Da Capo al fine

Actually, Da Capo is one-third fine. I bought the kit in Norway, where Hanne Falkenberg kits and knitting yarn generally are the only items for sale that are less expensive than in the States! The shop in Bergen where I bought the kit has made-up samples of almost all of the various designs so I got to try them on to see what would be flattering and appropriate.
BTW, does anyone else find it curious that a pattern that starts at the bottom is named Da Capo?

Ellen

Ballerina ...begins

Hi, I'm almost done with the first front of my Ballerina and have a question about guage...my swatches on 3.25 and 3.00 mm needles yielded 26.5 and 27 sts over 10cms. I decided to use the 3.25 needles and knit the M/L size (the larger of the 2 in HF's instructions). My guage is now 25.5 sts so I must have loosened up since doing the swatches....I now wear a size 16 jacket, but hope to get back to a size 14 soon.... Question for anyone who's completed this sweater...did you knit to guage? and how was the final fit compared to HF's schematic? I'll continue on the 3.25 needles and hope the jacket fits in the end...Thx!

New knitalong member

Hello, I am a very new knitalong participant, and a new knitter (actually I'm on my second try at knitting so I have knitted in the past but not for some years after having a stroke so it's like being a first time knitter again!) So why begin with a Hanne Falkenberg project since they are not the easiest of designs..... well I need to be interested enough to keep going and I love her style. I have so far begun Stella, a beret style hat, which itself looks complicated enough and my plan is to make that then progress to the Mermaid and Pygmalian jackets. I have been following all the posts about the Mermaid Has anyone made the Pygmalian jacket, is it knitted Domino style ? Your mermaid jackets all look wonderful, I love seeing the different colours and how the knitters look modelling them. I've begun a blog http://dropped-stitches.blogspot.com/ to record my venture into knitting and hope to post pictures of my work as it develops.

My Mermaid is finished

I am really happy with it and have enjoyed the knitting very much. Especially because of Amy's spreadsheet, thank you very much for sharing, Amy.

I made size M, the sleeves made without the last 10 stitches and it fits well.
I started with a provisionel cast on
and knitted the I-cord on afterwards.

I have rather a lot of yarn left: A 74 g, B 20 g and C 38 g. At the yarn shop
where I bought the kit, they said that yarn from Pulsen Design Tweed 300 could be used together with the yarn from Falkenberg. So perhaps I could knit something special. Maybe one of you have an idea what to do with what's left??

Almost done...

Now comes the hardest part, to put the finishing touches on the garment. I'm going to put a couple of buttons and maybe the same crochet edging at the bottom. I'm not sure yet, but the fun part is done.

The yarn I used is finger weight Egyptian Cotton by Blue Heron, hand dyed super soft and it feels great! This project took me 2 weeks, no sleeves and only one color so it went fast. Let me know what you think.



Next project will be a "cotton" Ballerina, same yarn in a different hue.

Posting for a member who can't join yet...

Here's a question that Natalie e-mailed me. She'll be joining after Becky gets back from her vacation and approves her. We've had some past discussions about the sizing, but perhaps people who have since finished have some inputs?

---------

I hope large is what I should be making. I'm short, but usually wear large sizes because of my bust and middle. I'm not sure of the bust size stated on the directions. Does this pattern already have built in ease? Meaning it will fit that bust size with enough room to spare for a person that size, or is that the actual finished bust measurement of the actual sweater?

Attention New Members

I will be out of the country from July 18-August 5. Feel free to send your emails requesting to join the knitalong, but I will not be able to send out your blogger invite allowing you to post until I get back. If you haven't heard from me by August 7 or so, send me another email since I know my inbox will be flooded and your message might get lost in junk mail.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

-Becky

Mermaid Spreadsheet Update v0.91

I just wanted to let everyone know what the latest version of the Mermaid spreadsheet was. I updated it last month and sent it out to my list of recipients (I've sent it to 122 people so far!). If you're new to the knitalong or to Mermaid, I've written a row-by-row spreadsheet for the medium size. If you want a copy, e-mail me and I'll respond with a challenge question to verify that you own the pattern. The spreadsheet is available in Excel and PDF formats, please specify which you prefer. I usually respond rather quickly, but have had some delays recently.

Myself, I'm just about finished with the body (after finishing once and noticing a change in gauge and having to rip it back). It's resting right now while I work on some socks and contemplate doing a summer top or two. But someday I'll work those sleeve instructions and test them out too!

Finished!

