The Boat Sweater

I am assuming (yes, I know what that stands for) that you are getting so tired of hearing about the Boat Sweater, and I know I haven't put the umph into it that I did the Stonewall.
After restarting certain parts of this sweater so many times, I really, really do not like this pattern. Well, not the pattern as far as it is turning into what I wanted it to be, but the actual written pattern.

I am not blaming the author, it could be completely my fault as I have found only a few complaints that mirror mine. Having said that, through no fault of the author, I will never purchase another one of her patterns. I apparently can not understand the way she writes.

1. I had to restart the short row shaping twice because it wouldn't match up with the joining round. Finally made it work by moving the BOM over. Which I now hope will not mess up the short row shaping that was supposed to make the back hang a little longer than the front (which I loved about the pattern)
2. I could not get the written part of the diamond pattern across the chest to match up. I ripped that out three times before I went to Ravelry and found someone who had the same problem so used the chart instead. I did that and it finally worked out.
3. I got halfway through the first sleeve before I realized that following the pattern would give me a sleeve that would fit Shaq. (yes I am getting gauge) so ripped that out and did a 6 round decrease instead of 8 and that seemed to bring it all together.

 You know how I am about paying for a pattern. I will scour the internet for a free pattern, but if I end up finding something I really like enough to pay for a pattern????? Well it shouldn't need this much fiddling on my part for it to work out.
And not to belittle the writer at all, but don't go on my Ravelry project page and comment so sweetly about what problems I was having and then never reply in PM when I tell you.
That gave me the feeling that she was being totally fake and just wanted it to look like she gave a hollering hoot about my issues with her pattern.

To sum it up, I will finish this sweater, or become dangerously close by the end of this weekend. We have a trip coming up which will allow me 5 uninterrupted hours of knitting time. (I love daylight savings time!) That should get me pretty close to finished barring any other major rip outs.

Would I make another one? Probably, now that I have added all of my notes. But if I was just starting out, and didn't know anything about knitting a sweater, NO! I would not.
If I was recommending a sweater to a beginner knitter who had never attempted a sweater in the round? Hell no! I would not.

Whether it was my fault or the fault of the author's I would not suggest this to anyone who didn't have a complete and utter understanding of sweater knitting and construction.
Sorry!
 

Boat Sweater Is a Sweater!

Once I got past the fiddley row by row instructions things started moving pretty quickly. Well, as quickly as 14 inches of stst can go.

 

It is absolutely what I wanted this sweater to be so far.

Just a big, warm, comfy, over sized sweater that will be absolutely perfect for throwing over whatever I am wearing when I get too cool at night, or on the water. 

The design came out fairly well considering how many times I had to rip it out. And blocking, I think, will make it pop even more. 

So now it's on to the sleeves, the neck and then done. 

I didn't see anyone complaining about the written sleeve pattern, so maybe this part will go off without a hitch.

 

And no, I am not as big as that picture makes me look! 

At least I don't think I am...................

The Boat Sweater: A test of will

I am going to be honest, I love this sweater, I really do. But (you knew it was coming) the pattern is a tad difficult to follow in the beginning.

Just to get to this point, I started over three times.

I blamed myself the first two times, misreading a line, not paying close enough attention to what I was doing. By the time I got to the third try, ok, maybe it isn't me. 

I eventually had to move my BOR marker to make it coincide with the pattern. That seemed to straighten out my problem. Though now I wonder if that was the best idea. Is this going to throw off my short rows I did across the back for added length? They were written into the pattern, maybe since I had to move my beginning marker, somewhere in the pattern this compensation is correct for the shaping in the back. 

I decided to just keep going and see what comes out in the end.

 

I am not a great knitter. I don't get into the technicalities of knitting. Especially if I have a pattern to follow. I just blindly follow and if I like it enough to make another one, then I start thinking about what I will change. A different cuff, more length, that kind of thing. But the first go round, strictly line for line. 

As you can see from the picture below, my beginning stages are quite sloppy looking.

No fancy markers or cutesie pics with the cat. Just a big old round mess that surprises me every time it turns into exactly what I wanted.

