Monday, August 09, 2010

Seam Avoidance

If you have three knitting projects waiting to be seamed and finished, the obvious thing to do is to cast on for a seamless circular project.  The Slanting Gretel Tee from Fall 2009 Interweave Knits
Ravelry project notes here.
This is an example of coffin clothes, clothes devoid of details in the back despite a great deal of detail in the front.

I didn't read the pattern very carefully before embarking upon the upper yoke portion.  I actually thought that the back raglan cable detail started later than the front cables because the back neck would be raised later with short-rows.  As you can see, the front and back necklines are the same height and the back is extremely plain and boring compared to the front.

The Malabrigo Silky Merino is very soft, but has a tendency to stretch out.  Forewarned by fellow Ravelers, I knit a size 32" to fit my 34" body.  This sweater has magical tendencies.  It should have taken 5 50 gram skeins.  But, it only required 3.5 skeins.  Yet, it is the size it is supposed to be.  If anything, it is longer than the pattern because I lost track of the decreases and added a few rows both below the armhole and again at the neckline to bring it up higher.

It's like the time Bad Dad and I went x-c skiing in Yellowstone.  We discovered that the Yellowstone Valley is magical; the out and back ski trails were uphill both ways.  I told someone back at the lodge about that, when we were comparing trail conditions at the end of the day.  I said that I discovered that gravity is a non-conservative force in this valley.

He said, "Oh, no, another physicist."  He was a physicist at Fermi Labs.  At that point, he hadn't yet met the group of physicists from Los Alamos that shared our lunch stop log.  It kind of tells you what kind of people visit Yellowstone in the winter.

4 comments:

  1. This is lovely, and such a beautiful color, too!

    I actually like the plain back, too. It doesn't need more detail.

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  2. Marie-Christine01:30

    I'm with you on the coffin clothes. Would you have the patience to redo the top so those lovely raglan cables are on the back too? It'd add a lot I think. Good you pointed it out clearly on ravelry, so future makers know what to do before they start.

    I'm with you about the seams too. Hate them enough that I don't practice enough to do them well. But why practice when you can just knit in the round? Maybe you could swap a nice hat or scarf with someone who didn't mind doing those 3 seams in waiting, just to get rid of the backlog?

    Great color, looks yummy..

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  3. Beautiful sweater! I remember hiking in the Sequoias, and the situation was the same - no matter which way we went it was uphill! Maybe it's a California thing :)

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  4. Very pretty sweater except for the plainness of the back. I'm surprised that at least the raglan detail wasn't carried on both sides.

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