Custom Frances colorway:



Back with just a little Coral:



One-day sleeve:


I can't say I enjoyed wearing this for pictures today. It's hot! Definitely not the time for a wool jacket.
Finishing this was hard, once I realized I messed up the colors, I really lost steam. Now that it's done, though, I'm thrilled. I even mostly enjoyed making this. I knitted the second sleeve in just over one day. I wanted it done!

Things I learned in this project:
1. I-cord should be knitted with size 7 or 8 needles.
2. Begin knitting the body several ridges into the stripes, and when the body is finished and sewed up, knit the remaining 6 stripes and main color on as the collar to avoid a seam at the back of the neck.
3. No matter how badly you mess this up, you can recover.
4. Skip the slip stitches at the top of the garment (i.e. sleeve caps, collar). I ran this thing through my sewing machine, and was better able to match the ridges along the shoulder than when I tried hand sewing it. Because the slipped stitches were there, I had to have a larger seam allowance. This means I knitted two or three stitches per row for nothing. Ditto for the sleeves. Machine sewing with tiny seam allowances would have been fine with me.
5. I took the advice of others and shortened the sleeves by knitting-on 10 fewer stitches than the directions called for for the small. I'm happy with the length. Just be sure to make note of that on your pattern so that when you do short rows on the second half of the sleeve, you start at the right stitch.

Progress Report on another version of Mermaid

This is a wonderful knit, I just love the yarn, 100% cotton fingering weight. Actually sock yarn.

I'm looking forward to finishing this one I really like the electric blue.

One-Armed Hanne

One sleeve done. I really hate knitting sleeves. I will admit that in the past with most garments I've knitted the sleeves first so as to avoid this dreaded part. Once I sat down to do this, it actually went pretty quickly. I'd put off beginning a sleeve and knitted 1.7 blankets while the Mermaid languished. You can see in the right of the picture the remaining Rowan Denim that's part of the log cabin blanket I've almost finished. It's been nice to go back and forth between size 2 needles and size 8s!

Finished a Modified Mermaid

No sleeves, some modifications, made of 100% cotton, delightfully soft and comfy. It turned out well.

Progress post and thanks

Hi, all! I've been following this knitalong for quite a while, and I appreciate everyone posting about the problems they've had. I used a provisional cast-on to avoid being surprised by the "my i-cord is too short" problem later on in the process (especially in blocking!). The directions aren't unclear, but aren't well-written, so I'm avoiding anything irrevocable like cutting yarn until I finish. I found it interesting how the small size is proportionally more shapely than the medium size. As I read the directions, I've noticed that in most places, the small size has as much shaping as the medium, though it's not as large.

Anyway, this isn't a quick knit, but it's a lot easier than I expected, so it's been very relaxing.

Great News

Look - My Ballerina is blocking and she's almost done.



I am so glad that I did it this way. Now that I have blocked her I can see that I only need a neat little edging on the cuff of about 5 ridges. If I had followed the pattern to the letter and done 13 ridges - it would have been waaaaaay too long. So thank you ladies for your input. I can't wait to get this baby finished and handed over to my Mum - I hope she really likes it, this has been a cathartic knit for me. I started it when I moved to Oman - knitted it whilst I was pregnant - knitted it after I lost my twins at 15 weeks and it has really seen me through my emotional and physical recovery. I means a lot to me and so I hope it means a lot to my Mum and it is something she will wear and think of me.

I'll try to post a picture of my Mum wearing it if I can get her to pose in it for long enough !

Thanks again ladies - you have all been of great help to me.

Started my Mermaid

I got my kit a couple of weeks ago but had to finish another project. A "Twisted Sister" pattern that looks very suspiciously similar Hanne's DACAPO Actually not really similar but it looks exactly like but what do I know.Either way I love the pattern and have knitted it a couple of times, this one is rayon/cotton/wool mix light weight for the cool summer evenings.

At last I can start my Mermaid, I got it from CucumberPatch and the colors are #2 Spring Green/Disty Green/Green Lovat



First off the colors look totally different in person than on my computer or for that matter the color photograph they sent me in the kit. I happen to like green and I'm not that fussy about shades of green so I'm pleased. The second problem I had was trying to figure out which ball was which green, they are very close. I may be a little slow but just a little tiny label telling me which ball is called Dusty Green vs. Green Lovat or Spring Green would have helped. But I guess I managed to figure it out.

