theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Eris is wonderful and I don’t mind saying so. I made a sweater that fits like it was made for me :). Yes, they ALL are, but in fact, only some actually do ;).

All of my trepidation went out the window post blocking.  It is a thing of wonderment — when all the variables came together in the right way.  One small problem: The sleeves are about 1-2″ too long, but that is totally easy to fix with top down sleeves!  I was also pleased that there is very little evidence of ‘rowing,’ which often happens with back-and-forth stockinette stitch.  [Rowing occurs when one’s purl row gauge is slightly larger than one’s knit row gauge].

Now, here is the source of my pre-blocking angst:

The place where the collar joins the body of the sweater rolled over funny.  I know that’s pretty technical talk!  But it looked weird when I tried it on, and I was nervous it would not block out, but it did.  Woo Hoo!  Here it is after blocking, just flopped onto the table:

I think my short rows are better on the hem shaping — I had a bit more practice with my Japanese short rows by then.

The sweater fits great.  I will actually post a picture of me wearing it once I get the zipper sewn in.  In the meantime, here is Lucky Lettie, draped in the fantabulous Eris:

Yarn: Cascade 220, Color #9460
Needles: US 5’s (cabling) and 6’s (body)
Cost: about $60 (incl. pattern and zipper)!!!!!  It only took 7 skeins of yarn! (at least I think it took 7 — I bought a bag of ten skeins and three are untouched — not heavy mathematics there)

For those of you contemplating this pattern, I say go for it.  The pattern is extremely long, but it’s no more knitting than an average sweater.  Jenna just provides too much a lot of detail.  It is not as forgiving as the Rogue Hoodie if you have gauge issues (because of the collar and hem cabling), but it can work.  The one thing I recommend is to do after-thought I-cord edging (using 5 sts) and for that all I did was omit the edge sts along the neck and hem edges. It took extra time, but I believe it was well worth it.  I did this on the hood of Rogue with very nice results.

It is true — another “FO” graces our pages.  I finished Eris this evening and now she is drying.  I’m not entirely done — I am waiting for the zippers I ordered.  I’m hoping one of them will work.  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -> these are my crossed fingers :).  This zipper should be a lot easier to put in than the one in Oregon because of the way the fronts are constructed. 

Here is the collar:

And the sleeve:

My sleeves are a little different than the pattern. I just did not like the way the original hemline looked on the sleeve.  I tried three times and it looked terrible, so I finished it off like the fronts using a 5 st I-cord bind off.  When I decided to switch to this edging, I had to add another inch to the sleeve which is another reason I changed up my sleeve decreases. 

I will put her on Lettie when she is dry and take another picture or two. I sure hope she fits ME, too!! 

Now all I have to work on is my lil silk top, so it should get done pretty quickly.  What is next, my friends, what is next?

PS — Could someone please explain to me why Sally needs a one-pound cone of Zephyr laceweight?!!?

PSS — I remembered where Marina must have seen Erisort:

Shelly Kang posted this picture on her blog after the Yarn Harlot’s visit :).  That’s Kim on the left (the friend who gave me Lettie) and Shelly is on the right.

I’ve been knitting on Eris because I am still waiting ever so patiently for my peacock yarn (she says nervously, knowing that everyone knows she has NOT been patient at all), and was getting a little worried that I had over-compensated for the uptake needed on the collar.  I added my 5-stitch i-cord edge after the fact, and it looks WAY too tight here in its natural state:

Had I gotten carried away, as usual?

So, I placed Eris on Lettie to get a better idea of how it will look on a person and it is fine, even unblocked as it is: 

And the back view:

So I’m less worried and therefore more apt to finish this sucker!  Now I can sit by the window waiting for the mail to arrive ;).

PS — Tyna asked about the pattern:  It can be purchased on-line on The Girl From Auntie’s website.

Back to knitting, you low lifes!  Bloggiversary — is that even a real word? Too much celebrating and not enough knitting.  What kind of a knitting blog is this, anyway?!!?? 

Okay, Okay!!  I have been knitting, really I have!  I have deemed Eris suitable for survival and completion.  It looks okay, the hem no longer rolls and I think it will fit.  So, I will work on the front I-cord edging and get the sleeves started.  They will go so fast and all the hard finishing stuff is already done.  Except for the zipper, which is putsy, but not horrible.

Here’s a close up of the overlapping cabled corners — after blocking, I think that’s as good as they are going to look. 

I have also been playing around again with the Woman’s Continental — remember GiGi and her fabulous hairstyle?

I had already started the sleeves (one up to the raglan shaping and the other half way there).  Then comes the fun part with the front bands and the collar, etc. 

The front band has a form of brioche stitch, which I attempted to swatch — I had to “SOS” Surly to help me figure it out.  I could not get it to work, no matter what I tried.  The irony is, when Idonis was knitting this, I figured it out for her (?!!??)!  How many brain cells have died since then?  Can dementia be far behind?  Surly said, “It’s easy.  It works for me.  Here’s what I did.”  And, voila, it worked.  It is easy and looks cute.  What are sisters for?

We’re glad you enjoyed the contest — thanks again to all for the well wishes and support.  Luv ya.

I am definitely not enthralled by my cabled corners on Eris.  They started out okay — I was pleased with my short rows (after three tries!).  I used nonaKnits instructions, which are very nicely written and easy to follow.  Here is a picture of the back of my Japanese Short Rows:

Why is it so “hairy?”  I used thread instead of safety pins, because I couldn’t find enough pins.  Anyway, I was happy with the way the short row shaping ‘shaped up.’  I’m not so sure about the cabled corners.  The knitting seems coarse, like the yarn should be finer and knit to a tighter gauge.

I still need to add my 5-stitch applied i-cord edging.  I prefer to do it afterward so it is smoother and I can adjust it to fit.  I found with the Rogue Hoodie that I preferred doing the i-cord edge after (click here for picture).  I also realized that I should have done the front corners first because the front edging needs to overlap the back and mine is set up wrong — oops.  Not to worry!  I’ll fudge with grafting.

I continued onward and completed the I-cord edging across the lower back hem:

And the hem as a whole — albeit, a bit washed out in color:

 

I’m still not sure what I think about this project.  The hem wants to roll in a funny way.  I did a light steam before I picked up my edge sts but it still rolls.  I hope that wet blocking solves the problem — wet blocking certainly cures a lot of what ails my knitting 😉 ! 

PS — I completed the shirt-tail hem shaping on the right front and then tried the lil puppy on — I realized that in an effort to de-emphasize my tummy, I am now emphasizing my fat ass hips!!  Ruh roh! 🙁