The Lack of Buttons: Finished Sweaters

This past week, I finally finished the Mondo Cable Cardigan I started last month, which all things considering, isn't a shabby length of time to knit a sweater. Some sweaters I've knitted took several months (like the February Lady's Tunic Sweater that I started in April, then finished in August.)

I'm really happy with how the Mondo Cable Cardigan came out. The color's perfect and I didn't mess up too badly. (I had missed an increase at one point, but that's not really a sticking point for this sweater.

It has about 2 inches of ease, which is perfect for wearing as layers. And the wool is light enough to not make it too bulky, but as it's wool, it's *warm* --- perfect for fall weather. (Plus, today, it's actually nippy enough to wear to work!)
I like it so much that I think I shall make another (at a later date) with a smaller collar that's better fit for a zipper.

And here is the aforementioned Febuary Lady's Tunic Sweater. It was the never-ending sweater. I had made incredible progress on it, until about the last 6 inches, then it started to slog so I put it down to finish some other projects, working on it occassionally. When we started podcasting, I finally got enough 'gumption' to actually attempt to finish it.

The angora/cashmere wool sweater Tunic is also VERY warm and VERY soft. It's like wearing a fluff cloud. However, due to the square neckline, it's more suited for high neck shirts (like turtle/mock-turtle necks).
Unfortunately, I only had two clasps (as featured in the photo) for it, when it really needed about 2 more. I had procrastinated going to JoAnne's to get more for about two months, but decided since I needed buttons for the Mondo, I'd pick them up as well.

THEN I discover that JoAnne's doesn't carry those particular closures anymore! GAH! I had to search online & buy more online. I don't know when they stopped carrying those closures, but it had to be within the past several months (as I had bought the same exact closures back in January for another cardigan).

Perfection is the Enemy of the Done (or The Best Camera)

As a very wise and accomplished costume designer once told me, "Perfection is the Enemy of the Done."

These words were said to me during one of her corsetry classes as she watched me painstakingly work on some fiddly-bit on the project. Her words shocked me, as it was probably one of the best pieces of advice that I had ever heard. She was right, of course. If I continued trying to get this one teensy thing right, I wouldn't be done by the end of the class -- and as the purpose of the class was to understand the basics of creating this particular corset, I could worry about the fiddly bits later and ensure that I get help & feedback on the big parts.

I've taken her advice (and dispensed it, as well) on my sewing projects. Yes, I should do a very good job on ensuring that everything fits, is well tailored, and that there are no loose thread ends to be seen. HOWEVER, if it's going to take me 4 hours to *perfect* one small part of a costume and I only have 6 hours to finish? Well, why would I spend 4 hours to perfect something when spending one (1) hour can get me "good" enough until I can make it better later? Besides, who is going to care that the inside lining stitches under the arm aren't 100% straight? Who's going to see it?

So, I've become somewhat of an "organic" costumer, in that sense. I've also carried that philosophy over to my knitting & crocheting. Dropped stitch? Easily fixed without tearing my hair out. Did I end up with 1-2 extra stitch in a row? Not a problem. I'll just K2TOG or P2TOG it out of existence (as long as it doesn't completely mess up the pattern)

I'll use lifelines, stitch markers, and all other manner of tricks just to save myself time and frustration *when* I make a mistake. (I'm not vain enough to think that my knitting is "perfect" and that I won't make a mistake.)

However, I've seemed to *not* taken that advice to heart when it comes to photography. (And you may ask yourself what this has to do with costuming or knitting or crocheting, but I'm getting to that....)

Specifically, I won't mark a knitting/crochet project as 'finished' (on Ravelry) until I can get a photo of it up onto the project page. HOWEVER, sometimes it takes me a while to get the photo because I'm too busy or the outside light isn't good enough or I just do not want to take out the lights and setup a whole photoshoot because I'm lazy.

Consequently, I'm missing photos of various projects I have finished because I haven't gotten around to taking those photos. Dragging out all of the professional gear can be sometimes a hassle and not to mention heavy/bulky to carry around ALL THE TIME.

Chase Jarvis, who is a very successful photographer whose work I do admire, said that the *BEST camera* is the one you have with you. And, nowadays, most people actually have their camera phone with them at all times. Chase even has a whole website dedicated to iPhone & mobile camera photography.

Sure, mobile or smartphone cameras don't have the bells & whistles of those fancy professional cameras (like my other ones) but it IS a camera. And if you HAVE a camera on you, you'll be more likely to use it.

So, this morning, before rushing off to work, I snapped several photos of myself wearing the sweater in the mirror using my iPhone, did some *minor* post processing on my special photo iPhone app, and now, I have a decent photo of my finished project.


Eventually, I'll get around to taking a better photo with my camera gear, but now I can consider this *DONE*. After all, perfection is the enemy of the done.

Mondo Cable KAL

I *finally* finished the Mondo Cable pullover late, late, late last night. I had a heckuva time with the neck band following her instructions. It just wouldn't come out correctly on one side. So I had to frog it at least twice.

(This is probably me not understanding her instructions because everyone else seems to grok it well enough). However, on the left hand neck edge, everything worked out well, and I could see what Bonne Marie wanted to do.

So, I just replicated that affect (which reminded me a lot of entrelac -- something I am wholly familiar) on the right hand neck edge.

And it worked beautifully. I tried it on last night and it fit perfectly, which pleases me to absolutely no end.

This morning, I wove in most of the ends, washed the sweater (which needed it after being dragged around for the past month), and set it out to dry. It really didn't need blocking -- I had steam blocked the body ribbing and it no longer curled.

