I rarely use a solid colored yarn. It's been a long time since I followed a pattern so EXACTLY. I never do both in the same project. I modified it only slightly, by skipping a few short rows on the neckline ribbing. The high back neckline is cute, but not practical for this climate, so I only did a few short rows. DD doesn't like high necks, and I thought that a high neck worn in the high 90s would be a BAD THING. To further justify the alteration, it's rapidly becoming an albatross, and I wanted it DONE. But I did not escape the wrath of the yarn gods. I equate the Fiery Bolero with the fires of hell.
I was very careful to slip the first stitch of every row, so that the Fiery Bolero (IWK SS 05) had neat and tidy edges. Boy, that was a mistake. I picked up the all interneckline stitches twice before I realized why my stitch count was off, off, off. I had less spots to p/u because I had slipped all my leading stitches. Tidy? Absolutely. Helpful? Not at all. So I plodded thru p/u and knit a third time-all 246 stitches. Again. Holy shit. This was not a fun knit at all-I found it dull and finicky. No lively colors. No fun stitches. No cool details. A lot of counting. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
On the plus side, it's 568 yards of Austermann Rubino oddballs that I voted off Yarn Mountain. I like the yarn, I just wish I'd made something for DGD out of it when she was small enough to wear 568 yards. Punishment for slacking, don't you think? Here it is, damply awaiting seams, which I'll do at work this week.
I was very careful to slip the first stitch of every row, so that the Fiery Bolero (IWK SS 05) had neat and tidy edges. Boy, that was a mistake. I picked up the all interneckline stitches twice before I realized why my stitch count was off, off, off. I had less spots to p/u because I had slipped all my leading stitches. Tidy? Absolutely. Helpful? Not at all. So I plodded thru p/u and knit a third time-all 246 stitches. Again. Holy shit. This was not a fun knit at all-I found it dull and finicky. No lively colors. No fun stitches. No cool details. A lot of counting. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
On the plus side, it's 568 yards of Austermann Rubino oddballs that I voted off Yarn Mountain. I like the yarn, I just wish I'd made something for DGD out of it when she was small enough to wear 568 yards. Punishment for slacking, don't you think? Here it is, damply awaiting seams, which I'll do at work this week.
15 comments:
Let's hear it for self-finishing edges!! LOL It's gorgeous, Bets. I'm sure she'll love it, even if she doesn't appreciate the agony you endured to get it done. Love that color, too.
i think it is beautiful and I would feel proud that I stuck with it and finished it and now have 568 more yards gone (NOT THAT FOR THE LIFE OF ME CAN I UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR DESTASHING)
Grace-
Imagine going into your LYS and upending three shelves. That's what my yarn mountain looks like. I gotta get it in order, and making room would help a lot.
B
Bets, I think it looks wonderful. Good job sticking to what I know must have been agony for you. Not to mention picking up nearly 900 stitches. Jeez, I hope she LOVES it. I do. :-}
Bets,
It is very cute and since I didn't have to knit the ribbed band, totally worth it! You're reminding me of the plum Rubino in my stash, how could I even think of ordering some of Carloway mills shetland! Are you going to get DD to model the bolero?
Oh, hell. Look VERY carefully. I goofed up my short rows. The left side is thicker than the right. Not gonna fix it. Won't.
Actually, Sandra, I gotta mail this to DD-I'll ask for a photo, I might get one.
that is just beautiful AND looks just like the IK photo :) neatness does count...and well...perfection is something to strive for right? ...Unless DD has totally perfect posture or wonks up on the "thicker" side of the knit...NO ONE WILL EVER EVER EVER KNOW that this is not perfect!
Three shelves from a yarn store eh?
It looks BEAUTIFUL Bets. But holy hell that is a lot of stitches to pick up. I dunno if I love anyone that much :-)
Such a vibrant blue. drool drool
I'm with the "It was worth it since I didn't have to knit it" crowd. It looks terrific!
Major PITA but oh so cute!
Hey, Bets! You didn't leave me an email addy to respond to your comment, so here it is: I tried and tried, again today, to get Blogger to upload my pic, and it just won't do it. (Imagine lots of bad words, here)
Anyway, your shrug is still beautiful, even after carefully thinking over all those hundreds of picked up stitches. Worth it!
Aw, it's really cute. Must feel great to finally finish it. This seems to be a popular style these days, and some people make it work for them. I just can't imagine wearing something like that myself though.
Well, I like it a lot! I know what you mean, though, about projects which are a PITA, and then you don't really like them afterward.
Now that's totally a me-knit. Meaning, I often knit things in plain colours and plain SS and lots of counting. I really do enjoy that kind of knitting. It is very very relaxing. But you are not me, so this was a genuine labour of love. And I feel your pain over the endlessly picked up band. Ugh...I don't think anyone enjoys that stage of a garment, and this one was very long. Ugh.
The sweater turned out grand though. I would wear it.
That is a cute sweater. So maybe we should do away with sweater sizes and go with how many skeins you wear. Oh, I'm about a 550 bolero in a thick in chunky.
The Noro yarn I possess is called fuji. I think that's Japanese for worthless. I don't speak Japanese so I could be totally wrong on that.
Maybe you can give me your email address so I can respond good an proper to your comments.
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