10.08.2024 - Wool festival cast on

Not exactly the best festival knit, but there are some benefits: a lot of yarn options within easy reach. The cc yarn was re-concidered ;-).

Cast on and first neck band rounds during the day. Not much unravelling needed. The rest of the neck band during the festival dinner - not quite correct but i managed to fix it later in the hotel room with a crochet hook.

11.08.2024

One-color part before the stranded yoke done on the train back home. First ball of yarn consumed.

12.08.2024 - Cats start to emerge

Very difficult to set up the ladderback sts. Would have been easier if every 5th grid line was thicker or different color in the chart. I tried without, but gave up quite soon. Too many things to count and keep in mind at the same time. I draw the chart anew, with every 5th grid line different color (For the first time ever, I managed to copy a pattern from a picture into Stitch Fiddle with a satisfactory result. I only had to fine-tune small details. I think it was possible because the lines of the grouping grid were missing and the chart is therefore basically only 3 colors). With the redrawn chart, making the set-up was a breeze, and cats can emerge.

I love the new cat color: black with dash of white.

19.08.2024

The yoke is missing about 20 rounds. A round takes ab. 20 min => 7 hours work left.

Looking at the FOs, I’m starting to wonder. I’m knitting the largest size. There is no picture of such sweater. The largest size has an even number of repeats in the yoke. This means that the tail end of two cats will be in the middle of the front and two laying cats will be under the boobs. Not exactly the vision I’m after.

I finish the yoke and see how it looks on a mannequin. If it is as disturbing as I foresee it I may try following before separating the sleeves:

I unravel the short row section, shift the BOR a half a repeat and reknit the short rows and neck band.

20.08.2024

Run out of cc yarn (300 meter skein) half a round before the end of last round. Used a different yarn for the two last repeats.

Yoke ready. I will take pics tomorrow and decide if the pattern has to be rotated.

21.08.2024

No doubt, the pattern needs to be rotated.

I separate the sleeves first and decide later how to do the fix in the neck.

22.8.2024

Knit the sleeves first and finish the body after them.

The sleeves will be huge (or my row gauge is completely off)

Row gauge is as it should, the pattern is off. Oh well, I’ll knit the sleeves as long as I think is needed, and decrease excess sts before the cuff ribbing and see later if the recipient wants the sleeves narrower. Easy to fix.

31.8.2024

Sleeves and body done. The body is ab. 5 cm shorter than in the pattern, otherwise true to the pattern.

The neck needs to be fixed.

1. Locate the first full row after the short row turns
2. cut the yarn in a stitch, unravel the row, pick up the stitches on the body half
3. knit a round, place a new BOR in the middle of the back
4. work the short rows and a full round around the new BOR
5. decrease sts before the ribbing; yo, k1, yo in the pattern converts to CDD.
6. work the ribbing, bind off

03.09.2024

All done, for the time being. Fitting agreed for next week.

10.09.2024

Fitting ended with a photoshoot. The sleeves are oversized but she liked them as they were.

Recipient happy, me happy!