Knit Wit

How could my camera run out of juice just as I was putting together the Kristin's Book of First Sweater Photos??? Is there no justice???!

Fortunately, I managed to get the following shots before it all went south:

Admit it, that proto-Inuit knit closure is genius! I got it at Lettuce Knit for 25 bucks. Handmade! And because I had one extra ball of yarn to return (they take your extras back, peeps?!), the price was only $14.00 for me...

Not the most artful shot of the back but it's the only one I have. Trust me when I say it fits very nicely.

I grafted the centre back neck. To y'all who don't knit (i.e. me three weeks ago) that means I took 2 rows of "live" stitches and knit them together with a thick sewing needle from stitch holder. It was kooky but not very scary. Also, those are my mattress stitched seams. They may look like crap to advanced knitters, but to me they are a thing of beauty :-)

Another gratuitous shot...

And another still, that proves I'm working on those Jalie jeans (see left background)...

Here's that grafted back neck area from the right side. It's totally neat and aligned in real life. In this shot it looks a little wonky.

And here's the sleeve. Took me 3 hours to do each sleeve as I invisibly mattress stitched the front and back shoulders - much harder than it sounds in light of all the decreased stitches I was working around. At the top of the shoulder, I matched the horizontal shoulder sleeve to the vertical body sleeve. That was a trip.

I am very happy with this first effort but it's not perfect. For starters, the sleeves are too long and there ain't no way I'm going back in to fix them! Also, as I suspected it would be, the wool is thicker than my preference. I can tell I'm going to be a fingering weight knitter (despite the time involved in working with very delicate, slim wool). It hasn't felted, and it's very soft and luxe, but I do find it a bit fluffy for my liking.

What you can't tell, since the camera conked before I could take a shot of me in the sweater, is that it fits (sleeves notwithstanding) perfectly. In my opinion, good fit obfuscates a myriad of other challenges. And the fit, my friends, is fine.

I'd like to thank all of the wonderful knitters and sewist/knitters in the beautiful blog community who supported me through this adventure. You have been invaluably helpful and I am so appreciative.

I'm waiting on the yellow wool to start the Jan Sweater. Till then, I've got some jeans to keep me busy.