Well, well, well... most of the major knitting on Aspinwall is complete. I need to pick up some stitches and knit up the collar, but that's the last element in this knitting adventure. It doesn't even look like I'm going to have to get concerned about running out of yarn -- something I am almost always doing somewhere along the way when I knit a large project.
Once the chest band of two color knitting is done and the sleeves are attached, it's a pretty easy run to the finish line. It's a bit bulky moving the thing around, but I'm happy to deal with the bulk to avoid dealing with a lot of seaming later on. Which is not to say I executed perfectly on the top half... somewhere along the way I seem to have picked up (or not decreased) a couple of stitches. I've looked over and over and I can't figure out where exactly it happened. One is on one of the fronts, the other is in the back. I could have ripped back and figured it out, but since the extra stitches don't seem to affect the look of the sweater, I've decided not to worry. I think this is one of the benefits of working with a somewhat irregular yarn. The presence of big slubby stitches here and there softens everything and your eye doesn't really look for perfection everywhere.
After the collar goes in, the only thing left is to find a zipper and sew it in and weave in the ends. Keep your fingers crossed that John will be wearing this item before the end of the month!
Once the chest band of two color knitting is done and the sleeves are attached, it's a pretty easy run to the finish line. It's a bit bulky moving the thing around, but I'm happy to deal with the bulk to avoid dealing with a lot of seaming later on. Which is not to say I executed perfectly on the top half... somewhere along the way I seem to have picked up (or not decreased) a couple of stitches. I've looked over and over and I can't figure out where exactly it happened. One is on one of the fronts, the other is in the back. I could have ripped back and figured it out, but since the extra stitches don't seem to affect the look of the sweater, I've decided not to worry. I think this is one of the benefits of working with a somewhat irregular yarn. The presence of big slubby stitches here and there softens everything and your eye doesn't really look for perfection everywhere.
After the collar goes in, the only thing left is to find a zipper and sew it in and weave in the ends. Keep your fingers crossed that John will be wearing this item before the end of the month!
The patterned band looks really good, I like the ribbing effect on the lower half as well. At least I assume it's a kind of ribbing.
Are you going to put in a zip via the steek technique, down the centre front? I am a bit confused about that. I am about to try steeks on a cardigan for the first time ever. I'm quite nervous about cutting into my knitting!
The transition from body into sleeves looks really good too.
Well done!
No need for steeking here -- the neckline opening is already built into the pattern, so I didn't have to do anything that involved scissors.
I think it's still going to require a little effort on my part to make sure the zipper goes in nicely though!
Very nice. I love the richness of the main color. Was it a fun yarn to knit with?
Oh, my goodness, that is just beautiful. Congratulations!