Everything's going great (although I managed to forget a bobble in the beginning), and I'm dutifully increasing at the rate the pattern instructs for the smallest size: Inc 2 sts every four rounds 6 times, then every six rows 8 times.
Well, I went to try this puppy on, and it is HUGE around my arm. Now, I've got puny arms - 9 1/2 inches around my bicep. After re-evaluting the increase rate, I've determined that the pattern wants me to increase a total of 28 stitches. At 15 sts per 4", this is an increase of almost 8 inches - almost double my arm circumference.
At this point in the pattern, I've completed 11 increase rounds for a total of 22 stitches. This is waay to wide, so I'll have to frog this back. I don't know how far back...at least until the thing doesn't float around my arm. So, I'm thinking I'll increase at a slower rate and hopefully come out with something wearable. This pattern is perplexing me...first it wants the length of this sweater to be obscenely short, and then it wants you to knit Ah-nold arms. Can you imagine the Terminator in a belly-baring bobbled sweater? I don't think that's the look for me.
Hmmmm. I think I've deviated so significantly from this pattern (knitting in the round, omitting the ribbing border, lenthening the body, narrowing the sleeves) that I think this is just a loose interpretation of Kathy Zimmerman's original. I'll really be taking artistic license when/if I get to the joining of the arms and body. So, please do not hold Ms. Zimmerman (one of my favorite designers) responsible for the outcome of my sweater. It will be my own fault for putting too much stock in my own designing abilities, but you gotta listen to that inner knitter. To be continued....
On the spinning side of things, I did manage to get a bobbin-full of my hand-dyed roving into finished yarn.
While spinning the singles, I was really loving the colors I was getting. The whole time I was spinning, the term "dragonfire" kept coming to me. The green/purple/turquoise areas reminded me of the iridescence of dragon scales, and the orange/gold/yellow was definitely fire. It was kinda cool.
Then I plied. I Navaho-plied to try to keep the continuity of the color changes. But there are "muddied" areas where too many colors were incorporated. My confidence has wavered again. I've got a hat pattern in mind, so we'll see how it goes.
1 comment:
Your spinning is gorgeous! Love the colours - One thing I have found is that sometimes a yarn that you think is not what you wanted looks fantastic once it's knitted up.
Keep at it, you're doing fine!
Abi
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