Monday, April 14, 2008

Meinstein, DONE!

Allow me to bore you with a tale of sweaterdom:


I've made 2 knit sweaters now! Cool! That's been my goal--to be able to knit my own sweaters! SWEET!

Here I am, in all my green glory:



Sick of seeing me, yet?

I love this sweater/coat! I wore it this AM when there was frost on the car, and didn't even notice the cold! Oh yeah for wool!!!

And, even though it is officially done....I'm going to add the collar soon. Collarless is an option, but not this time! And, I wanted to wear it before the weather heats up--tomorrow it'll be in the 60s--too hot to wear it. Yay, I got one wear this season :)

Mods I made:
1. I made this in a size M (but I wear L) because I heard that it can stretch 4 inches in length. And even though it's meant to be oversized, I didn't want to look like I was swimming in it.

2. I had to adjust the cuffs: instead of decreasing to 30 stitches, and then switching to smaller needles... I decreased to 28 stitches and knit even with the same large needles. That gave me a cuff just the right size! (The other way was too tight in the cuff.)

3. I also removed about an inch worth of peplum length in the beginning, knowing that it would stretch out over its lifetime. Did'nt think I needed the extra weight of that pulling on it....Though I usually wear a size tall.

Things I learned:
1. How to slip WYIF as if to purl, then put YIB and knit across in garter st. That makes the most beautiful slip-stitch edge. I love it :)

2. How to kitchener stitch the slip-stitch edge to make a beautiful seam. I LOVE the way that looks on the top of the sleeves!

3. How to make a simple buttonhole. Hilarious how only 1 YO in bulky yarn can stretch to accomodate those honking huge buttons I found in my stash!

4. How to accent the peplum/bodice and sleeve/bodice joins by picking up stitches in only the back of the slip-stitch border. Cool!

I really love the overall easiness and tailored fashion of this pattern. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to make your first sweater!

And oh, how I love the wool. Cascade 128 ROCKS!

Nighty-night :)

10 comments:

Vyvyan said...

Pack it up and ship it to me cuz I want it to be MINE! I love it! And the color!

hakucho said...

I LOVE it. It's the perfect spring coat. Maybe I should reconsider the sweater making thing :)

Carola said...

Oh, Aim, pretty in GREEN! Lovely. The color suits you.

Aim said...

Thanks, all of you!
*beaming*

Sharon said...

It is beau-ti-ful. Goodness girl how I love apple green. Looks fabs with your coloring. Yay for handknit sweaters!

Knittin Ko said...

Hey Aim,

Nice sweater! It's beautiful and looking forward to seeing it with your collar on it. Thanks for sharing, see you on Friday!

Knittin-Ko

Kristina B said...

That is fabulous! Love the colour.

Susan said...

Love, love, love it! Love the color, love the garter stitch, love the way it looks!

Judy R. said...

It's GREAT!
I love the pattern, love the yarn, love the color, LOVE IT!

Great job, as usual

Opal said...

Cute coat! It looks so warm and cozy. :)