Copycat

I've finished one sleeve on The International sweater. Tell me what you think.


Here's the original for reference:



I still don't know if it's correct, but this is the lace pattern I ended up using, done over an odd number of stitches:

Round 1: [yo, ssk], k1
Round 2: K
Round 3: [yo, k2tog], k1
Round 4: K
Round 5: k1, [yo, ssk]
Round 6: K
Round 7: k1, [yo, k2tog]
Round 8: K

(For those interested, I'm wearing Zoya Minka and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Strobe Light.)

Only In My Dreams

Despite my absence on this blog, I've actually been knitting daily for the past few weeks. Mind you, sometimes I only get a row or so in, but I have been doing a little bit every day. It has been a very busy couple of months--nothing at all bad, but just a lot of things going on. One morning, I awoke from a dream. Honestly, the details have long since evaporated, but for some reason, in my dream, I kept repeating the same phrase at the end, and it stuck with me after I woke up: "stop tackling everything else...knit!" Now, I am not into dream analysis, but when I wake up from one with a full-on acronym, I pay attention! My mantra since then has been STEEK, as in Stop Tackling Everything Else...Knit! So I have, and I've enjoyed the quiet, mindful moments that knitting has afforded me on even my busiest days.


This is the progress I've made so far on my copy of The International sweater. Thanks to Gail and Luni, I got pointers for the lace. I tweaked things a little bit and although I'm not sure that I've duplicated it, I think I'm close enough for my taste. I will probably go back and redo the neck as I want it to be a little looser, but I'm feeling no angst about it. Could it be that I'm turning into a process knitter instead of a product knitter?!

Right Now

On the needles: The International sweater, using Cascade Eco Wool. I've finished the body and am on the first sleeve.

On the nails: Revlon Aloof

In the belly: Sunny-side up eggs. I love breakfast for dinner!

Double or Nothing

I decided to try and approximate that sweater from The International. To make it easier on myself, I opted for knitting from the top down with raglan sleeves. Now usually, if I am going to be making up something as I go along, I make an exception and do a gauge swatch. In this case, though, I already have the perfect "swatch" since I'm using Cascade EcoWool, which I've used before:


This is the Vine Lace Cardigan I made a couple of years ago. I have worn it a lot, so it's hard to get any more accurate a prediction of how the knitted fabric will look over time. I used my cardigan-swatch to calculate what I'd need to cast on and got started.


I got a good way past the point of dividing for the sleeves. I tried it on and everything fit just as it should. But (and you knew there was a "but" coming, didn't you?) something didn't seem right. My new sweater did not have the same drape as my old one. At first, I rationalized that it was just because it hadn't been blocked yet. But then, I noticed I was also running out of yarn and realized my mistake. Somehow it had stuck in my mind that I held the yarn doubled when making the first sweater, so I was holding it doubled on this one too. That had been my original plan with the Vine Leaf Cardigan, but I changed my mind at the last minute, and the yarn wasn't doubled at all. No wonder I was now using up yarn too fast!

I have the option of just going ahead. It's still knitting at the same gauge, so the size will still be right, but it's just stiffer, and I don't want that. Unfortunately, the only fix is to rip it all out back to nothing and start over again. At least it's on 10-1/2s so it goes fairly fast. It could be much worse!

Eye Candy

I've had the movie The International on my DVR for awhile now. I really had no idea what the movie was about until I watched it last night, but the reason I had it recorded in the first place was because I happened to catch a glimpse of some eye candy while we were flipping through channels one night. By eye candy, I don't (just) mean Clive Owen, who is one of the stars. No, I mean this sweater:


Isn't she a beaut?! This would be the perfect every day sweater and it looks fairly straightforward to duplicate. It's a slouchy cardigan in a chunky weight. There are shoulder and sleeve seams as well as side in-seam pockets. The neck edging looks like it's picked up afterwards and consists of ribbing and a lace pattern. That same rib and lace motif appears at the cuffs. The back is plain.



I'm just not sure which lace pattern that is though. Do you guys know? If not, I'll need to do some experimentation.