Posted timey-wimey-wise two months later.
I've been planning to make the Dana sweater from Interweave Crochet winter 2013 for over a year. I splurged last year on some Madeleinetosh Sock in Norway Spruce, which is blue with hints of green undertones. I would occasionally pet it, but I didn't really feel I could start it until I had finished the DC's waistcoat. That project was mostly done by the end of January, so I finally wound a ball (I've started making centre-pull balls and they are the best) and got started. I crocheted this mostly before, on the way to, during, and on the way home from my trip to Florida with Aged P. I kept trying to take breaks, but this pattern was kind of addictive and I wanted the sweater sooo much. My Ravelry notes are here.
I love this sweater – it's my new favourite. It's rather thick, but it drapes be-yew-tifully. A huge thumb-of-the-nose to those who thing crochet is ugly and stiff. That diagonal design is really pretty – it's made from alternating groups of front post and back post dc. This sweater very warm, so warm that I sort of wonder why the 3/4 sleeves. Of course I'm hoping for a few more cool days this spring so I can continue to wear it. Mmmm, merino.
Some quick notes about construction: it's crocheted not exactly in the round, but joined and turned. The main challenge was that when I started a new row, I had to retrain my brain where to stop and start the fpdc. My signature-crochet-a-mistake is a messed up diagonal near the bottom (I only noticed a few rows later and my mantra is only to rip out more than one row if it's a structure error). It's only 3 stitches, and I was thinking of fixing it with some embroidery later, but now I can't even find the mistake. So... nevermind! You heard nothing!
As usual, I didn't want it to be too long so I skipped rows 10-17 before the waist decreases. Doing the waist decreases and "maintaining" the pattern was interesting because I wanted to maintain at least one front post between groups of back posts. As per a suggestion on Ravelry, I crocheted the sleeves in the round, which saves a lot of seaming.
It's a slow pattern to crochet, but so worth it. The DC really likes it too, although I wish he hadn't said "Oh, if only that arm went in the same direction as the other so the diagonal went right across the sweater" because now I can't unsee that as a problem. All it would take is unsewing the sweater, turning it inside out, and resewing it. The question is, do I want to?
No, but then again, yes. Ugh.
The main cosmetic issue is that cowl. I did steam block it, but obviously I didn't do a great job because it should drape more and cover up that obvious seam. That colour blocking happened because of the variation in colour in each skein and, more importantly, because the cowl is crocheted with a larger hook and needs to be distributed over a large number of stitches. I'll sort it out somehow.
There is a bit of weirdness around the shoulders where the whole sweater tends to lift up a bit. I'm not sure a) why it's doing that and 2) how to fix it but cat) I'm not that fussed about it.
Sweater hug!
I wound up with nearly three full skeins of Tosh sock left over. I could take two of them back to Romni for credit, but I... don't want to. Is this how yarn stashes happen?
Next up in yarnland: I acquired a bunch of white sport-weight in the great clean-out last fall, so I'd like to make this cubist assymetrical cardigan. Then I need to make a new white lacey shrug for DEB; it might be this one with longer sleeves. I also want to make a spring green Luna sweater to replace a much loved but sadly discoloured RTW version.
Oh, and I really need to finish those socks. I should get right on that.
I've been planning to make the Dana sweater from Interweave Crochet winter 2013 for over a year. I splurged last year on some Madeleinetosh Sock in Norway Spruce, which is blue with hints of green undertones. I would occasionally pet it, but I didn't really feel I could start it until I had finished the DC's waistcoat. That project was mostly done by the end of January, so I finally wound a ball (I've started making centre-pull balls and they are the best) and got started. I crocheted this mostly before, on the way to, during, and on the way home from my trip to Florida with Aged P. I kept trying to take breaks, but this pattern was kind of addictive and I wanted the sweater sooo much. My Ravelry notes are here.
I love this sweater – it's my new favourite. It's rather thick, but it drapes be-yew-tifully. A huge thumb-of-the-nose to those who thing crochet is ugly and stiff. That diagonal design is really pretty – it's made from alternating groups of front post and back post dc. This sweater very warm, so warm that I sort of wonder why the 3/4 sleeves. Of course I'm hoping for a few more cool days this spring so I can continue to wear it. Mmmm, merino.
Some quick notes about construction: it's crocheted not exactly in the round, but joined and turned. The main challenge was that when I started a new row, I had to retrain my brain where to stop and start the fpdc. My signature-crochet-a-mistake is a messed up diagonal near the bottom (I only noticed a few rows later and my mantra is only to rip out more than one row if it's a structure error). It's only 3 stitches, and I was thinking of fixing it with some embroidery later, but now I can't even find the mistake. So... nevermind! You heard nothing!
As usual, I didn't want it to be too long so I skipped rows 10-17 before the waist decreases. Doing the waist decreases and "maintaining" the pattern was interesting because I wanted to maintain at least one front post between groups of back posts. As per a suggestion on Ravelry, I crocheted the sleeves in the round, which saves a lot of seaming.
It's a slow pattern to crochet, but so worth it. The DC really likes it too, although I wish he hadn't said "Oh, if only that arm went in the same direction as the other so the diagonal went right across the sweater" because now I can't unsee that as a problem. All it would take is unsewing the sweater, turning it inside out, and resewing it. The question is, do I want to?
No, but then again, yes. Ugh.
The main cosmetic issue is that cowl. I did steam block it, but obviously I didn't do a great job because it should drape more and cover up that obvious seam. That colour blocking happened because of the variation in colour in each skein and, more importantly, because the cowl is crocheted with a larger hook and needs to be distributed over a large number of stitches. I'll sort it out somehow.
There is a bit of weirdness around the shoulders where the whole sweater tends to lift up a bit. I'm not sure a) why it's doing that and 2) how to fix it but cat) I'm not that fussed about it.
Sweater hug!
I wound up with nearly three full skeins of Tosh sock left over. I could take two of them back to Romni for credit, but I... don't want to. Is this how yarn stashes happen?
Next up in yarnland: I acquired a bunch of white sport-weight in the great clean-out last fall, so I'd like to make this cubist assymetrical cardigan. Then I need to make a new white lacey shrug for DEB; it might be this one with longer sleeves. I also want to make a spring green Luna sweater to replace a much loved but sadly discoloured RTW version.
Oh, and I really need to finish those socks. I should get right on that.
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