Here is the beginning of my next problem with the pattern.
The King Charles Brocade, which is the whole reason I purchased the pattern. The way the designer incorporated it into the sweater, IMHO, is what make this an awesome, comfy looking sweater.
I am not going to lie, I hate charts so it was with great pleasure that I realized the author had also written out the instructions for this part.
I pulled out my trusty little green notebook and pen and started on what I think is the best part of this pattern. 







 This is just a few rounds in, it looks great! The pattern is snapping together perfectly. I am getting super excited about it at this point.

Then we get to around center part of the brocade pattern.
I was buzzing right along, completely amazed with myself being able to keep the pattern straight, tick the rows off in my book and watch t.v. the whole time. I was on a role, and the small snag at the beginning of the pattern was turning into just that. A snag that can be revised with a quick go round after this sweater is through.
Then I get to row 14 or 15, I can't remember exactly which.
It was late, I had been knitting for over four hours. Hmm.... I missed something somewhere. It's not matching up anymore. My knit stitches were going into knit stitches and purls into purls. That doesn't feel right.
Damn! I have got to stop watching t.v. when I am following a pattern.
So I rip out the whole row, (the front side matched up, making it doubly frustrating because I was half way through the round before I realized I had screwed something up), and started over.
Ignoring the television and concentrating on every stitch.
On the second go round, in the middle of the back section, there it was again, my stitches were lining up again. Dang it! I must have added another stitch somewhere.
I was so frustrated with myself at that point, I put all my knitting things away and went to bed.

The next day I picked it up, ripped out two rounds back because I apparently had added an extra stitch somewhere. So I decided to rip back to my last known good row.
The first round went on perfectly and I was paying extreme attention to every stitch and pattern detail I was following.
The second round and the same thing happens again.
Ok, maybe it isn't me. Maybe there is a problem with the pattern, at least the written version.
I did end up going to the projects page on Ravelry and found out that quite a few people had commented on the difficulty of reading this pattern.
Someone said that they had ripped back and followed the chart instead of the written directions and it all worked out.
So that's what I did.
Finally!!! Success!
I had decided that when I was finished knitting this I would go back and write out the chart directions myself so I could compare it to the author's and, if I could find the problem, just drop the author a little note.

Once I got past that big snafu, the pattern becomes very easy to follow and written just the way I like it. Simple and straight forward.

As you can see from the picture I am well on my way past the charted part of the pattern.
8" of the 14" of stst.

The author saw my Ravelry posts and asked me what had happened. Which I thought was very sweet.
I am still going to go back over the chart and write it out, I am curious to see if, maybe it was just me, and I kept screwing up until I sat down and read the chart.
With me, it could happen that way!
And if you are wondering, YES! I so think this sweater is going to be worth it!

The Boat Sweater: Project #2

I can wear sweaters in the dead heat of summer. I always need one when we are on the beach in Panama City every summer. I play in the sun all day and by nightfall I am usually pretty cold. Sunburns will do that to me every time.  Then there is nightfall on the water. Out on the boat. There is always a cool breeze on the water and when I have been out in it all day, I get a chill when the sun goes down, yes, even in August. 

My husband thinks I am nuts, but I never leave the house without a sweater, no matter what time of year it is. 

And this sweater just has Boat and Beach Sweater written all over it.

Tho that is not the name of the pattern, I look at it and I think about cool spring nights and weekends on the boat fishing and hanging with friends. 

Isn't that what you see?

                                                 

                                                              

I decided this would be perfect for all that extra Pure Wash Merino I ended up with from the Stonewall sweater.  It is the softest yarn once it is washed and if I'm going to end up with a sunburn, soft is always a good thing.

I really love this sweater and couldn't wait to cast on and get started yesterday. There's just one small problem. 

Reading this pattern is the very definition of muddling through. 

I always try and go through a pattern one good time before I cast on. Just so I know what is coming up before I get there.  Even that didn't help. 

You really have to have a clear understanding of top down knitting and sweater construction or don't even bother starting this project. There is nothing about this pattern that allows for a new knitter. 

Maybe that was the authors plan, I don't know. 

I have read lots and lots of patterns that have way to much (in my opinion) technical information. Turning a 3 page pattern into a novella. 

