Sew Wrong

Leaflet Progress So Far…

Leaflet WIP


Let me tell you, I had a devil of a time trying to get gauge for this pattern. I first blogged about my plans for Leaflet last month after returning from vacation and acquiring Valley Yarns Berkshire from Webs in Northampton, MA thinking that the weight would be appropriate for the sweater. I swatched on 10s like the pattern called for; no dice. I got 8 sts/2″ instead of 7.5 sts/2″ or the 15 sts/4″ as the pattern called for. So I switched to 10.5 needles – same result as the 10s. Then I tried 11s, but got 6 sts/2″ and the fabric was way too loose and airy looking. I was convinced that there was no way I could use a worsted weight yarn like Berkshire to achieve the stitch gauge that the pattern called for, so I broke down and bought the Osprey yarn like the pattern called for from Quince and Co.

I’m glad I did – the yarn is a dream to work with. Sure, I wasn’t able to find a match to the wine colored yarn I originally planned on working with, but this Nasturtium color is a wonderfully rich red-orange color that I fell in love with as soon as I opened my package, perfect for fall and layering with thermal tees and boots. And orange is not a color that I’ve knitted with: when looking through my notebook on Ravelry, I knit predominately with reds and pinks and purples, so this is a nice change from my usual go-to colors. I think a bulkier weight yarn instead of a worsted would have worked better with this pattern when substituting for the yarn, and when I swatched with it, I did have to go up to 11s instead of the 10s that the pattern recommends. I’m cruising right along with the pattern now, which is knitting up quickly, and I love how fun the leaf motif is to knit on the back. Yes, I know hand knitting is all about the process, but I can’t wait to get this sweater off my needles so I can wear it in the coming months!
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Grape Ape


Cowl Pullover WIP

I’m convinced I’m having a purple moment. Whether it be new clothes for fall or yarn for upcoming projects, purple has been my color of choice. Just a few weeks ago, I purchased a knit jersey robe to bum around the apartment in – it’s lighter weight than my fluffy red robe I wear in the winter time. So I’m wearing my robe, sitting on my couch knitting my new sweater (above), and I look down and notice that the color of my robe exactly matches the yarn I’m working with. Purple isn’t even my favorite color, green is! Yet when I look at my notebook on Ravelry, the majority of my projects are some sort of purpley color. Only two are green.

So yeah, really groovin’ with the purple right now. I was getting a bit bored with the back-and-forth of my cardi and wanted something of the instant gratification variety since it feels like I’m not making much progress on it, so this mohair sweater on size 13 and 15 needles seemed to fit the bill. I think I’m going to look like one big fuzzy purple muppet when I’m done.
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Round Yoke Cardigan WIP


Round Yoke Cardigan WIP

I’m making yet another black sweater so I can wear some of my knitwear to work. The neckwarmer was a nice break between my tank and this, something to break up constantly look at a puddle of black, which can really be hard on the eyes sometimes. This cardigan is plugging along slowly but surely, and I’m just about at the point where I stop knitting the body and make the sleeves. I’ve never made a round yoke sweater before, but it seems like a neat way to make a sweater: no visible seams at all, it just all blends together after you join the sleeves to the body and knit up to the neck.

The yarn is Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, which is one of the first yarns I knitted with when I started making sweaters, and I forgot how much I love it. It’s the perfect blend of wool and cotton and has enough spring in it so that the cotton doesn’t stretch out and isn’t’ itchy (to me at least) like straight-up wool. I opted to do the modified version of the sweater that Wendy mentions in a sidebar in the directions: a three-quarter length flared sleeve with a wide neckline. It’s great for TV knitting since it’s just back and forth stockinette, which is also making it a little bit slow for me since I’m slower knitting back and forth than in the round. But hey, it’s about the process, right?
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A Sweater With Six Armholes

From the Lefranc.Ferrant Spring 2009 Haute Couture Collection. Photo by Francois Guillot/Getty Images.

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Somewhat Cowl

I got some good shots of my sweater today:

Somewhat Cowl
Somewhat Cowl
Somewhat Cowl - finished!

Needles: US 4 and 5 circs/dpns

Modifications: I ended up knitting the raglan length to 8″ since I knew that the length given in the pattern was way too long for me. I just measured myself and knit to that measurement instead. I also made the neckline higher by knitting to about 9 or 10″ before joining in the round. I wanted this to be work appropriate, hence the reason it’s knit in black, and I can wear it with a cami underneath for work or without one for going out. You can almost see the white one I have on in these photos.

Somewhat Cowl - detail shot

This is the most pleased that I’ve been with any sweater that I’ve made. I still have to block it, but the stitches look great and it fits perfectly. It took a couple of years, but I’ve finally got a wearable sweater that doesn’t look so “home made!”

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