Where's Wallis?

Here she is! I finished my Wallis Cardigan and am pretty happy with it. I did have to fuss with the sleeves, but I think it was worth it. The pleats at the shoulders and the gathers on the sleeves are cute, but they definitely make you look more broad there. It's an interesting silhouette, but I do feel a little self-conscious about looking like a linebacker since it's not the 80's or the 40's anymore. Regardless, I remain charmed by the pleats. My other favorite details are the welts at the bottom and the edge treatment around the front opening--simple but effective.

This was my first time using the Silkience yarn, and I really like it. It has a nice drape and feel. The lustrous strand (not sure if this is the silk or the rayon part) does tend to split from the rest of the yarn, so you have to watch for it as you knit. Other than that, it's a pretty dreamy yarn, and I'll definitely use it again.

There are lots more pics and details in the gallery and on Ravelry.

A Tale of Two Sleeves

It was the worst of knitting, it was the best of knitting...

...Nah, just kidding! My knitting is not that dramatic. I did want to share the story of my Wallis Cardigan, though. I experimented with two different sleeve sizes, both of which were smaller than what the pattern instructs. See what you think.


I first made the sleeve that is pictured on the left. It is about 1" in circumference less than the pattern, and about 1-1/2 inches shorter. To me, though, it still seemed too big. You can see the sizing problem better from the side.


So the second sleeve was made smaller. This one is about 3" in circumference less than the pattern, and about 2-1/2 inches shorter. I think it is a far, far better sleeve.

Back on Track

Thank you guys for your good thoughts when I ran into all those snags. I think I'm back on track now!

The Cabled Hoodie is being converted into a project for my daughter, Sweetie. I am using The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns as a template to recalculate this pattern in her size. This book is such a good reference! It's not perfect (for example, it's really irksome that the 32" and 34" chest sizes are considered kids' sizes), so you still have to do some recalculations, but it provides a tremendous starting point! I had to reknit most of the sleeve, but I'm happy with it now and think it's viable! Hooray! I started the left front and now that I've memorized the cable pattern, it's going much more quickly. I hope to finish this front piece by the end of next weekend.


Meanwhile, I've started the Wallis Cardigan using Ella Rae Silkience. The back and left front are done and seamed together so that I could try it on. So far so good (fingers crossed)! I've cast on for the right front. The bottom section is done in double knitting to create the interesting welts, and that takes awhile. After that, I expect it to go really quickly. I'm going to look back at the Knitting Daily Galleries to figure out where I want the sleeves to fall.



And finally, I decided to frog the Ruffled Jacket. I had fallen out of love with this, and it just wasn't worth the hassle of trying to figure out how to fix the problems I was having. It's really liberating to let it go.

P.S. To "Anonymous," who expressed interest in buying the Norah Gaughan pattern booklet...I'm afraid it's already gone. Someone else had snapped it up.