Well, I did it. I knit myself a sweater. And I didn’t go completely batty with impatience, as I at one time thought that I might. And I even did it without making too many horrible mistakes. Two rather significant errors I made managed to cancel each other out, so no worries there.
I did end up ripping out the ruffle and re-doing it, but that only cost me a night of work, and given how badly I’d screwed it up at first was totally worth the effort.
I haven’t decided yet if I like it better with the shawl pin or without, but I think it can work both ways.
The details
Pattern: Lion Neck Cardigan from Wendy Bernard’s Custom Knits book
Modifications (aka Things I Screwed Up and Then Pretended I Meant to Do): Lack of proper swatching led me to knit the body in a smaller gauge than called for. Also, I misunderstood the directions and increased an extra 14 stitches on the back portion. Together, these two things evened each other out somewhat, although I probably would have gotten a better fit, if I hadn’t made either mistake.
I also left off the crochet ties and am wearing it either completely open, or held together with one of the shawl pins I made.
Yarn: Cascade Rustic (a wool/linen blend) in color 03, 4 skeins.
Needles: Size 11 40″ circulars for the body (should have used 13). Size 13 DPN’s for the sleeves. Size 13 40″ circulars for the ruffle.
I’ve been wearing it all morning and am happy with it. I’m especially happy that I didn’t end up using 2 of the skeins I bought, and so now my scary expensive sweater is just plain expensive. No more scary. Whew. Will I do this again? You bet. Maybe even the same pattern. And in the correct gauge, no less…
Wow! It’s gorgeous!!!
Thank you! I love the colors in this yarn.
Excellent color, and I love how the ruffle/pin combination looks together. And I’ve never successfully followed a pattern of any sort, so I’m always in awe of anyone who can and does.
.-= See Penny’s latest blog post: Burns Night =-.
I have to admit, it often takes a lot of internal coaxing before I will start a pattern – especially a complicated one – because I tend to find the process intimidating. Easier to just make up my own thing.
This is a good book, though, because it encourages trying on the garment as you go, and winging it as necessary 🙂
Beautiful sweater and give yourself a pat on the back for finishing it. You did a good job and are an inspiration for me to keep trying. I really like your shawl pins too.
Thank you! I got over the impatience factor when I realized I’d probably be sitting in front of the TV knitting *something* every night this month – why not make it one big thing? Maybe a little mind game like that will work for you 🙂
Looks great Lisa!!
Thanks, Connie, I’m happy with it 🙂
You’re beautiful, the sweater is beautiful, and I love the new header you put up.
You must be on top of the world right about now!
.-= See Kat’s latest blog post: Kitchen Litter (by Kat) =-.
Oh, aren’t you just too sweet! I do feel pretty good right now, thanks 🙂
Fabulous!!! And can you believe I was going to go through my patterns this evening to look for a sweater to knit???? A friend is coming over for her weekly knitting lesson, and I need a project to start.
Well, this one was pretty understandable, even for a newbie like me. There were a few things that I was confused by, but I was generally able to figure them out by looking for videos online to demonstrate the techniques.
Lisa you did an awesome job! I am very impressed. give yourself a pat on the back from me 😀
.-= See Kathi’s latest blog post: Bakersfield Clayathon!! =-.
lisa congrats! you did it! i did a little smile and dance for you. and to think you are willing to do it again. girl, you are ‘hooked’ hee heee
.-= See becky’s latest undefined post: If you register your site for free at =-.
Hee hee, I sure am!
You did great! congrats! it’s such a good feeling to finish something and like it 🙂
.-= See wendy’s latest blog post: failure is always an option – day 1 =-.
True, and hopefully after a little time passes, I won’t even notice some of those little niggling things I messed-up 😉
Thanks for sharing your knitted sweater photo, it looks nice on you. I always looking forward to make one for myself but no time.
I managed to squeeze this in with about an hour every night for a month, doing it when I would have been sitting around relaxing anyway. I’m normally much more of an instant gratification girl than that, but for some reason it didn’t bother me to take so long with it.
Hey! That’s really cute! That pattern caught my eye and I’ve been thinking about knitting it. Now that I see one made by a real live knitter I may dive in. It looks great on you!
.-= See Elizabeth’s latest blog post: Can’t blog. Knitting. =-.
Thanks! It’s not my usual style, but I like it and I’m glad I took a chance on it.
It’s really gorgeous – I love the colour! I am mighty tempted to knit one to go with my pin! 😀
.-= See Mousy Brown’s latest blog post: Saturday Crafternoon. =-.
Congratulations, Lisa, on completing your first knitted sweater! It looks so professionally done and beautiful that you’d never know it was your first one. Well done!
.-= See Karen’s latest blog post: Saturday Morning Tea =-.
It turned out fabulous! And it looks great with the shawl pin. One suggestion: try attaching the shawl pin about three inches lower at the fullest part of your bust to form a longer v-neckline. Unless you’re doing that for warmth, of course.
.-= See lsaspacey’s latest blog post: Inspire Me: Now Voyager =-.
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