Chic Cables and Lace Cowl Sweater

Chic Cables and Lace Cowl Neck Sweater--Yikes, that name is a mouthful, but what a lovely sweater:

And what a refreshing change after the Autumn Rose Pullover.  I knit this piece by SweaterBabe in a chunky size yarn (Elann's Peru Soft, which is acrylic, wool, alpaca, and mohair) and was finished before I even knew it.  The yarn is very soft and VERY warm--hence my decision to make it short-sleeved rather than long-sleeved.  I wanted to be able to wear it before the weather gets below freezing.  Also, the wide sleeves looked a little funny.  There is a lot going on in the cowl and the body of the sweater--it really doesn't need cabled sleeves, too.

The cowl itself took me three days, because of the cabling, but the rest was mostly stockinette and took only two days.  Chunky yarn really is instant gratification.

The sizing was a little funky on this sweater.  It went from 30 to 31 3/4 to 36--not very convenient for me, but I decided that since I will definitely be wearing this as a tunic over something else to go with the pattern for the 36" size.  I did nip the waist in about 8 stitches (about 2-3 inches in this yarn), adding two increases and decreases so it wouldn't look too baggy:

I think I got the results I wanted.  Another thing I liked about the pattern is that the shaping is more toward the middle of the back and front, rather than right along the seam.  It's a little hard to see in this picture, but it puts an hourglass outline down the back, creating a sharper illusion of an hourglass figure.

My one big complaint about the pattern was how micromanaged it was.  Just about every round was explicitly spelled out for you.  Now it's nice to have the first round of shaping spelled out and then "repeat every 4 rounds,"  but every single shaped round was explained in minute detail.  It's just more for the knitter to wade through and more for the pattern writer to actually write out.

However, I think that would be an asset to a beginner-intermediate knitter looking to start their second or third sweater.  The cabled cowl and lace panel make it a tad complicated for a first sweater, but I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for their next project.  The pattern is available through Knit Picks Independent Designer Program for about $2.  I really love that they set up their pattern program--what a great way for budding designers to get their names out there and make a little money of their patterns.  Just one more reason to love Knit Picks!

Now, my next project was supposed to be my second attempt at Venezia, but I did a swatch for it this weekend and I'm still not satisfied with the color choices.  I need another medium blue before I can proceed.  Ugh, this project is going to be the death of me.  I will probably die with this silly sweater still on my needles.  Anyway, the next sweater is, instead, going to be Snowden Becker's Myrtle Cardigan.  I've got some lovely green yarn lying around that would be just perfect. 

I am still working on decreasing my stash (down to 4.75mi from 7.5mi), but since I promised myself that I could treat myself to more yarn once I reached $100 of profit on Etsy (which I did this weekend, yay!), I really need to make more room.  Most of it's been assigned to a project, but I just can't get through them fast enough!  My fingers cannot catch up with my ambitions!  Such is the life of a knitter.  She who dies with the most yarn wins, they say.  If only I could convince Walker of the same...  Sigh.

Kitty update:  Things are going great!  Branwen  clocked Moriarty a couple of times to assert her authority and now they are getting along just fine!  They have very energetic play sessions, which is great because we want Branwen to get the exercise, but I have yet to catch them cuddling.  In time, I hope.  More pictures next time!

Cheers,

-Allie