the Intrepid Fiberwizard

adventures in spinning, knitting, gardening and life

Saturday, March 3, 2007

As the sweater grows

There's been quite a bit of knitting going on here - Hervor, to be exact.

I finished the sleeves and the back, and will cast on for the front this afternoon.

I am enjoying the pattern quite a bit, watching the cables bloom above a sea of pebbled purls. After I knit my swatch, and the gauge matched exactly what the pattern requested, I selected the size and bravely knit on.
The question is: will it fit like I hope it will?
I was quite pleased with how effortless it has all seemed thus far; the pattern segments ending at precisely the 'right' moment (or so it appeared given the directions) 'when the work measures 13.5 inches, begin decrease for armhole, at the same time finish the outside panels... etc' The changes in shape were exactly at the end of a pattern. Thus I bravely concluded, that although no row gauge was listed, I was on target. (grin)

At the crucial moment after casting off the back, I held the sweater up to my chest, with that ever so proud feeling of success in the back of my mind....... and gasp... it was snug. Yeah, that kind of snug (as in form fitted, showing every single curve)

Err, ummm, what to do?
I came home and blocked the back, the dimensions are exactly what the pattern suggests they should be - yet still I ponder; will it look the way it does in the photo? (it's the one on the cover) Blocking helped a bit, and it no longer appears glued to my body, yet still.....

I opted to knit a size "large" (45 1/2" bust measurement) since I wanted it loose fitting. Now mind you, while I am not what one would call 'flat as a board', neither am I carrying a ginormous rack... and typically, when I buy clothes, I buy a size 'small'. Okie-dokie then, this should be fine eh? definitely not snug; or so we hope. Yet, then again, perhaps the model wearing the sweater is only 80 pounds, and is wearing an extra large size sweater? (let's hope not!)

And so, with blinders on, and wild hope that it will all unfold as I imagine, I knit on, repeating my newest mantra "it's the right size, gauge doesn't lie....."

19 Comments:

At March 3, 2007 at 12:14 PM, Blogger Jennifer said...

Uh-oh! Maybe when it's all finished and blocked completely it'll be fine.

 
At March 3, 2007 at 12:27 PM, Blogger Lorette said...

You buy a size small, and the 45 1/2 inch size doesn't fit? Does the pattern have a schematic with measurements? None of the Lavold pattern books that I have include them, which bugs me. Is there a corrections page online?

 
At March 3, 2007 at 12:28 PM, Blogger Lorette said...

Oops, here it is. There don't seem to be any for that pattern.
http://www.ingenkonst.se/vpn_err.htm

 
At March 3, 2007 at 12:51 PM, Blogger sheep#100 said...

Gauge lies all the time...

 
At March 3, 2007 at 5:27 PM, Blogger margene said...

Oh I hope so, too!! Jessie's yarn is knitting up so beautifully!

 
At March 3, 2007 at 5:44 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

That color is gorgeous! I love the slight variations in pink. Looks like it will be a killer sweater!

 
At March 3, 2007 at 6:25 PM, Blogger Leah said...

I've got my fingers crossed for you! If anyone can pull it off, you can Teyani!

 
At March 4, 2007 at 3:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would like to assume that you can trust your gauge. So few things in life are certain.

Do you have another sweater of comparable size you can compare it to?

 
At March 4, 2007 at 4:08 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

If you can't trust your gauge, who can you trust? My fingers are crossed too.

 
At March 4, 2007 at 4:16 AM, Blogger Carole Knits said...

I hate that worrying feeling that it won't fit. I hope it turns out perfectly.

 
At March 4, 2007 at 5:06 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I really don't like it when the pattern has no schmatic! I guess this is one of those "you won't know until you finish" projects. I am not a huge fan of that kind of uncertainty. If it IS too snug, maybe the cute little cabels will distract you.

 
At March 4, 2007 at 6:53 AM, Blogger Jackie said...

I'm hoping that it fits as you want it. It looks beautiful so far.

 
At March 4, 2007 at 7:39 AM, Blogger clothesknit said...

I hope it fits like you want when all is said and done. I'm looking at that model on the cover though and thinking she's a waif wearing a large and that's why it looks so roomy. False advertising!

My fingers are crossed for you!

 
At March 4, 2007 at 10:37 AM, Blogger Chris said...

Um, when you have THAT feeling... you probably should do a test block of a piece and see if its size changes...

 
At March 4, 2007 at 11:06 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

For sure the model weighs 80lbs and they made a special XXL for the picture. On needles 2 sizes bigger than stated.

 
At March 4, 2007 at 3:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The sweater looks great so far! I hope everything works out!

 
At March 4, 2007 at 7:25 PM, Blogger Knittinreed said...

Oh that will be gorgeous! I saw that book at my LYS this week - beautiful knits. And your color is lovely. Fingers are crossed for the perfect fit.

 
At March 5, 2007 at 7:56 AM, Blogger knitseashore said...

The color is gorgeous. I sure hope that it fits the way you want it to. I'm not one to ask, as I'm struggling with a strange gauge right now myself!!

 
At March 5, 2007 at 11:17 AM, Blogger Karen said...

I am having the same worry with the sweater I am making right now, except I think mine may be too small. I hate gauge. It messes with me a lot.

 

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