Yarn coming for Studio short

Well, I've finally ordered yarn (New England Shetland) from Harrisburg Designs for my Studio short sweater. Originally ordered some Brown Sheep Cotton from JK Needles and it never arrived! I went with a teal blue and a dark green. Sure hope it will look o.k. as I imagine it will take awhile to knit the sweater. Am looking forward to sharing my progress with you all. Guess it will probably take a couple of weeks to get the yarn. Can't wait to get started!

Can't Wait to Become a Mermaid

Hello,
I have lusted after this sweater for a very long time. I am bound and determined to start my sweater the first of the year. Your sweaters are beautiful and I look forward to posting pics of progress and continuing to be awed by all yours.

Cheryl

Mermaid #3

I started Mermaid Number 3 today. I hope it will be loved and worn! I'm doing the sleeves first, so hopefully I don't get hit so terribly by the second sleeve syndrome. Anything to fool myself, eh?

I'm still thinking on the collar, as it flattens out instead of staying rolled over. Tacking it down in a few places? Ideas anyone? I don't seem to be the only one with this problem, as several pictures show. I've also wondered about making it wider.

tinking

boo hoo, I just ripped an entire Diva sleeve because I had misread the pattern. I feel so stupid, the sleeve is probably the most simple part of this project. grmbl.

Progress on Pagode

I have been continuing to (mindlessly) knit on Pagode in colorway #1. I have completed the second front/sleeve, and am getting close to a third-of-the-way done on the back. So far, I think I will have enough yarn of all colors, but am planning to do the pocket linings with whatever is left if the navy blue runs out.

More pictures on my blog, randomthreads.com

Mermaid #2

This one is DONE! Well, I need to wait until the clasps get here to sew them on, but otherwise, I'm calling it done. Less than a month from start to finish.

Yesterday was NOT a good day for my brain. I realized that I not only will be short of the lighter blue for Kim's sweater, I can't figure out if I have enough natural (cream) for her sweater either! You see, when I purchased the 2 cones of yarn, they were totaled into one lump sum of 23.2 ounces on the sales receipt. I didn't weigh to see how much each one weighed before I started knitting. As far as I know, Brown Sheep Naturespun doesn't come on any size other than 1 pound cones. I do know there was more of the natural than the winter blue. The problem also comes in that I can't get the totals to match what I started with, what I used, and what I have left (this is where it makes my head hurt!)

My scale here at home says the sweater weighs 1.3 pounds, which is about 20.8 ounces. I know I used at the most 4.5 ounces of the dark blue (that one is easy to figure out, 2 complete 1.75 ounce skeins, and a little bit of the next.) That leaves 16.3 ounces left for the light blue and cream. The kicker? I have 11.6 ounces of the coned yarn left. Do you see my problem here? It does not compute. According to that, I would have purchased about 28 ounces originally. I've no clue. Perhaps my scale isn't as accurate as I think? New batteries?

So, how much yarn do I actually NEED for the sweater? How the heck would I know!

I finally finished

I completed Mermaid last week, and I'm very happy with it! My sleeves turned out a little strange--I may have misread the instructions because they weren't symmetrical. But I was able to hide that in the seaming. Otherwise no big mishaps, it just took me a while to get going on this.



More pictures and notes are on my blog.

Mermaid Sleeve Variation

Instead of garter stitch with one slipped stitch at the bottom of the sleeves, I decided to make the edge of the sleeves match the bottom of the jacket. Here is what it looks like, I think it is dressier than the one Ms. Falkenberg calls for.

I've also stopped making the 3 stitch slip stitch edge at the top of the jacket and sleeves. Instead, I've been slipping the last stitch on the wrong side with yarn in front. I think slipping a stitch every other row makes a stronger edge for the shoulders.

More Diva

So, the left side is finished.
Maybe I will have to have a short break from Diva, since I have a lot of different projects, that should be done by Christmas.

Mermaid with Curry accents

Here is my first Mermaid. It is #10 with Curry or greenish gold. I used the provisional cast-on and the applied i-cord technique. Amy's spreadsheet was very helpful. This project was three months of enjoyable knitting. I appreciate all of the compliments I received while shopping at the Market during Stitches East on Saturday. There were sample Mermaids at one booth: #6 Greys and Dusty Rose plus #9 Coral, Orange, and Tomato. Tempting...

