Finally posting pictures of my Hourglass!

I finished this about a week ago and kept forgetting to photograph it until today. I love the way it turned out; it's soft, super comfortable, and a beautiful color. (It's a cross between the two photos. Photo two is more accurate, but it's a little washed out.)


But being in Oklahoma, it's a little on the thick side, so I'm not sure how often I'll get to wear it. I think I'm going to make myself another one out of a cooler, lighter weight yarn, too. I'm thinking about Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool. Has anyone tried it for this? It's a DK weight, which the Iroha is, too, technically. Think it'll work without a bunch of pattern changing?

I think I'm going to take the neck facing out of this one and make a couple more decreases just to make this one more practical. Since it's so thick and cozy, it would make more sense if I could wear it over a short sleeved tee, and the neckline looks quite odd over a tee right now. For those who did extra decreases, how many did you do? Would a couple of extra decrease rows be enough, probably?

Thanks SO much to everyone here for advice, inspiration, and pep talks!

Finished Hourglass

Hi Everyone,

I have been following this KAL for several months. I've recently taken the plunge into blogging, so I can finally share some of my own photos.

I finished this sweater a couple of months ago. It was such a quick knit. Great for TV watching or magazine reading! I used 11 balls of KnitPicks Andean Silk in Olive. The yarn was soooo nice to work with, but I find it to be pretty scratchy when knit up. I have to wear a shirt underneath it. I added a couple of decrease sets like many of you, but otherwise knit the pattern as written.

I can definitely see myself making another one of these sweaters. Maybe with the Cash Iroha!

I've finally started!

So I got the yarn (Rowan Kid Classic) for my Hourglass sweater quite some time ago, but it's been languishing until such time when I've felt the weather is sufficiently cold to work with wool again. And last week, we finally got there, and I needed a break from my other sweater project which involves beads, intarsia and fingering weight yarn (gah!) so I got this one started.



So far, it's moving really quickly. Having been inspired by my recent purchase of Nicky Epstein's "...edge" books, I did decide to change the pattern a little bit. This yarn has a bit of mohair in it, so it's got a fuzzy halo which struck me, along with the hourglass shape, as particularly girlie, so I'm adding some extra-girlie touches to my version of the sweater.

First, I decided to do a picot edge rather than the straight hem the pattern calls for:



Then, because I noticed the similarity between Kid Classic and Kidsilk Haze, and because I have some Kidsilk Haze left over from another project, I've decided I'm going to knit ruffles to sew inside the cuffs and hem (and maybe the neckline--I haven't decided about that) so it looks like there is a ruffled blouse peeking out. Fun!

Thanks for the Help and Inspiration

Howdy! I finished my Hourglass (in Rowan Handknit DK cotton) this weekend and LOVE it.






I haven't been posting my progress on my Hourglass here, but boy, I sure was a lurker on this blog. I got so much help and inspiration from the previous posts, so thank you! I LOVE knitting along.

Hourglass sweater in parts

Hourglass sweater in parts, originally uploaded by inkmama.

I'm 3/4 of the way done with the Hourglass sweater in Last Minute Knits, but now I can't figure out how to attach the sleeve to the sweater. Anyone know? (If there were sound effects here, it would be of the guy who's now a fly in that old movie, The Fly: Help me...help me!

Almost finished with a sleeve....

....and one to go. I have the body of the sweater done and on stitch holders an I'm just about done with a sleeve, though it does worry me, connecting the sleeve to the body of the sweater. So I hope the knitalong stays up a little longer. If you need someone to moderate it, or whatever, I'd be happy to do that.

I'm using a purple Noro Iroha and I love it.

Barbara

p.s. I'll post pics as soon as I join the sleeve to the body.

I have finally finished my first Hourglass:


Stats:
Yarn: Lang Yarns - Fantomas Superwash. Aprox. 6 or 7 balls (can't remember)
Needles: 4mm circulars
Time: started at the end of August 05, finished on 13th October 05.

Adapting the pattern to suit the yarn was not as much of a problem as I feared it would be, and the shaping kept the otherwise monotonous stockinette pattern interesting. The only gripe I have with the sweater is that the neckline is a bit too wide; the sweater almost slips off the shoulders at times. For the next one, I'll make sure to change the neckline a little to make it a bit deeper and a little less wide. Also, currently the sleeves are a bit short, but the blocking might still change that so I'm reserving judgement.

Thanks to the lovely folks on this KAL for all the support and please don't take me off the KAL yet - I have yarn for another one!! :)

It's Over!

I finished my Hourglass HOORAY!

You can see the K1P1 Ribbing on the neck in this next picture. If I did it again, I would probably change it to 2 x 2 ribbing for a tighter rib, but this is good too.



You can see the stripes of variegated and solid a little better in this one:



I started last Monday and I finished last Saturday. This was really quick to knit, and the constant shaping keeps it interesting.



Raglan sleeve shaping:



Thanks for all the support!
---Illanna from Knit Powers to Peace---

Opinions, please! To frog or not to frog?

I'm halfway through my increases already, but I'm having second thoughts about things. I'm using a merino wool from Uruguay (same as Malabrigo/handpaintedyarn.com, but different seller) that has a variegated coloring. I resisted the urge to knit with two balls at once out of sheer laziness and the lack of desire to do something so tedious as to keep up with two balls instead of just one. But I can plainly see where one ball ran out and the new one started. Is it visible to the average person who doesn't knit and who hasn't been told that the problem exists? Will it be visible when I wear it?? As I look at it in the photo, it looks worse than in person. I think it may be how others see it from a distance, though, so I think I may have my answer already. Sob... (BTW, in real life, it has more orange or terra cotta in it than the picture, which turned out kind of peachy. )

If I redo it anyway, should I do the hem slightly differently? I read in Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears (after I started this, of course.) that she recommended using fewer CO stitches for the underside of the hem or using a needle a size or two smaller so that there's not as much bulk in the hem. Thoughts?

Thanks for the help. I was so excited that I was almost ready for a sleeve, but I think I may be back to square one this afternoon. Oh, the agony of being a perfectionist! LOL

Housekeeping

I have been thinking for a while that it is probably time to update the list of members of the Knitalong. I know a lot of people who joined have finished by now, which is great, but it would good to have an idea of who is still knitting, or has just started.

So, can I ask people to leave a comment to this post letting me know if you have finished, or if you are still knitting. If you are still knitting and haven't posted a picture, maybe just let us know how you are doing, what yarn you are using etc. That way we can all get an update on how we are doing and I can update the sidebar and we can welcome the new members of the knitalong as well.

If I don't hear from people I will assume you are done and put you down as having finished - I hope that's OK with everyone.

And just one other thing, if you ask to join the knitalong and don't hear from me within 24 hours that is probably because you haven't included your email address in your initial enquiry. Unfortunately it doesn't show up automatically on the message I get and I am unable to reply to you without it, or add you to the knitalong. I do check my emails every day, so you can be assured that I will always reply if I am able to do so.

I'm looking forward to hearing how everyone is doing!

First of Many, Many Questions

Okay, I started my hourglass with the chocolate brown wool and I have just started my first decrease round in the deep blue. Here is my question, I have the errata and I followed it but it seems wrong to me. Let me explain--
It says stop 2 sts before the next marker and repeat from *, but don't you need 5 sts to complete the decreases?

ssk (2 stitches)
k1 (1 stitch)
k2tog (2 stitches) all this equals 4 sts decreased

Also, the nest sentence is Knit 8(8,10,11,12) rnds. Are these decrease rounds or regular knit rounds?
Thanks for the help ladies!
lisaprit@rochester.rr.com
http:continueinkind.typepad.com