October (Surprise!) Raglan

Remember how I told you how excited I was to be planning my first sweater in two years? And how it would be nice to make a sweater for my non-pregnant, soon to be non-nursing self? With wonderful merino I bought at a WEBS cone sale for $5/lb? This will not end well, my friends...

I decided I wanted a comfortable, hourglass shaped raglan for the winter. Minor problem? I don't have an hourglass body shape; it's pretty much a curve-free shape, in fact. I didn't think that would matter so much because I wasn't creating a tightly fitted garment, just a roomy weekend sweater. I sat down with my calculator and tape measure to work out the shaping and cast on shortly thereafter.

You see where this is going, don't you? Aaron says the sweater looks like a bell on me. I wanted a sweater for my not pregnant body and I created and knit a sweater that would only fit my pregnant body. *sigh* I'm not exaggerating either. I would show you the picture of me wearing it with a pillow stuffed inside but people, I can't have something that ridiculous looking sitting in my archives forever, can I??? You understand. Seriously, hip shaping for someone without hips? What was I thinking? My hips grew in pregnancy but really, we're talking an inch at best. As far as I'm concerned, that's not even worthy of shaping. I feel so stupid. I'm going to pack this in with the maternity clothes for the next round.

Pattern aside, I've been meaning to tell you about this yarn! I bought several pounds of it a few years ago for an aran sweater for Aaron. (heh) It was still in spinning oil but promised to soften up quite a bit upon washing. I can't say the knitting was enjoyable but it certainly wasn't bad. I was amazed at how my swatch softened and bloomed in the wash. I don't know if you can see the difference here but the swatch is nice and soft while the sleeves are greasy and have some funny stitch definition.

Juno blogged about a similar experience with WEBS coned yarns a few weeks ago, although she lost some important yardage in the wash.

I still haven't washed my new maternity sweater yet because I think I'm going to redo the cuffs to add a hem. When it's really done, you'll get FO pics.

In the meantime, I still need a sweater! I cast on for Kate Gilbert's Sunrise Circle Jacket, which is free from Interweave. I'm using Skye Tweed in Heath that I bought at the WEBS summer sale just like Tiennie, Nova and Katy (did I leave anyone out?) It was $3.29/ball and I've lusted after Jared's Skye Tweed creations for ages so I jumped at the opportunity. Skye Tweed is far more scratchy than I expected. While I love the finished look, I must say that it squeaks like acrylic and smells a little funny.

Row gauge is CRITICAL with this garment and I've had trouble making it quite to 7 rows/inch. I knit the sleeve in the round and made 6.5 but flat knitting gets me 5.75-6 so I'm not sure how I'll work it out for the front sections. Anyone else experience this problem?