AND NOW, since I had been so darn monogamous with this project, I get to work on a pair of socks! I wound a skein into a cake and cast on my favorite vanilla pair of socks with some very colorful Blue Moon medium weight.

Mondo Cable Pulli: KAL

Last night, I had my very first set-back on the Mondo Cable Pullover. I had modified the sleeve pattern slightly to include extra stitches for the left sleeve, and thought those modifications would suffice for the right sleeve.

However, I did not remember that my right bicep is ever-so-slightly bigger than my left bicep, which can make a huge difference when doing a somewhat closely fitted garment. When I sew, I always have to accommodate for a difference in sleeve sizes for both arms; I don't know why I thought knitting would be any different?

So, when I tried it on when the sleeve was mid-forearm, the bicep was a bit too snug for comfort. I thought that maybe blocking would "fix" the problem, but I opted to just rip back as while blocking fixes some things, it would be better if I just corrected the problem.

Luckily, I had put lifelines in at various places, so I ripped back to mid-bicep (about 4-5 inches) on the sleeves and just added about 2 more inches from the previous increase. After trying it on, the bicep area felt much more comfortable when wearing it.

While 4-5 inches might not seem like a lot, it's taking me FOREVER to get through this project, so it represents about 2-3 days worth of progress. Oh well.

Currently, I'm at elbow-length and doing normal decreases at this point.

So note to self: lengthen out the number of rounds before each decrease on the right sleeve.

Mondo Cable Pulli

Currently, I'm still plugging along the Mondo Cable Pullover (KAL).

(The Mondo Cable 2nd Sleeve)

March 28th -- I finished the body on March 28, and used the prescribed 5/1 ribbing on smaller needles. I've also picked up the sleeves and worked on a few rounds. I increased the initial stitch count by 2 on the sleeves because I work out and my biceps are…well, large for my size. (Whenever I sew, I always have to modify the armscye & sleeves.)

March 29th -- Well, the sleeves are going a lot faster than the body. I tried on the sweater just before the 1st Decrease, and realized that if I followed the rest of the pattern, the sleeves would have almost no ease and maybe even negative ease..

So, I added another 4”, before started the 1st Decrease. And I’ve mapped out where to put the other decreases (approximately every 10 rounds with my modifications) so that it comes to the right length with approximate finished stitch count. I added a whole bunch of lifelines at various places just in case I need to frog back.

April 4th -- I finished the first sleeve. I shortened the sleeve just a tad and used a 4-2 ribbing (on same size needles) instead of the 5-1 ribbing (on smaller needles), and after trying it on, it’s only a tad bit longer than perfect, which is okay by me.

I’ve picked up the stitches on the second sleeve and am into the first few rounds. I’m still loving the pattern and will definitely make more. (It’s just a matter of having time to knit nowadays!)

Mondo Cable Pullover: Update

Back at the beginning of March, I started the Mondo Cable KAL with the Knitmore Girls over on Ravelry.com.

It's been a slow steady slog in creating this sweater, as my knitting time has drastically been reduced over the past several months. And, I've been helping to bring up the rear in the KAL. I know that the KAL is not a race, but it's often hard to see all the completed photos of everyone's sweater while still plugging away on my own.

3/10/10 -- I've 1-2 rows from joining the front of the pullover.
3/15/10 -- I've gotten past the 2nd cable cross of the pullover.
3/19/10 -- I've done the 3rd cable cross, and have tried on the fit. So far, so good
3/24/10 -- I've done the last & final cable cross, and have about 2 inches left before I start the ribbing. I'm actually really close to finishing up the first skein!
3/25/10 -- I wound the 2nd skein up into a ball in anticipation of finishing the first skein. (OMG that was a lot of yardage to wind! And my poor ball winder can't handle the yardage in a cake.)

I am a bit worried about the ribbing, as people have reported 'curling'. Gigi of the Knitmore Girls used the same size needle and went to a 4-2 rib and had no issues. But Bonne Marie posted this tidbit on her blog:

For those of you knitting along (wave to the Knitmore Girls KAL!!), you can see that the bottom of this sweater is pretty well-behaved. I used my steam iron and pressed the bottom from the wrong side. No rolling! If you are having that issue, try this AND also consider going up a needle size for your ribbing because your gauge might be too small in that area, if it flips. Also — bind off LOOSELY.

Top down sweaters need to have the same give at the bottom as a cast-on for a bottom-up sweater. So in the casting off, knitters need to be mindful of their tension in that area. Go up a needle size or two JUST to work the bind off. In this case, I used a #7 needle for the body, a #6 needle for the ribbing, and because I have that tight bind off problem, I went back up to the #7 when it was time to cast off the hem.

I really do love the pattern thus far. I was a bit worried about the size I had chosen, but it fits perfectly (thus far). I definitely will be making more of this sweater.

Mondo Cable Pulli

The Knitmore Girls are having a sweater KAL, specifically, the Mondo Cable Cardigan/Pullover by Chick Knits

At Stitches West, I picked up some gorgeous Luscious Silk Singles in the colorway, Brick, by Blue Moon Fiber Arts.



The KAL started on March 1st, but I actually didn't cast on until March 2nd, because I was busily swatching, then waiting for it to block & dry. Currently, I'm slowly knitting through, and have maybe four inches of neck. I have yet to even start the body. I was stalled due to some confusion about neck & body shaping in the directions, and had asked the KAL group for help.

I sorely miss my two hours a day of commute knitting (one hour of train knitting in each direction.) I'm only glad that this KAL is all month long. I might be able to get to the body by mid-this week (hopefully).