Part #4 - #17 Vogue Knitting Holiday 2008 - Lace Cardigan

Well....I am just finishing the last Sleeve. The left sleeve. I got to the cap and there were more errors in the instructions. I am finished writing Vogue. They should pay me for tech editing this pattern. Someone should.

Here goes.

The right sleeve says Bind off 4 or 5 stitches twice, then dec 1 st each side on next row, **then every other row 5 times.** 30 sts left size small

the left sleeve says the same.........except ....from ** then every other row 4 times." 28 sts size small. ( my math gets me to 32 sts left size small.....but, hey what do I know, I am unemployed....)

Don't even ask me who does their math for them........they are hopeless. I would think that after I wrote so many comments to Vogue, someone would have gone through the entire pattern with a fine tooth comb. Obviously, NOT!!!

and I decided I am not working for them for free. So this error notice is only found here.

I am going to use the right sleeve decreases as written for the left sleeve. It looks good and like it will fit. The right sleeve is blocked and looks good. I am praying to the knitting gods, that this sews up with my adjustments and is wearable after all this angst.

The funny part about this project, is I started it as the stock market began crashing, for some stress relief and none was to be found. This project has been sheer hell!!! Just hope it was worth it. I do like the yarn, it is fabulous and highly recommend it.

Wishing you a wonderful sunday evening,
Smiles to you,
DC

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

Vogue Knitting Holiday 2008- #17 Lace Wrap Cardigan

I could not resist, casting on for the Lace Wrap Cardigan from the new Vogue Knitting Magazine, Holiday 2008, #17 Lace Wrap Cardigan by Teva Durham.

The photo is of the back in progress. It is now finished. Not without problems.

First I made a mistake, which is NOW A MODIFICATION, because I like it better. I have only one garter rib between pattern changes instead of the two ribs.

Between Chart A and B: the pattern says end at row 11 of Chart A, then K 3 rows. I ended with row 12 and knit 2 rows, then started with row 2 of Chart B as instructed.

Because of the error above, when I got to the transition between Chart B and C, I also knit 2 rows instead of the three required. I like the one garter rib instead of the two shown in the pattern.

The Chart C in the magazine appears to be wrong, there is an error. If you follow it you will get a triangle instead of the correct back shaping. It also does not look like the photo which, is a cable pattern instead of a lace pattern.

Here is my fix, that I used to keep from decreasing the stitches....and it gives you a nice lace pattern:

It should be row 2: YO, k, YO, k3
and Row 4 should be: K3, YO, k, YO.

I still have not heard back from vogue as to what the correct chart should read. I am the first doing this pattern on ravelry so there is no other place to find this errata at the present time. I did post to ravelry in the editors notes.

Or it is possible that the Chart symbols are not correct. If you want the cable pattern, then you could do this:

Row 1: 3 stitch cable ( put one stitch on cable needle hold to front, knit 2, then knit the stitch off cable holder repeat around
Rows 2-4 knit the knits and purl the purls.
Repeat for pattern.

I have not tried this, but my guess is this was the designers intention looking at the photo. LOL!

I finished the back and started the left front and used my chart C. Sorry no photo yet. I see that the pattern ALSO, differs from the photo for both the left front and the right front. Does anyone edit these patterns? Of course, the back is not shown, or I might have used my second choice for correcting Chart C. LOL!

This is the first Teva Durham pattern I am knitting and so far, way too many errors for my liking. Not sure if this is the norm with her patterns, is it????? When I use a pattern, I do not want to think so hard....otherwise, I would design my own sweater.

Anyway, I knit the left front like the pattern, which instructs you to use the same patterns as you used on the back, which includes my first corrected Chart C. However the photo shows the last pattern on the left front is from a Chart that is NOT INCLUDED IN THE MAGAZINE!!!! LOL! It is also used on both sleeves. Have not decided on how to handle this.

Their Chart C, does not include anything replicating a Cable pattern, it has a K3 together decrease on Rows 1 and 3....NOT EVEN CLOSE VOGUE MAGAZINE! ....not even close to the photo.

You might remember that this is the same issue from the other lace cardigan I started in 2004 which rendered it to my UFO pile....and I am just resurrecting. sleeves are almost done. Painful to follow the chart with the cap decreases. ......both cardigans instructions and photos differ!!!

Finished the left side yesterday and cast on the right front. Here I am having problems and have frogged twice already because no row counts are given for the sections.

So here goes, to match the left front, I used 36 rows or 9 pattern repeats of Chart D. It worked. If you measure like I did, plan on frogging....your stitch count after the armhole decrease will not be correct.

Then the pattern tells you the next section should be Chart B...but the photograph uses Chart A.

I am using Chart A. So after the 2nd frog to rip out the bottom...I am close to the armhole bind off. Yippee! Hopefully my stitch count will now work. What a mess.

The worst part, is this is a fast knit. I started friday afternoon about 3pm and went out that evening. I would be done the right front if the directions were better and possibly done one sleeve.

I am using cynthia helene superwash merino, which is very nice yarn. I am happy with it as a replacement yarn. gauge is good.

Lesson learned, let someone else knit the patterns first and find their corrections on ravelry. I have no idea what a mess that debbie bliss cable jacket, silver belle would have been without the help I got from ravelry.

Want to finish this, so I am going back to knitting....and figuring out the pattern as I go along. Just hope it fits after all this. I think this pattern runs small, so consider that also if you decide to knit it.

Wishing you a great fall day,
Smiles to you,
DC