Thank you. I’m just crossing my fingers it all comes together okay at the end.
I always say I just want to follow a pattern, but I end up changing things every single time. In part I want to take advantage of the fact I’m making it so I can make a one off design, in part I am less than satisfied with the patterns I use (free or paid for). The last one for instance I had planned a few modifications, overall length, change colour, add stripe sections and change hood design but I didn’t for a moment think I’d recalculate the sleeves. When it came to picking up the stitches for the sleeves the number in the pattern was huge, I followed it and the stitches were so jammed into the armhole, puckering, I stopped and reduced by about a third, following salmonmac’s ratio of stitches per rows and the sleeves then fitted the armhole beautifully. Being on this forum is what has enabled me to learn and continue learning. This sweater now has so many different things for me but I can feel more confident about trying things out, frogging, re-trying, and asking for help too.
I don’t knit with brushed alpaca either, but reg alpaca is not fuzzy like brushed alpaca (who would do that to a yarn!!! :P) and is wonderfully soft to knit with. My son has an alpaca farm, so many alpaca so little time to spin and knit!!!
I’m knitting my first socks! DK Vanilla by Crazy Sock Lady. It’s going well, and has been interesting so far. Well see if I actually wear them…hand-knit socks usually feel like i have gravel in my shoes, but hopefully the thicker, DK yarn and Size 2 needles will be better.
Wow, an alpaca farm sounds like happy place. I have used alpaca once, for pair of felted slippers. I have to use machine washable yarns so it’s not really an option for me.
That brushed alpaca silk, or kid silk yarns, I wanted to try out in the washing machine just as a test even though I know they are hand wash only. I’ve seen a nice effect of intarsia with it (the main yarn continues throughout the fabric and colour shapes added with the thin fluffy kid silk type yarn held together with the main yarn) but I suspect it isn’t gong to be successful for me.
Your first socks!? I’m amazed. Have you been wearing hand knit socks made by someone else then? I’m like the princess and the pea, I can feel even a thread out of place underfoot or under mattresses!
Well, socks amaze me, as always, no chance I’ll be attempting any. Congrats on your first sock, looks good.
Beautiful work This is a Tracie D pattern, isn’t it? Are hers top down, knitted in pieces and seamed, or bottom up? I can see your sleeves are seamed, and your hat.booties too.
Hi, no, it’s not a Tracy D pattern. The pattern is a Little French Knits pattern and the designer is Florence Merlin. Love her patterns! You can find her patterns on Etsy, Ravelry or her website.
Sorry, just realized I didn’t answer a couple of your questions. The cardigan is knitted in one piece, top down and the only seam is when you seam the sleeves. The hat is knitted flat and seamed when complete. The booties are knitted flat, one piece and seamed when finished. My first time making booties.
I have knitted a few Tracy D sweaters which are also nice to knit.
The farm is a lot of work, but they are awesome animals. This is a hat I just finished knitting from some of my hand spun, so soft, yeah has to be hand washed because it will felt
. Also a picture of the newest cria (baby alpaca) born on the farm 5 weeks ago :). His first shearing will be May and oh my cria have to softest fiber!!!
I’ve tried socks knitted by others with sock yarn, but as I said, I don’t find them comfortable. And I made a pair of toe-up slipper socks in worsted, which are better, but they were on size 5 needles and I can still feel the stitches, though not as much. So I thought DK on size 2s might work better. I’ve tested it a bit, and it’s definitely better, but we’ll see how it goes. A friend was taking a class at our LYS and I thought, oh, why not? It’ll use up one of those one-off skeins I have hanging around. And the heel was an interesting challenge! One of those “grit your teeth and do what it SAYS” things, where reading through it made no sense, but partway through the lightbulb comes on.
I love Isabel Kraemer’s patterns. She pays careful attention to details and the results are imaginative yet classic. You’ve make this sweater with lovely and and the same attention to the details. I love it!