Then the iCord! Shish! First I thought I would knit it on my machine which is the easiest way, nope the gauge was just not right, then I tried my hand held gadget "Embellish Knit" which is great but the gauge was just not right on this one either. Then I bit the bullet and knitted it by hand, the pattern tells me to use a half size larger needle, so I did size 3 1/2 but the gauge was just not right on that one either so far this is the third iCord and picking up 181 sts.

I did a gauge each time on a few rows but that just did not give me the true gauge it looked right 20 or so rows but when I did the 181 sts it puckered. Fourth try was the charmer, I used size 5 dp needles and hand knitted all 181 or so rows of iCord and picked up the 181 sts! At last the right gauge no puckering looks nice and straight.

Then I had to make peace with the "wrong side" front. I guess she had to decide where to make the wrong side up by the neck or down at the bottom. I am now at peace with this it took a bit of getting used to but you really can't tell.

So far so good, the pattern seems a bit easier than the first Hanne Falkenberg project the Ballerina I knit a few months ago. The instructions seem to be a little better or maybe I have experience with her style of pattern writing. I will post the progress.

I can tell I will love this sweater......

So I'm knitting along and the piece is getting bigger and bigger, resting in my lap...you guessed it ... it's HOT....wool ...it's the first day of summer and it is warm. I can't knit a wool sweater in this heat! So I decided to make a cottom version, no stripes just the shape..I call it "the Parrot" because of the colors.

All cotton in this lovely rusty multi color. The gauge is about the same as the Hanne wool but it's cotton and light weight. This is a great knit! I love knitting it especially skipping the stripes. I think I'm only going to make a vest, no sleeves, I'll post pictures as I progress....

Hanne Hindenburg?

Well after a two week delay, I've finished the body. The delay came when I ran out of red yarn because I've been knitting with the wrong colors. Jennie was kind enough to point that out to me. However, I very much like the color combination I accidently invented. I'm more a red than a pink person. So, I had to figure out how to get more yarn. I know that this is Shetland yarn, and I know from Ana that HF does not sell extra yarn, so I went to Schoolhouse Press which sells Shetland in the same weight. I ordered two each of several reds, and one was pretty dang close.
I also decided that I don't care for the knitted-into i-cord on one side, so I cut out the beginning, and did an i-cord bind off all around the collar after I sewed it together. I sewed this thing up by hand, and I didn't care for it, so I ran it through my sewing machine, and I'm happy. The ridges match up well. If I were to do this again (which I will for what this pattern cost me!) I would knit the body beginning in the first few color ridges, sew it up, and then knit the entire collar on to avoid the seam on the neck. All in all, save the two weeks I stopped breathing, I've enjoyed this project.

Hanne Falkenberg Knitalong

Hanne Falkenberg Knitalong
well, i have finely got up the nerve to start my mermaid. after finishing a few other things i had on the needles, its time to take the plundge.thank you amy for the spread sheet its what i needed to really get me going. wish me luck
happy knitting
Trude

Amy's spreadsheet....

Amy your spreadsheet for the Mermaid is Brilliant! Thank you for sharing it with us. I only wish I had one for the Ballerina when I was knitting it. The version I wrote out is nowhere near what you did for the Mermaid. I think all patterns should be done in a spreadsheet it makes following directions so easy.

Thanks again.

Blocking my Ballerina

I thought I'd ask a little bit of adivce from you ladies. I have nearly finished my Ballerina now and am getting ready to block her. I was wondering - do you think I should block her first and then do the cuffs or should I do the cuffs first and then block her - I'm a little worried that if I knit the cuffs first and then block her the sleeves will end up too long as I won't know how much she will grow and therefore what the finished sleeve length should be before blocking - am I making sense ?! I don't want the sleeves to be way too long, so should I block her and then add the cuffs and hope they don't grow too much after knitting ? What do you think.

Becky

Hanne Falkenberg Knitalong

Hanne Falkenberg Knitalong
Woo!!! woo!!! I am finished with the Mermaid. Too late to wear it in CT this season but it gives me something to look forward to this fall! thanks to amy's spread sheet I has few problems completing the project and it seemed to go fasted than I expected. I will post a picture when my son returns from China with the digital camera. I have to say this is the first sweater my family has loved and oohed over. A friend wants me to make he one but I have Pagode in my next to knit list. Has anyone on this list made Pagode yet? I am in he middle of a Twisted Sister's pattern in cotton (mitered stripes) and the cotton is killing my hands. I hope to get it finished soon so I can begin the Pagode.