Sunday, October 19, 2008

Part #3- # 17 Vogue Holiday 2008 - Lace Wrap Cardigan



The leaves are falling more heavily in Bucks County now...and it is growing too cold in the evenings for open windows. Saturday I actually used my electric blanket and got out the winter PJ's. It is coming.

Friday I spent the day one with my leave vaccuum. I can not say enough...about this tool. It is my favorite. Of course, just my luck as I got the backyard finally leave free...and bit of a storm blew in. One hour later, it looked as if I had not done anything.


Okay the water is a bit green....Okay very green...It needed chemicals.....it got them. In fact going out now to put more in there. It is very important to close the pool with NO ALGAE evidence or you will have a scummy pond next spring.

The pool is closing tomorrow......can't wait till they arrive....pulling the leaves out every morning is becoming a major chore as well. One more morning left. Yippee!
I love to keep it open as long as possible, for the waterfall. It is way too cold to swim now....and budget can not afford to heat the pool during these very, very cool fall evenings. So I don't.


Made some progress on the Lace Wrap Cardigan from Hell.....I finished the right sleeve and it is blocking. Sorry no photos yet. Started the left sleeve today. I changed the patterns used on the right sleeve to…. A, C, B.

I heard from lisa at vogue….here is another change they made from my reported errors:

The right front says use patterns D, B and E. The photo shows Patterns D, A and E were used.

While completing the right sleeve, I found another re my earlier comments about chart C, being wrong, and now understand why I read Chart C wrong....again consistency, magazine editors, PLEASE:

Chart B says "SK2P"- BUT MEANS = you pass over a k2tog.

and Chart C says "sl1 knitwise, k2, psso the k2 " = in this chart, you pass over a K2.


Personally, I do not see in the info provided, the difference lisa claims I should have seen. DO YOU?

The meanings look the same to me, albeit Chart C's is written out….BUT ARE DIFFERENT. So i will write to her tonite…to ask her to note this somewhere on the vogue errata pages…I think Chart B should say: SK2togP to make this difference CLEAR!!!

She did Not agree…but asked her to write to teva about, my belief the shaping on the front decreases for the small should be modified like the extra small…….otherwise the bottom weight throws off the top and causes too much stretching in the front part of the armhole after blocking. The weight is just too much for the 12 stitches remaining. I have not heard back yet.
Here is what I wrote to Vogue:

Since, I last wrote.... I pulled the fronts and back off the blocking pins and pinned the seams...

First off my blocked pieces measured correctly. My gauge was PERFECT! It fits well if about 1 1/2 inches are taken off the two fronts.

If I shorten the front arm holes then the bust measurements work. This is lace, so it grows when it is weighted and it just so happens these particular stitches grow long more than wide, when they are weighted...

I hope you are following me.... we are now going from a garment lying flat to one that IS HANGING ON A BODY.....it's principles will change.

The interesting thing is that the bottom below the narrow twelve stitch top part........keeps perfect gauge after pinning and so did the back... and when hanging on my body or a hangar.

What I think is going on with this design:

Is when it is assembled...NOT LYING FLAT...but on a body..... the weight of the front bottoms are too heavy for that twelve stitch wide upper armhole fabric section and because these particular stitch patterns have a propensity to elongated with weight....and this would happen more with narrow fabric than wider fabric....hope you are following me.

IN THIS SIZE ( small )...this PATTERN does NOT execute well from drawingboard to actual functioning hanging on a body garment.

....The front bottom pulls too heavily on the front armholes elongating them more than the back does to that part of the armhole.....capische?

So to be a good design....it either needs wider fabric in that upper armhole area...to prevent the more intensive stretching ( which will result if the front neck decreases are less steep, ie. not every other row )....or the armhole rise needs to have less height for the fronts...to compensate.

I just ripped out an 1 1/2" of both fronts....and it works...plus I hung it on hangar to and with the adjustment...it creates the perfect measurements.

I have been knitting since I was 4 years old......incessantly...for 47 1/2 years...at a certain point
you can tell when a pattern will not execute well, as you knit it. I knew there was going to be a problem with the front armholes....due to those 12 stitches from 63 stitches.

From 12 stitches at the bottom to 63 at the top...NO PROBLEM, weight is not an issue....but reversed..it is too much weight hanging from those 12 stitches...IN ANY WOOL YARN, which will stretch. That is why I suggested the decreases were too steep for the small and should be changed as teva, did do, with the extra small size. talk to teva....

You won't have a problem with the larger sizes....the weight is more evenly distributed....because
there are more width stitches left on the upper armhole........in proportion to the weight at the bottom.

Note this is without the sleeves attached and IT IS POSSIBLE that the sleeve seam might compensate and stabilize the armhole stretching but, probably NOT ENOUGH and WILL still result in a problem on the outer bottom.

I started left sleeve tonight and modified pattern Chart E, as follows:

I just did not like the pattern, which is the only purl pattern, in the group.

I reversed it…so I knit where you are supposed purl and my bobbles are purled instead knitted.
(p1, yo p1, next row K3, next row p3 tog : to make bobble on knitted background.)

I like it much better with the rest of the sweater. I am hoping to finish this sweater by the end of the week. I am also thinking of adding a crochet border to the bottom and neck edges....rather than leaving it plain. But, will decide this after I sew it together.
I can not wait to finish this project....because, it has been so frustrating... it is my sheer willpower that is keeping it off the UFO heap.... I am totally focused and praying to the knitting gods, for no life interruptions before the knitting is complete........or else...I just know it will be a UFO for life!!! LOL!
No ebay additions so far this week, because of this Cardigan. Hopefully, I will have the chance to post some later.

Wishing you all a Happy Monday........and the powers that be on Wall Street too. Lighten up guys, just a bit!!!
Smiles to You,
DC

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