Saturday, September 6, 2014

I Suppose I Should Get On That

By some miracle, I may finish the Die Cut Vest today. I'll forgive you for not being able to remember what it looks like, so long has it been since last I mentioned it:

Die Cut Vest by Sara Morris
There's no point in my providing deets about it till after it's done and blocked. It's one of those things about which one cannot determine final fit till it's entirely complete.

I will say that it shouldn't take anyone more than a month to knit, ahem.

I tried to knit as is, but I ended up making a zillion fitting changes, not least of which because finding gauge was like catching a unicorn in mid-flight:


What that crazy piece of paper shows, in the bottom quarter, is how the vest is knit from side to side, in case you find it tricky to envision. The orange box denotes the back garment.

In case you're curious about my other project in-process, the never-ending Karner Wrap: It's never-ending. No joke, around the time I went to visit Andrea, I had 50 grams of yarn (or should we call it what it is: thread) on the skein. I knitted for hours. Hours. And at the ends I still had 50 grams (ok, 49g). The wrap is growing inches, but the ball of yarn is no farther along. That's what you get for knitting with thread. I'll just have to keep going at this for a few hours at a time, sporadically, and one day it will be complete!

But today's question is, what should I knit next?

I'm really not in it for the fitting. I'm so sick of fitting right now (it's like I'm saturated and I just want to knit - or sew, for that matter - without having to put on my fancy math hat)...

Of course, in the spring I stashed up and, none of the 8 zillion skeins I currently own would optimally work to make any of these:

Gradient Pullover by Amy Miller
This one's an oldie but goodie. Very simple and eye-catching. Mind you, I'd have to restock at least 2 colours of yarn to do this in a 4-colour gradient and I'm not sure I care to buy more yarn only to use half of my stash of 2 other colourways. It'll leave me with a nebulous amount of yarn.

One-Sided Raglan by Cathy Carron
And here's the back...


Thing is, there are only a couple of finished versions on Ravelry, and I do tend to stay away from the sweaters that aren't well-documented by others. I don't feel the need to be the guinea pig...

There's also this one:

Hourglass Throw by Anne Hanson
I do appreciate Ms. Hanson's designs and her patterns. Alas, this blanket would cost a fortune in Brooklyn Tweed yarn. It looks impossible but apparently (and I trust the BT scale) it's only a 2 out of 5 in terms of difficulty. At my current pace, however, it could take all winter. And it's not particularly transportable.

I appear to be finding flaws with everything. I do have another batch I'm considering too, but let's start with these.

Thoughts on whether I should make the Hourglass, Gradient or One-Sided Raglan? Let's talk.

16 comments:

  1. That raglan one is stunning! Though my brain is having trouble seeing the back and front as one sweater. They seem really different. I say choose a project that won't take forever!

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    1. They do seem really different. Which kind of concerns me.

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  2. I'm kind of fascinated by the raglan. It's definitely an interesting and somewhat unique design.

    I know what you mean about Brooklyn Tweed. I'm about to cast on the Umaro throw blanket, and it would just be too expensive to use their yarn for it.

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    1. I know! And that yarn is perfect for a blanket. If only one's blanket didn't have to cost in the hundreds. It's hard to make that commitment when you don't know how the finished object's going to be.

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  3. I love the one-sided raglan! Now it'd look stupid on me, because narrow sloping shoulders are not really compatible with raglan. But it's so interesting. And I don't think it'd need a huge amount of fitting, the front is actually just a tube, maybe just a bit of bust shaping? Don't buy more yarn for the gradient, don't embark onto an all-winter not-portable project, eeck. Really, the raglan is your best bet :-). Congratulations on the almost-finished vest!

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    1. Well, I too have fairly narrow, sloping shoulders so I'm on the fence from that perspective. Thanks for the congrats on the vest. Dare I suggest you read my next post. At that point you'll be giving me positive vibes :-)

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  4. Hmm, and here I am coming to recommend running far, far away from the raglan...

    (On the "model" it looks like there is a gratuitous amount of boob under the sweater. What would it do to a real human's body? Add the wonky hem/difficulty reconciling the front and back as 1, and it appears to be a train wreck in the making. The color, though? Gorgeous!)

    I agree re: the beauty and challenge of an Anne Hanson pattern. As far as stash usage, the pattern as designed uses Cascade 220 and is a very classic and flattering style - darker/recessed areas heading in the right direction on my mom bod!

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    1. OK, I am def taking your perspective into consideration. I actually think it's unlikely I'll make this one next. There are too many variables and not enough people have made it. So there's no way to know what it will look like on a cross section of people.

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  5. The second one! That's the one I vote for. It's got very interesting design details and it would give you an excuse to buy a funky shawl pin from Americo, no?

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    1. Ha! You and Erin are on totally different pages. I have to go get a shawl pin for the Die Cut - presuming I can fix the fucker. (See next post.)

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  6. Wow, I see I am the ONLY one pulling for the color-blocked one (Gradient). But I think it just looks so fun and satisfying to knit. The color selection itself would be a pleasure. And I suspect it would likely be a flattering and compliment-getting finished product. But that's just me (and me alone, it appears)!

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    1. No, I am with you wholeheartedly! Chic, classy, also trendy, flattering.

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  7. Genieve you are not the only one! Gradient pullover for the win!

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    1. It's still on my radar, just not for this time. I really don't want to have to fit something from scratch...

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