Saturday, January 9, 2010

{Blocking}

The Climbing Vines Pullover is complete and now it's blocking:

bad bedroom overhead lighting. lol

I have to say that I'm not *thrilled* with it. It's quite a bit big on me, which I think was maybe a poor choice of size more than my gauge. I think just because of the shape I am it's going to be hard for me to find a regular pattern with the hip to waist ratio that I need, just like it's difficult for me to find clothes in stores that fit me nice.

I'm not happy with how the shoulders sit either, they're pretty bulky. I used the back-stitch to do all the finishing and maybe I just didn't fit the shoulders just perfect.

There are some things I like about it though. First of all, it's my first big completed project! I learned a ton of new techniques with this project - mostly finishing kind of stuff. I also got to do shaping work, like at the shoulders, while following the chart for the leaf pattern. That was a little tricky and I think I pulled it off okay. I also get to use my new blocking mat! hehe

So it's laying there sorta scrunched in, hoping that the 25% wool will pull it a bit smaller so it fits better. :) I'll have a pic of me in it for you tomorrow once Mr. Pie is home in the daylight.

2 comments:

  1. I think it looks really nice! And remember, if you want a sweater to fit slightly snug, sometimes it's best to knit a size or two down (negative ease), because the measurements are what the sweater will be like unstretched. Knitting with a yarn with wool content as you did means that it should stretch nicely, so you should be able to block it out to fit you better, for example pulling it out in the parts that look too small and in at the parts that look too big. Blocking fixes many problems, and you may be able to block it to hang longer but fit you snugger around the top.
    Regardless, though, it looks really nice and I think it's a great first effort! I decided to knit my first sweater a few years ago with a cheap acrylic (thinking as you did that I didn't want to waste good yarn on something that might not turn out well), and it in fact turned out horribly because of the bad yarn I used! Lesson learned--use nice yarn no matter what, and it will always turn out better.
    I'm anxious to see it on you. I think you'll probably like it better on, anyway. Good luck! It's beautiful!

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  2. It looks gorgeous on the blocking mat! And if it doesn't fit properly, maybe you could try to wash it in a bit hotter water? That might shrink the wool further. But it will be really exciting to see it on you tomorrow! And it seems like you have the same body type as I do, with slim waist (well, mine used to be slim anyway :) and lots of curves. It's so hard to find clothes that fit!

    Oh, and btw, Anna is coming here tomorrow, so I'll transfer the money to you then, ok?!

    Hugs / Jenny

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