Body Finished

It's been pretty quiet here lately. Where are you shruggers?
Last night I finished the body of my shrug, here it is straight off the needles,unblocked. Now to tackle the sleeves. I used the original 'watercolour' but I think mine looks 'pinker/redder' than the original, which seems more purple.

I've finished my shrug!

Well, I'm happy to say that I've completed my shrug! Wahoo!! Following are some project notes:

*I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in Gold Hill and Chocolate for the body/sleeves and Lorna's Laces Grace in Chocolate for the trim.

*I made the XL size, as I wanted it larger than shown in Vogue Knitting. I did stop the increases on the body at 63 stitches between markers instead of 67 stitches, as I didn't want it too much longer.

*Ironic story of the project---I tried on the shrug during the first sleeve so I could determine the length I wanted. I decided on a total of 8 pattern repeats. Then, I actually ran out of Gold Hill with 1/2 of the second sleeve to go. I found another hank in another dye lot and completed the sleeve. Then I tried it on---the sleeves were too long by about two inches! Apparently the way that the shrug hung on me during the first sleeve did not give an accurate assessment of the length. I should have pulled out a tape measure! Frankly, I'm too lazy to pull out sleeve ends to shorten them, so I folded them back (although not shown in photos). Actually, it didn't look too bad, as it mirrored the collar style.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the results. Now I can't wait to see everyone else's completed shrugs!

Finally Started!

I finally started my shrug last night. The LLs is lovely to work with but I am thinking of frogging & starting again. I am only up to the first twisted float section but am not happy with the opening circle at the start. I tried to remember the instructions for the circular cast on that Kenny recommended but couldn't (knew I should have written it down) so just cast on as per the instructions. Still trying to decide whether to leave it & attempt to weave some magic later or, before I go any further, rippit & start again. I am using the original colourway but mine doesn't appear as purple as I thought it would.

Out of yarn!

Arg--I tempted the knitting gods and failed by not having extra yarn. Somehow (even with good gauge) I managed to run out of the Gold Hill colorway with 1/2 a sleeve to go. See my blog for more ranting. Hopefully I'll have the situation rectified by the weekend and I can finish by next week.

Yarn Possibility?

KnitPicks just came out with a bulky wool of the andes handpaint and solids. I wonder if this would be a less costly yarn alternative. The pattern is very easy to change for different gauges. Simply knit the inner circle until it is the correct width for your own arms and knit the outer circle until it is the desired diameter.

I bet it would be quick - though some may not like added bulk. I love this shrug!

Hi Everyone

I started my twisted float shrug in the middle of last month and have been cheating on it with some other projects. Man do I hate doing the twisted float rounds!

I'm a few rows away from completion of the main body and then I'm on to the edging.

I'm using LL Shepherd Worsted in Charcoal and Lakeview and I'm very pleased with how it is coming out so far.

I'm knitting it on Denise needles and I bought a 52" cord for it and I put it on some extender cords to try it on so far:





I was so in love with the pattern after first seeing Kenny posting about it that I was instpired to knit it myself. Thanks Kenny!

Sleeve Decreases

Hey all you shruggers!! I have a question.

I was wondering how you did the decreases for the sleeve. Did you do k2tog or ssk? Did you do them at the beginning of the round or the end of the round? Did you do them 1-2 stitches before/after the marker?

I know, so many possibilities. Just wanted to get some advice.

Kenny

First sleeve completed

I'm grateful to Vicki for the encouraging words that the sleeve goes much faster than the body. She was right--I was able to get the first sleeve done in one week. I had to do 8 pattern repeats to get to the top of my hand, but it wasn't bad. I'm not posting pics yet, so as not to spoil the unveiling at completion. I do have photos of the progress on my blog, though, if anyone is interested.

Ok, Kenny and Carrie--I know the two of you are in about the same place as I am. Let's see if we can finish the same week!

Level 2 - Body Completed

You know those computer role playing games, where you start out a Level 1 mage and as you go forth in your quest, you fight battles and cast spells and you gained experience points so that you’ll eventually get up to the next level?

Well, being a self taught knitter, I’ve been collecting those experience points from lots of books and the internet. I just realized that I might have enough experience points now to be bumped up a Level - Intermediate maybe?

Why? Because I modified a pattern! No, I didn’t make huge alterations, add on or subtract major design elements; I just adjusted the size. Does that count?

So, naturally, I need to blog about it before I forgot what I did.

So, I’m knitting this for my friend Marla. She is not a little bitty girl but not like husky or anything. She is just a tall, full figured woman. Nice body and this is coming from a gay boy! I want to make sure that this jacket fits her with as little ease as possible so that we can still see her nice silhouette and it doesn’t look like she has a huge carpet rug wrapped around her.

Looking at the pattern, and measuring Marla like 15,000 times, I’ve concluded that she is slightly bustier than a Medium but not quite a Large.

I racked my brains and eventually just threw all the sizing information from the pattern out the window. I’ll just knit the circle to her exact body measurement. Even as I started, I started the pattern differently. Instead of using the recommended cast on, I cast on using Emily Ocker’s circular cast on. (I'll post the technique if people request it.) As I started, I assumed that I’d be knitting till the diameter of the circle equaled the width of Marla’s back, from armpit to armpit. Then I placed the armhole opening and continued knitting the outer ring of the circle. While doing all this, I had to make sure that I maintained the correct ratio of the stockinette and garter rings of the pattern, and also to remember to increase 8 stitches per round, every other round. Here are my notes. After I created the armhole opening, I had to make sure that the rest of the circle was large enough to wrap around her bust area. Let’s just put it this way, Marla’s little boobies are not that little. So, here again, I had to modify the pattern and knit a wider lapel round to accommodate for her Baywatch boobies.

