Seriously...it's the greatest feeling. Conversely getting it wrong makes me feel like a dumbass...but I digress.
I have been in a constant state of working/volunteering for several days now. Lack of sleep is making me stupid and tired. I am too tired to cast on anything and I am between projects.
I should have gone to bed but instead I did this:
Apparently I am absolutely insane despite the fact that I failed math three times in highschool I decided doing the maths for Tiny's sweater would be relaxing.
A little background on the Tiny Sweater. My husband decided that if I knit him a really complicated time-consuming black-hole-of-knitting sweater he would wear it. Basically he wants a sweater with cables. Not that cables are difficult, but they certainly aren't as fast as stocking stitch when you are doing mixed cables. I received 20 balls of beautiful icelandic wool as a gift. Which was fantastic because my husband is by no means a small man (we measured his chest to day, it's 53") and the idea of purchasing enough yarn to cover him made me feel faint. I started seriously looking at the "you are guaranteed for a loan" admail...I figured if I got decent yarn at a decent price the sweater would cost at least $150. So this gift of yarn was heaven sent.
I then could not find a single sweater that I could imagine him wearing. I surfed and surfed. I showed him a couple patterns with no interest on his part. I then decided (on the advice of the lovely Barb Brown) to do a "vanilla sweater" and add cables. So it took me a surprisingly long time to find a plain sweater for a man that was the right dimensions. I decided if I was going to the trouble of knitting this sweater I would do it in a style I like which means raglan seamless construction.
After much searching I found the perfect vanilla sweater, I then sat down with Tiny and perused a cable book with him. He was very obliging despite his lack of interest in looking at knitting books (after all the sweater is for him). He picked several, I actually made him pick more than I needed so I could have some design leeway.
Today I was too tired to knit so I sat down with some books and started to math things out. The yarn I am using is far heavier than what is called for in the pattern, so I started with that. I also want the ribbing to match the cable, this was the hard part...I also am doing way more cable on the front so the back actually has less stitches than the front to compensate (damn I hope that works...) It took me over an hour to figure out the math and the ribbing and I am proud to say I have written the first row to the first pattern I have ever written!
Here it is!
Cast on 108 stitches and join for knitting in round, pm at beginning of round.
Row1" *k2, p2* 4 times, pm, p1, k4, p8, k4, p1, pm, p2, k2, p2, k1, pm, p3, k4, p4, k4, p4, k4, p3, pm, k2, p2, k2, p1, pm, p1, k4, p8, k4, p1, pm, *p2, k2* 4 times, pm, *p2, k2* 8 times, p2, pm, p1, k9, p12, k9, p1, pm, *p2, k2* 8 times, p2.
Dudes, I lined up the ribbing on the first try.
Yeah...I'm awesome...You know...aside from the part where I have been working on this sweater for months and haven't cast on yet...
Oh by the way, I am going to knit this sweater with these...
Jealous?
4 comments:
Shiny!
I use Ann Budd's handy book of sweaters to make my own patterns. But when you add cables, it's like adding ribbing and they can pull in pretty drastically. Perhaps adding some seed stitch between would be prudent.
I already took the pulling into account because of an unfortunate incident with a pair of socks! The back actually has less stitches than the front to compensate for having less stitches!
Less stitches to compensate for having less CABLES...there now that sentence makes sense!
I want those needles!
but I did just get my third wheel...
I choose the wheel.
Ooh what are you going to do with all your other addi's? I'll take them
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