Back so soon?

It was really heartening to get comments on my last blog entry...very reassuring to know that my readership (such as it is) didn't give up on me entirely. :) Thanks, guys!

Moon Torbett had some great suggestions. I don't know how practical it is to keep the camera in my knitting bag, but then again, I'm the only one in my house who ever uses it, so maybe doing that is not such a big deal. Also, this would provide an actual spot for the camera to live in, which would certainly help me to find it when I need it. :) An even better suggestion, though, was her routine of doing a major progress summary on weekends so that any posts during the week can be "free form sans guilt". Brilliant! That totally sounds like it would work for me. Thank you!

Thanks also to the ever-lovely Carrie K, who complimented my daughter's shrug and my modifications to it. And speaking of which...

Modifications I made to the "I Do" shrug pattern to fit my six-year-old

Measurements of said six-year-old:

• upper arm width: 6 5/8”
• wrist to wrist, arms extended: 32”
• shoulder to shoulder: 11.5”
• arm length to wrist from top of shoulder: 14”
• arm length to wrist from armpit: 11.75”

Substitutions:

• Yarn weight: laceweight instead of worsted/aran
• Needle size: 3mm instead of 4.5mm

With these substitutions, gauge should be: one repeat of the pattern is 2" wide and 2 5/16" tall (after blocking).

Pattern modifications:

Right Side

Sleeve: Wrist to Elbow

*CO 60 sts instead of the number which the pattern calls for, but placing markers and joining in the round as the pattern instructs (unless you are crazy like me and don't usually bother with marking for repeats).

Beg with row 10, work in Circular Pattern, decreasing 1 st in last repeat on 2 out of every 3 rounds (i.e. no decrease in row 1, decrease in row 2, decrease in row 3, no decrease in row 4, decrease in row 5, decrease in row 6...and so on) until 36 sts rem. 36 rounds have been worked.

Work 9 more rounds in Circular Pattern without further shaping. 2.5 full 18-row repeats have been worked.

Sleeve: Elbow to Shoulder

Round 1: Work Row 1 of Circular Pattern. Place a new marker on right needle, m1.
Rounds 2-49: Continue working in Circular Pattern, increasing 1 st between final set of markers every 16 rounds (i.e. Rounds 17, 33 and 49).
Round 50: Work next row of Circular Pattern without shaping.
Rounds 51-52: Continue working in Circular Pattern as set, increasing 1 st between final set of markers each round. 42 sts.
Round 53: Work next row of Circular Pattern. Place a new marker on right needle, m1.
Round 54: Work next row of Circular Pattern, increasing 1 st between final set of markers.
Rounds 55-59: Continue working in Circular Pattern as set, increasing 2 sts between final set of markers. 54 sts.*

Shoulder and Back

Round 60: Work row 6 of Circular Pattern as set throughout the round until 6 sts rem, then work last 6 sts in pattern as closely as possible without reducing the total number of sts on the needle, m1, turn. 55 sts.
Piece will now be worked back and forth (Flat Pattern).
Next row (WS): K1, work 6 sts in pattern as closely as possible without reducing the total number of sts on the needle, then repeat row 7 of Flat Pattern to end, m1. 56 sts.
Keeping edge sts in garter st, and working the "orphan" 6 sts (at end on RS rows, at beginning on WS rows) in pattern as closely as possible without reducing the total number of sts on the needle, repeat Flat Pattern as needed until back measures 5.75", ending with a Row 2 or 11 of Flat Pattern. Place all sts on a holder.

Left Side

Sleeve

Work from * to * as for right sleeve, EXCEPT work increase and decrease sections at beg of round instead of end of round.

Round 60: P6, [P3tog, p4, YO, P1, YO, P4] until end of row, m1, turn. Piece will now be worked back and forth (Flat Pattern). 55 sts.
Next row (WS): K1, work Row 7 of Flat Pattern until 6 sts rem, then work last 6 sts in pattern as closely as possible without reducing the total number of sts on the needle, m1. 56 sts.
Keeping edge sts in garter st, and working the "orphan" 6 sts (at beginning on RS rows, at end on WS rows) in pattern as closely as possible without reducing the total number of sts on the needle, repeat Flat Pattern as needed until back measures 5.75", ending with a Row 2 or 11 of Flat Pattern. Place all sts on a holder.

Finishing

Follow pattern instructions. (Be sure to block well for the width of the sleeves - total circumference around the elbow should be about 6".) Once done, thread a ribbon through the outside of the opening for the body as a drawstring - this can be pulled snugly when worn to ensure a good fit and that the shrug stays on. (And also so that it looks pretty darn fancy!)

I think that's all correct. Warning, though: I'm just copying from the modification notes I made, I haven't tested them or anything to double-check that it will all work properly. I can tell you, though, that following my own instructions gave me a shrug that was a little too wide across her shoulders (thank heavens for the ribbon; having a drawstring saved everything), so perhaps working each back to about 5.25" instead of 5.75" might be a better idea? YMMV.

And now, more updates...

Fjalar for moi

When last we saw this project, I was close to finishing the body and starting the sewing up. That all went well...until it was together enough to try on and I discovered that certain parts of the sweater were waaaay too big. The sleeves extended past the tips of my fingers, and the body was way too long.

Fortunately, there were long stretches of straight stocking stitch without any shaping on both sleeves and body, so the fix was really simple - just annoying to do. I figured out how much reduction I wanted to do, and placed stitches on holders at both the top of the section I was going to get rid of, and the bottom. I then snipped and frogged in between these two spots, then grafted the two sections back together again. Obviously this had to be done three times - once for each sleeve, and then for the body.

Unfortunately, I think I ripped back a little too far for the sleeves. When the cold weather comes round again I might add a half-inch or an inch back to each sleeve to make it perfect, but for now, I'm ignoring it. The sweater turned out pretty well, I think:


front


back


'in action'

I completed it at the beginning of April juuust as the weather started to get warm (of course, thank you ever so much, Murphy, you prick). I think my MIL would have been pleased.