FO: Chuck, Extended

I finished my Chuck, and I'm so, so glad that I decided to make this sweater full-length. The original cropped design looks adorable on Andi, the pattern's designer (who is amazing, in case you weren't aware. Seriously, her designs are all adorable), but I just don't wear enough dresses that it would get a lot of use as it was written. Granted, San Diego is warm enough that it's not necessary to wear a full-length sweater for most of the year, but this one is so adorable and bright and cozy that I think I'll be able to work it into my normal wardrobe.

In addition to adding a 4th diamond repeat and reversing the shaping on the body, I added an extra 30 rows of stockinette after the last decrease on the arms before beginning the ribbing. They were a little short before blocking, but Wollmeise DK blooms a lot after the first washing so they ended up being the perfect length.

Shout out to B for being my fashion photographer. Hopefully I'll be able to keep convincing him to take pictures for me so you can actually see all the awesome stuff I'm planning.

WIP Wednesday: Chuck, Extended

I finally bit the bullet and ripped back my Chuck.

I wasn't too crazy, though--I ran my cable needle through the stitches first. Yanking out inches of knitting can be cathartic but dropping a cable stitch past where you want it to go is no bueno.

I originally ripped back to 5 rows after the last decrease. I talked to a Raveller who had added length to her Chuck and this is what she recommended, but I thought this was too high to start increasing. Since the decreases ended 35 rows from the underarm, I started the increases 35 rows from the start of the ribbing (row 26 of the 3rd diamond).

The shape looks super curvy, but the fit is great and makes my waist look tiny. I also love the comparison between the nice blocked sections, the wonky bit of yarn from where I ripped back, and the tighter unused yarn at the end. I'm assuming this will all even out in blocking--isn't that what we always tell ourselves?

2013 Year in Review, Part 2: The Ashley Edition

As a proud Selfish Knitter, the majority of what I knit is for myself. I went a little sweater crazy this year and have learned a lot, both about sweater construction and how my body is actually shaped, as opposed to the weird way I've always imagined it to be (I have a waist. Who could have guessed?).

My very first Wollmeise project! This Lush is made from Wollmeise DK in Grashupfer and is the most insanely rich kelly green. I love it. I tried to be extra carefully with gauge, but this ended up being pretty big from the boobs down. I will probably end up reknitting the body at some point since it doesn't get much use as it is now.

These (Un)Padded Footlets were made from the yarn left over from the baby cardigan, which was made to match the mom's socks. So I inadvertently have made us sock sisters for life. This pattern was one of the first sock patterns I ever knit and I've made several pairs since then. The padding part is really fiddly so I don't even bother with it, which makes this great for using up smaller amounts of fingering weight yarn.

Ah, Grace. My beautiful Southern Grace. I dreamed about this sweater. I love the pattern, and the yarn was the most beautiful light, fresh pink. I started this sweater living in a condo with 2 girls and finished it after moving in with my boyfriend. This beautiful cardigan is made out of Knit Picks Stroll.

Whatever the label says, KNIT PICKS STROLL IS NOT SUPERWASH! Felted the first time I washed it. I was heated. Still am. I've managed to stretch it a little bit and will do a blog post in the future about the 2nd go-around.

Very basic, but I did knit my first washcloth to use up some Lily Sugar n' Cream I had sitting around. The pattern (Nai-Nai's Favorite) makes a really nice, squishy fabric, so I bought some more cotton to make more.

I've loved Sperry since the moment I saw it on the Ravelry Patterns page. I knit the entire body before trying it on and finding out that it was too big, so I did some angry frogging. I love the way it turned out.

Finally there was my Chuck, made out of Wollmeise DK in Vamp. As I mentioned before, I'm planning to rip back and add another diamond repeat to the body as well as make the sleeves full-length. I can see myself wearing this a ton once those changes are made.