That is not the problem with this one. 

I think the pattern is well written, it just jumps all over the place. 

So if you have never made a top down sweater. Don't make this one your first. 
By all means, after you knit a sweater or two and have a feel for the process, make this sweater. It's bound to become your favorite.

I am not saying this pattern is not doable, it is. And I think once I am finished it will quickly become one of my favorites to wear.

Maybe not to re-knit, but to wear. 

On the good side, she has the King Charles Brocade written out as well as charted, which saved me some time, because I would have had to write it out myself. 

Once I muddled through the beginnings of the pattern, it started flying around the needles. 

It really is going to be a nice sweater!

Dealing with all this wool has really dried my skin out. Especially on the finger that the yarn runs across. My skin actually cracked and started bleeding last week. 

This has now become a huge part of my nighttime regimen.  We won't even talk about what age is doing to my skin. It's the wool!  

FO: No More Stonewalling!

I am finally finished with the Stonewall sweater. 
I absolutely love how this sweater turned out. Tho I did have a few "OMG" moments when I was putting the sweater back together again.
And then there were the dropped side stitches that ran back for about fifteen rows that had to be picked back up again. 
All in all, I LOVE IT!
These are the first pics. They aren't the best, and when Brat #1 gets off of work today, I will have her get some better pics.
 
This was an easy to follow pattern. If you are looking for a great looking sweater, with easy instructions, I highly recommend that you make one of these!

Second Sleeve Syndrome

We have all heard of, and had, second sock syndrome.  But now I have been afflicted by another kind of syndrome. Second Sleeve Syndrome.
Didn't know that was a thing did ya?
Apparently it is. 
 

 

As you can see in the picture 34 sts, even on the shortest needles, has to be stretched around the needles for a few rounds. 

By the time I had finished the first sleeve, my finger was so sore from forcing the stitches around that I had to take a day off to let it stop throbbing. 

I know I could have used dpns but where would be the fun in that?

The first sleeve was actually done on 16" needles so it took allot more effort to get the first 24 rows of stst on. 

I finally found these 12" needles and it has made a huge difference in the first few rows. I'm still struggling, but not half as bad. 

By the time I was up to the second increase row, 24 rows in, the stitches finally started moving smoothly around the needles. 

Once I did get past the struggle part, I am happy about knitting this again. 

Yesterday, when I had to force myself to pick up the needles to start the second sleeve, I was seriously afraid that I had developed a bad case of sss and this sweater was going to end up in the WIP pile for a while. 

 

 

Stonewalling At It's Best

With it all wet and rainy and cold yesterday I decided that would be a good time to sit down and get some serious knitting done on the Stonewall sweater.

I fired up Hulu, found the first season of American Horror Story, put it on auto play and plopped in front of the t.v for the rest of the day, and night. And as you can see, I did get quite a bit of knitting finished. 

The first picture shows the detail in the pattern and the second is is the actual color of the yarn.

I think once it is finished and blocked, the purl pattern will pop out a little better. Right now it is just a pile of bumps all willy nilly looking throughout the sweater.

I am a totally intense knitter. When I am watching t.v. while I knit, the more intense the scene, the faster I can knit. And let me tell you, anytime you see Dylan McDermott's naked body running all over the screen, it's intense!

The obligatory "process" shots below were not all done in one night. Though I am moving right along. This is two nights of work. 
I am really excited about wearing this. 
And the pattern is really straight forward and easy to follow. 
I know allot of you like all the techie info that turns two pages of a pattern into, like 20, I do not. Give me straightforward with a few tips here and there and I am one happy camper.

I did actually force myself to put this down last night about midnight. I had to order the shorter needles for the sleeves and they will not be here until Wednesday. 
I don't know what I am going to do with myself until then, I think when I get home today I will tear apart every closet to see if I can find some shorter needles I may have stashed away somewhere. 
If I can't...........I guess it's back to linen stitch cloths until next week.
 

