Sunday, June 20, 2010

toddler's sweater progress


With the back done and the front nearly done, this little v-neck ribbed sweater is chugging along. It's been an enjoyable knit, mostly because it fills me with good memories of Mom. This pattern is exactly the sort of knit she liked best - knit on straight needles, v-neck, and a ribbed pattern. I have the faintest recollection of an oatmeal coloured sweater she knit from this pattern for the first child of a woman she babysit decades ago. More than anything, I think she'd really like the sweater I'm knitting. I can imagine her encouraging me, saying things like "that's a beautiful colour" and "you're doing a good job'.

My Tea Leaves swatch is dry but I'm no further ahead. The gauge is exactly the same as it was before washing and blocking. Come to think of it, that's oddly reassuring. One thing - the Tea Leaves pattern was designed in 2009 using Madeline Tosh worsted, but in January 2010, the yarn was reclassified as DK instead of worsted .... which maybe explains why I can't get the gauge correctly. My new plan? Swatch to get the row gauge and then compensate for the stitch gauge by knitting a smaller size. That should work, don't you think?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love those simple sweater patterns the best too. They are classic.

Frieda said...

The sweater is a really beautiful colour !

As for the Tea Leaves cardigan , I'd be fine with the stitch gauge being right on .Does leave you with the possibility of running out of yarn as you mentioned previously . I noticed that you went from an initial 4.5mm needle to getting stitch gauge with a 3.5mm . How about trying a 3.75mm needle ? That might not make too much of a difference with stitch gauge and give you more of what you need for row gauge .

Wanderingcatstudio said...

I have a couple of Mom's patterns that are like that - one is a man's sweater - she made two for my brother and one for Dave, I made one for my Dad from it.
I can't wait to see your Tea Leaves!