooooo many little projects finished in anticipation of the Ravelympics.....but, well, I am out. I will admit defeat in the boards on Ravelry today : ( I will definitely try again next year, but the sweater of choice didn't get out of the starting block, so to speak.

Here's how it's coming along:


During the peri-olympic time frame, we took a 4 day trip to Dublin, my daughter lost her first tooth, and I had to finish 20 hours of Continuing Education. The trip was fun, and Dublin was lovely, but I got zero knitting completed. My daughter lost her first tooth on Valentines day- which means she REALLY wanted, and has been patiently waiting for her tooth pillow- how long can I make her wait???!!!! The CE is self-explanatory- can't knit and read very well! So, that's how the odds stacked up- not looking good.

For the actual sweater- my very generous and thoughtful Mom gave me some Malabrigo Merino a little while ago. It is luscious and soft. She bought it at a shop in Key West (!) and the color is called shocking pink- it's lovely.

So, I decided to try the February Lady Sweater. The pattern is a swingy fun sweater- which I think will be perfect for the spring. There are tons of people who have made it on Ravelry, so there's lots of tips available. So far, so good. Test swatch was duly knit and washed- no big surprises to be had- the yarn behaved quite nicely.

Here's the first red flag thrown- the kettle dye process of the yarn leads to uneven coloring in some cases. The recommendation is to change the balls every couple of rows. I knew I didn't want make the changes on the edges and risk them being sloppy, so I figured I would hide the change in the back....well, it's not pretty. To me, it looks like a little worm just under the surface that's disrupting the even flow of the garter stitch. I agree, I am picky about my workmanship, but I have learned this, if it bothers me NOW on row 60 or so, it is STILL going to bother me at the end of row 260. I don't know if it will even out in the wash, but I do know that I will have put a lot more work into it by then. So, my prospects of completing by the deadline are dimming.


Can you see it in this picture? I think it looks better because I have spent a lot of time trying to even it out. I am not sure why it's behaving like this- I tried to get the tension just right.....


In this picture the trouble area is in the top- even with the red stitch marker:




The next issue is the sizing- I am on target with the gauge, but it is still too small for my liking around my torso. I know that garter stitch stretches like crazy lengthwise, but I am not sure about width wise.

So, there you have it folks- it's heading to the frog pond today. I am going to knit it again with bigger needles and I am going to change the yarn just outside the button band. I also MUST finish that tooth pillow today, so the fairy can work her magic!



P.S. While knitting with the Malabrigo, I have a cheating heart. I keep thinking- I must knit a scarf or something snuggly with this yarn!

Comments

nanny said…
OMG, the sweater is beautiful! I do see your concerns after you pointed them out. Hopefully someone (maybe on ravelry) can ease your worries, or you'll sort it out, BUT IT LOOKS FABULOUS and the yarn is quite lovely. What a thoughtful mother you have! Knowing you though and the angst the variations would cause you, frog away. Don't give up for a scarf, you can do it, just give yourself time to think it through. Besides, you may still have enough for a scarf when you are done. Also, mom is going to KW again and there is always more yarn.

The tooth pillow is cute and I am glad that the Tooth Fairy could visit in Italia. She has been waiting for the tooth. just the thing to finish the addition to her tooth castle.

You are very talented and I love seeing your work.

Love,
Mom

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