Alas, to block

Ester is blocking.

I'd been putting it off - stalled a little. Then I found Eunny's tutorial. Check it out.

She's the first item I've actually ever blocked and I'm totally ecstatic. Loved laying it all out. I may even have gone a little "pin-happy" but better safe than sorry.


Also watching a hand carved scarf pin on Ebay - if the stars align it will be mine.

Next stop - mattress stitch.

Sewing Question

No longer gawky, Ester is blocking and the measurements look fine. This is an XL, and I'm dubious about the armholes and chest. But, patience leads to answers.

So which sewing stitch will you be using? And how did you come to that determination? Being my first non-scarf or hat, your thoughts on the best stitch to use would be appreciated.

11 Rows Left!

Only had to drop stitches twice to recross cables. Not too bad. Loving everyone's photos. I'm wondering which grandmother will actually be getting this due to the same size concerns. But, still blocking to come....

Making an Executive Decision...

All of the talk about the sizing problem is getting to me. I am really looking forward to this being my first sweater for me, and so, I'm going to rip and cast on again for a larger size. My gauge swatch was right on, but like others have mentioned, I'm only measuring 15" for the width of the back instead of 17" for the M, and I'm just way too nervous it will be too small.

Thankfully (?) I didn't get much knitting done over the holiday weekend due to some unexpected things that came up, so I'll only be frogging the ribbing and 1 cable pattern repeat.

Looks like I'll be taking my lunch on a lily pad today - wish me luck!

Ta Da!

Finished! Looks much better when pulled together across the bust- luckily I was not blessed with a well-endowed chest (probably the only time I will say this!) I found the ribbon, which looks quite good, but I still think I will head into town to the Bead Shop and make a Kilt Pin or similar to go in it's place. Looking forward to seeing the rest of them as the emerge!

too small

Well, I've finished the project but I'm having some trouble with the sizing. I have a 46" bust and I like things a bit generous, so I worked mine to be somewhere between an XL (to fit 46" bust) and a 2X (to fit 50" bust). Note that I got gauge according to the pattern and that I blocked successfully to the dimensions outlined on the schematic included with the pattern.
Problem 1.

It doesn't come anywhere near meeting across my bust. So we tried it on my mum who's littler than me (44" bust). No chance of meeting on her either.

Problem 2.

The allowance made for the arm hole is not sufficient for a "generously" proportioned upper arm. I had a suspicion that this might happen when I was knitting it but I ignored my concerns and trusted the pattern. Even Mum's arms, which aren't as flabby as mine, are still an overly snug fit.

Problem 3.

Just too damn tight across the back on me and not much better on Mum.


The pattern at one point notes that the length of the back piece should be equal to one quarter of the desired chest circumference. This doesn't work for me. I think that if I try to make this again, then I would need to a) cast on a slightly wider back piece and b) make the wider section much wider to make larger armholes which would also increase the coverage across the bust.
All is not lost though. One of my best friends is much littler than Mum or I and this colour would really suit her, so hopefully the Ester will fit her.

Weaving and Blocking

I cast off this morning using the knit-2-tog-tbl-then-slip-st-from-right-needle-back-to-left-and-repeat method. Then I spent about half an hour weaving in the ends.




Now I've got it blocking.