Mermaid Pictures

My finished Mermaid. I love it, and have received so many compliments when I wear it.







My next Mermaid! I told you I loved working on this pattern! This one is for my daughter. She wants the sleeves the same color as the gussets, as I did mine. My daughter-in-law wants one too, in the same colors. I think I'll see how much I have left over when done with the first and decide then which color will be A, B or C!

Pagode underway

After an eight month rest, I've started on my Pagode #1 again, and with a week of dedicated work, have finished the right front. Pagode is a pretty mindless pattern, just miles of garter with a couple of spots where you decrease on the right sides, and then do some sleeve decreases. The thin white line is where I put my to-be pocket stitches on dental floss as a stitch holder until I get to knitting the pocket linings.

More photos on my blog, randomthreads.com.

Diva on her way

I have finished the stripy part, and will now go on with the blue part.

Mermaid finished! Another Tip.

My Mermaid is finished. I had such a good time, I want to make another immediately! I'll post pictures when I can, we're away from home. I think I need some kind of closure for it, though, whether hook and eye, button or a pin.

A hint for the short rows. On the rows where it says to knit X number of stitches less than the last row, knit to where you turn, then count the correct number of stitches for the next row and place a marker. Next row knit to the marker and turn, moving the marker to the next turning point. It made it a lot easier for me, as I didn't run into surprises as I knit past where I needed to be.

Mary

Mermaid Body

I've finished with the main part of the body of my Mermaid. Still need to sew it together and do the i-cord finish. It is drying on the floor in the kitchen at the moment. I even washed it with the knitting needle in, holding all of the stitches!


I tried sewing up a shoulder last night, and wasn't happy with the results. I'm going to check the archives for hints. I think Ms. Falkenberg has the slipped stitch edge at the shoulder to make a firmer fabric, but it doesn't seem to lead to easier sewing!

As you can see, I got it sewed up, I used my handy dandy sewing machine. Think it looks pretty good.

After lots of talking with a friend, I've decided to do the sleeves in the C color, with A or B for the center stripe. The center stripe hasn't been decided yet. My main reason is that the A yarn, while it is wonderful after washing, resembles cotton while knitting. It doesn't knit as easily as the wool. I really struggled to get through the last band. Part of it was the "I'm almost done, why am I not FINISHED!" feeling, but part was fighting with the needle and yarn.

Da Capo is Fine, Finally

Da Capo is finished in time for my trip to New York. It is still much too warm to wear it in Tallahassee. I had no trouble with the instructions, but it was a good thing I was forewarned to read them carefully. That being the case, I ripped out less on this project than most.

You can see from the picture that the small sweater with shorter sleeves, knit on #2 needles (instead of #3 as the pattern indicates) is very roomy.

Happy Falkenberging to you all.

Ellen

Diva - finished triangle

I have now finished the 26 green stripes it takes to make size small:

Beginner Mermaid

Greetings from Chicago! I'm finally getting started on the Mermaid kit I purchased at Stitches Midwest this past August.

Although I've been knitting for several years and have been proficient in knitting lace, cables, and socks, I haven't been very successful with colorwork. I know Mermaid doesn't involve any fancy colorwork, but I am getting a bit nervous as I approach the first stripes.

Finding this KAL has already been a big help as I picked up lots of tips from those of you who have already been working away. I started with a provisional cast on instead of the iCord. And, I'm immensely grateful to Amy for creating such a detailed spreadsheet of the instructions. The spreadsheet is making it a breeze to work on Mermaid!

No photos yet, since there isn't really much to show. But I will post my progress here and on my personal blog as my work progresses.

I hope I can finish my Mermaid before the end of winter!

Linda

Almost there...

I've been following along on this knitalong for quite some time now but have yet to post. I just finished up the body of my Mermaid--it took me forever to do the first half but once I got the hang of the pattern (and devoted more time to it!) the second half went much faster.


I did a provisional cast on since several people on here recommended it, and I'm glad that I did. Much easier for me to do two icord bind offs than pick up all those stitches!

Ballerina Middle

Well, school and other adult responsibilities have really hindered my effort to complete this in under one month. I think by Friday I will be to the half way point in any event. After the initial SNAFU with the beginning section, it has been smooth sailing. I think I particularly like this project since the sleeves are knit as I go, so I don't have to suffer through making those at the end. I like this pattern a lot, though I can see that it will want to slip back since it's already so heavy in the back.