Monday, November 30, 2009

Officially Untangled

Well then. After a long and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday I am getting down to checking neglected things off my list. I had intended to post about my Tangled Yoke Cardigan a while ago, but ... life happened!

Can I just say that I LOVE this cardigan!? It is so choice, if you have the means I highly recommend knitting one. Here are the details:

These glam shots were taken at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. A much better location than my backyard if you ask me!

Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang. Interweave Knits Fall 2007

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in Seafarer. For the 32" size, it took about 6.5 balls.

Time elapsed: Three months. I started in August and had an injured hand for a few weeks and lost some knitting time somewhere in September.

Notes:

Raveled here

1. This was quite an accomplishment I think, especially since I only learned how to knit last Thanksgiving! What a perfect way to celebrate my new found skill. Call me crazy, but I actually named this sweater "November".

2. I added about 1" to the garter ribbing at the cuffs and bottom hem. I have long arms and don't like short sweaters. Other than that I followed the pattern as it was written.

3. To reinforce the buttonholes, I chose a cognac colored grosgrain ribbon. It contrasts nicely with the navy blue of the yarn, and it keeps the sweater from forming gaps in between the buttonholes when it is buttoned up. And since I chose bigger buttons than the pattern called for, instead of a 3-st-1-row buttonhole, I did mine as 5-st-1-row.

Sewing the grosgrain ribbon onto the buttonholes was a royal pain in the tookus, but I am SO glad that I did it.

4. This was the first time I ever read from a chart! I highly recommend color coding the chart because of the six different cables required for the tangles. I also took my time with the tangled pattern. It was tricky and I had to rip it back a couple of times to restart it. Stitch markers were invaluable during this process.

5. The cardigan taught me a lot about patience. It was a challenge, especially since it was the first time I had ever knit a bobble, sideways cable, buttonholes, sleeves or used a chart. When I messed up, I ripped it back and tried again because I wanted this sweater to be right. And something I would be proud to wear. Which, I am pleased to say it is!

"You lookin' at me? Oh, you're looking at my sweater ... well, I don't blame you!"

3 comments:

Anna said...

Glam shots, indeed! You look gorgeous and your sweater leaves me speechless.

Karen said...

Watching Civil War @ my parent's house...my mom is knitting so showed her your recent sweater. She's like, "where did she learn to knit?" I say, she taught herself! :) She's says "very nice!" She doesn't even know how you did the yoke design! She suggests using graph paper when you knit to track your design.

Kelly said...

Anna: Aw shucks, thank you!

Karen: Using graph paper is a great idea! I have found sticky notes to be helpful in keeping track of where I am in a pattern as well. Thank you to your mom for the lovely compliment :)