Stash Diving Pays Off

As soon as I had a spare moment yesterday, no small feat with kids and cleaning, I went stash diving. I have a military foot locker full of yarn. That seemed like the most logical place to start. 
Digging through that thing for about fifteen minutes, I came to the realization that I have a lot of different yarn, but not enough of any one kind of yarn. 
I really did go over board during the Great Stash Enhancement of 2011. I mean like, REALLY!
Luckily that is not the only place I have yarn stashed.  (really? did you think it was)
Unfortunately when we cleaned out the bedroom to make room for the new furniture some of my yarn I know I had was put somewhere that I can not find in my house. I searched every closet and open corner and could not find what I was looking for. 
Somewhere in my house is a full bag of Knit Picks Swish, which I think would be perfect for this sweater, but I'll be damned if I can find it.
But, tucked in the very dark corner of the very last closet I looked in, I found this!! 
 

 

I bought this yarn about three years ago when I got the grand idea that I was going to design myself a new sweater for work. Of course you see how far my ideas get sometimes.

But it all works out in the end doesn't it.

I didn't get a lot of time yesterday to work too much on this. 

I did however make a pretty good start with what little time I had.

On a funny note, after two solid months of linen stitch,everything, guess what the first two set up rows of this pattern are??? 

K1, sl1 wyif! I had to LOL while I was doing it.

Then, once again after two solid months of the linen stitch, it took a huge amount of concentration to switch over to k1,p1. 

My fingers kept slipping 1. 

After about two dozen rounds I finally worked the memory out of my fingers and the ribbing started flying by. 

I did manage to get a pretty good bit finished before bedtime last night. Once I untangled and retrained my fingers it went fairly smooth.

No Reason Not to Stonewall

I know everyone is tired of listening to me complain about not being able to find a project interesting enough to me to start.
Well I have good news for you..........I FOUND IT! 
My next project, the one that has me searching online and hunting around for the perfect yarn! 
I just can't explain how happy and excited this makes me. 
I love doing my cloths, and towels and scarves, but I want something a little challenging without being so irritating it ends up in the WIP pile until I don't feel guilty about ripping it apart. 
I know you all will find this hard to believe, (on top of all this wonderful news) but I purchased the pattern! 
It just hit me as something I just really want to make. And I am sure I could have hunted half the internet to find a free one that was pretty close. And I am sure half of you will, but I like THIS pattern. And if I like it and the price is not so out of this world, I don't mind paying for it. And this was only $6 so, I jumped in and bought it.


The Stonewall Pattern




Doesn't it look absolutely cozy, comfy, jeans and slippers warm?
I love it! 
Now I just have to find the absolute best yarn for this project.
It calls for worsted/10ply 9WPI yarn.
I was almost set to buy some online then I decided to take the reasonable route and wait until I get home and check the stash.
I want to take this project nice and easy, not rush in with all these grand ideas, as I normally do. That's how it ends up in the WIP pile for so long.
So, until I dig in the stash this is as far is this goes for right now..................
Give me an hour and a half and things will change ;0)

After Gift Knitting Wish List

I have way too much gift knitting to get through before I can start on something for myself. And as often happens, as I am searching around the web for my gift list patterns, I always find something that I really, really want to make for myself.
I tell myself I will remember it and will get back to it as soon as physically possible. By the time I am finished with the gift giving season I am at a complete and utter loss as to what to knit next.
It all just flies out of my brain and I can't remember anything I HAD to knit for myself.
So here stands my bookmark for Leah Knitting of 2015

This Sweatshirt Sweater is definitely at the top of my list.
Our winters don't start down here on the Gulf Coast until after the holiday season has passed. Most years. So that gives me plenty of time to get one of these made before hibernation sets in.

The Deep V-Neck Sweater would be awesome to wear over the drawer full of tank tops I keep for summertime.

You think I should keep one of these Easy Pullover for Babies, Toddlers on hand just in case no. 8 decides to show up? Nah..........

This Sunset Raglan is a must have!

And a little Camisole for the warm weather that is only three months away

I really want to make myself another Corona
Think that would be redundant?



And for sure one of these Sexy Vesty

Ok maybe I have overloaded it a little bit. But at least I have a running head start when I get those, "oh crap I'm finished with that, what the hell am I going to do now?" which I always get after I have finished a long bout of "organized knitting"