Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Let's Get Technical

I've been on a mission to finish this black raglan. You know when you knit faster because you are afraid you are going to run out of yarn, and you want to find out if you have enough to finish? I've been racing like that, because I want to find out if this "wrap around" theory is going to work, for adding width to the body.

Yesterday morning I had finished both back and front up to the armhole bind off. Even though I added some length to the sweater, I ended where the pattern said, at the end of the repeat for the center cable (it looks like a v with seedstitch in the center):














Yesterday I knit like mad and finished the back. It went faster and faster due to all those decreases! Love that!














And again, I followed the pattern exactly and ended at the end of the pattern repeat for the center cable. But here's my new problem. When I get to the end of the v cable, I still have 6 stitches too many. If I keep decreasing until I get the stitch count I'm supposed to have according to the pattern, I'll be ending halfway through another v. Not a good look.

You know I like to make my neck look nice, with the cables continuing into the neckband. See how nice the picture looks, with the v ending right under the neckband, and the little cables on either side continuing up through the neckband?














But where I am, I would either end at the v, where I'm supposed to, but have too many stitches for the neck, or continue to the amount of stitches I'm supposed to have, but end exactly 1/2 way through the v-pattern.















Good fit vs. good looking cables. I think I'm going to stay here, with too many stitches, and see if I can fudge it by doing some decreases in the first couple rows of the neckband.

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let's not. Sheesh...you are quite the knitter to be tackling these complicated patterns. I bow before you! No suggestions from me, but had to say that I love the photos of this sweater-in-progress. GORGEOUS.
Will it help if I tell you I'm sure you'll make it work?

11:46 AM  
Blogger Shannon said...

Off the top of my head . . . That pattern doesn't have any neck shaping on the front - the front and back are exactly the same. Is it possible to make the front lower than the back so that the cable continuity matters less?

11:50 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hi:

You mentioned a bunch of posts ago that you were in a knitting guild is this true and would it be the fox valley knitters and if so do you know the contact person. Hows that for a run-on sentance.

4:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I mentioned when you started this sweater that I too have knit it and I too ended up with too many stitches where the neck begins. Well just right on the front, too many on the back and one sleeve, and short one stitch on the other sleeve. So I just fudged and decreased as needed when starting the neck. I too, like you, thought it was more important to have the "v's" looking good and I wanted the cables to run through the neck as pictured. It all turned out quite well, and I'm pleased. I finished it in time to wear it once before it got too hot here in the Ozarks. Good luck.

11:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Be Ute E FUL!

9:28 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Oh, Emily this is too gorgeous. I am in such awe of your knitting skill. I have yet to even make a cable. I have complete faith in your ability to fudge it into perfection.

11:11 AM  
Blogger Marlene said...

Hello Emily, just bump into your blog and I loved it. Great job! Your quilts are awesome !!! Regarding this sweater I have own this Debbie Bliss book for years but I have never knit anything from it, I just enjoy looking at it, you have inspired me to pick it up and make this sweater. I wanted to ask you though, do you think that the cables can be fully appreciated in black yarn? I want to make a black sweater but I am afraid that the cables won't show...

Right now I am knitting "Margery" from Elsebeth Lavold's Book Six "The take five collection". During this process I just learned how to knit cables without a cable needle. It is so much fun!

After this I probably would like to make this same sweater (the Debbie Bliss) one. Yours look sooo pretty!

Congratulations!

Marlene

2:35 AM  

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