So after months due, here it is:
Phew, that was nerve wrecking. But there is another challenge now. I’ve made the body look fine, but now since I moved her armhole opening, I now need to make modifications on the sleeve shaping. She made it clear that she didn’t want no puffy sleeves. I need to think about the sleeve shaping and I have no experience about this at all and will just winging it.

Happy 4th.

Progress report from Sweden

Hi, my blog-name is Garngamen (Sigrid for real), (which means: The yarn volture, in Swedish). I actually started to knit this shrug almost immediately when the magazine came out, using yarn from stash, which is Debbi Bliss Maya, two strands of my Estonian 100% wool yarn in the two different shades, one in turqouise, and one in a slow transfer between purples and blue. The white yarn is also two strands of a Swedish spinnery called Mojärv. I have tried different edges, and fell for a mohair-blend, but having tried it, I'm not totally happy with it. Thinking of re-doing it. Also, I seem to have increased a bit uneven, which makes it a bit bubbly. Current progress is that I have knitted one sleeve, that I plan to frog, since it feels a bit too big. Problems comes from using different yarn size, and size of shrug. This pictures are from a while back, but I hoped this KAL could move my UFO into a WIP again! Anyway, Greetings from a summer -sunny Sweden.

Here's the start of my cocoon

I put it down a couple of month's ago since I didn't understand the instructions and; finally, I called my yarn store and asked for some assistance. It was an "ah" moment...just a lot of untangle of the 2 skeins I'm working with.

In addition, I substituted the solid color of Charcoal grey to a Douglas Fir green (I didn't want it to contrast so much).

I've finished!

I've finally finished AND learned to upload a photo (fingers crossed it's the right size)! The loopy mohair was thicker than the one specified and I think that's made it a little more "frilly" but I can live with this.
Although I added another round of the pattern to the sleeves for the small size, if I were doing it again, I'd make them longer. This pattern is difficult to measure exactly. All the same, I'm very pleased that this is now complete.

A Note about Sleeves

A tip for knitting the sleeves. Be careful of where you begin the round. I finished my first sleeve and pulled it undone the next day because the beginning of the round (and therefore the carrying of colour B) ended up along the middle of the outside of the sleeve.

I'm not sure exactly how to get the best placement for the beginning of the round and the only thing I can suggest is work out where you want it to be by holding the body of the shrug against you to see where this line would be.

A note of encouragement - the sleeves are a cinch once you've completed the body and that interminable border!

Woo hoo! Finished the body!

Ok, I'm so happy that I finished the body tonight that I'm tempted to pick up the stitches for the first sleeve. But, it's time to revel in my achievement and go to bed! It will be here in the morning.

Here's a photo of the entire body on the dining room table. I have more photos posted on my blog.

Argggggg!!!!!

Ok, so I got down to the last six rounds for the trim yarn today and I was very excited--I'll finish the body today! Yes, I held such high hopes until I started knitting with boucle yarn, double-stranded on size 8 needles, around the bottom of my hot air balloon. It was the longest six rounds of my life! I started the bind off, but only got one quarter around before I had to stop myself to go to bed. This is like the ultimate torture--so close, but...well, you know. And the worst part is--it looks really good! It's worth the hassle!

I should have update pics tomorrow night. I'm going to finish this part in the next 24 hours if it kills me.

Trim

Hi guys, I just wanted to check in.

I just started the trim and I'm excited about finishing the body of the sweater. I'm not knitting to any particular size recommended in the pattern. I am actually knitting this for a friend and I am knitting it to her exact measurements.

For the inner circle, I measured her back and made that the diameter of the inner circle. Then I left the waste yarn for the armhole. The outer diameter I get by measuring the entire bodice of my friend.

I hope this method works. There are just so many stitches on the needle that it's hard to get a good measurement.

I hope to have some photos soon. Right now I'm tied up with a commission project which I really need to get done. I'm knitting a scarf for Annie Modesitt for her up and coming book. So after that I'll continue on the shrug. Will keep you all posted. Happy Knitting.

Finished the Lapel Rnd Section

Ok, I've finished the 10 rounds for the lapel pattern change and I'm measuring out at about 36" diameter on the XL size. I have 56 stitches per section, and the pattern tells me I need to work the standard twist pattern now until I reach 67 stitches per section. I'm estimating that that will put me over the approximate 40" diameter. My gauge has been pretty consistent so far, so then the question is--do I stop when I hit 40" (guessing at about 63 stitches) or stop when I hit 67 stitches? Any thoughts?

Losing my mind...

Is it just me, or do you truly get tired of going around in circles as you approach the Lapel section?

Waiting For Yarn

Hi all,
I have also just joined this KAL. Unlike Kim I haven't started as yet. I live in Australia and have had to order the yarn from the US, so I have to wait. I am using the original colourway, very unadventurous I know but I haven't even seen this yarn before so it makes it really hard. In the meantime I have read the previous posts and taken note of all the hints about casting on etc. I have a blog here where I post every few days; not always knitting related. Any other Aussie knitters out there who are tackling this one??

Joining late

Hi, all!

I just joined the KAL for the shrug today, even though I've been working on this project on and off for the last two weeks. For my current progress (at the armholes), you can see my latest blog entries here. I'm going to be at a stopping point now, since I have to get a baby shower project done by June 17th, but I'm really looking forward to completing this project.