My Wicked

So this is my finished Wicked. I got to say, I think this may be the first top-down sweater that I will wear. I knitted it pretty tight, and it is pretty form-fitting when I wear it.

Pattern: Wicked, from Zephyr Style
Yarn: Louisa Harding Grace Silk and Wool, bought from Weaving Works
Color: 5
Needles: 3.5mm
Started: December 2007, finished January 2008

Wicked Awesome

This is my friend Julie's version of Wicked (minus sleeves).

It's her first sweater, and it looks amazing on her, don't you think?

(I love that you came and looked at the new digs!)

Square Check Pattern

I love the look of this stitch! I want a whole blanket out of this stitch.

Okay, that might be a lot of boring knitting.

Then, let's just say it would make a great edging for a blanket.

Swedish Block Pattern

Barb describes this cross-rib stitch pattern as "very attractive for sports wear - and [is] so easy to knit."

It is very easy to knit, but what sport would you wear this with? Bowling?

I understand that sports wear meant something different a generation ago, but what was the thought process behind classifying clothing that was not "business wear" as "sports wear?"

Sorry about the bitch, now back to the stitch.

The Swedish blocks has a very satisfying texture about it. I think it would make a great alternative to anything with the dragon scale pattern.

Elongated Rib Check

I'm all out of sorts, I hope this is where I left off. I knitted this a few months ago, but forgot to post it. (At least I think I forgot to post it.)

Barb says this a a variant of Double Seed Stitch, and it is the same pattern on both sides. I love anything that is the same on both sides because it allows for reversible things. So I think this would be lovely as a scarf or a hat. I would like to also have a pair of reversible mittens, but I don't think I could finish it off in such a way that one of the sides wouldn't be "the bad side."

I think the stitch looks a little smock-like. It was pretty simple to knit, so anywhere you might like the look of smocking (the top of a baby-doll dress perhaps?), you could use this stitch instead.

There is a variation of this, but I didn't knit the swatch. (At least I can't find the swatch to scan in.) But it looks like from the book that it would look even more smock-like, since there is a garter ridge separating the rows of check

Wicked

B. has made an appearance at work. I wish she could go to work and I can stay at home, but she has no arms, no head and no legs, so how's a dressform suppose to make a living? (B. is at work because I need to use her to shoot some clothes for the paper, just in case you were wondering.)

Anyway, while she was here, I thought I'd take a quick shot of my current project. It's sort of a knit-a-long with some friends, but one friend started a while ago, and another friend has yet to start, so I'm not sure that qualifies since we are just knitting at our own paces.

I love the knitting sweaters from the top down. I love how you can try on the sweater as you knit to make sure it's fitting right. I love how there is so little finishing involved.
But so far, I've HATED the way the sweater looked on me when I finished. Oh sure, it took a while to come to hate them, mainly because I loved everything else about the project, I must love the final product, right? WRONG.

This will be my third sweater, and I really hope it turns out well. Check back soon for the results.

Oh, I forgot to mention the yarn. It's Louise Harding's Grace-Silk & Wool in Color 5. Nice handle, lovely sheen, but it's made with 50% silk and 50% merino (thus the name) but I think there is too much silk. It is a singles yarn, spun fairly loose, so it falls apart if you make any mistakes. And as you knit, it gets pretty nubbly. I'll let you know how it washes.