Hi everybody!
I'm thrilled to be part of the Happy Tubey Family* - I'm knitting in Lion Brand's Wool-Ease worsted weight in "Blue Mist" (to get the gauge, I'm using size 6 needles).
Before you roll your eyes at the mention of an acrylic yarn - I'm intending to knit two versions of Tubey (the bestest sweater ever) - one in the acrylic that's machine washable, but is also a first version to get the kinks out (in what is, after all, a throwaway yarn, albeit a very pretty one), and my second Tubey will be in a locally produced sport-weight Alpaca (color: "Jet", from an Alpaca named Stewie).
Glad to be a part of the knit-along!
*I was turned on to this site after I posted a rant on the LA knitting message board. Here's the full story, if you're interested:
Before you roll your eyes at the mention of an acrylic yarn - I'm intending to knit two versions of Tubey (the bestest sweater ever) - one in the acrylic that's machine washable, but is also a first version to get the kinks out (in what is, after all, a throwaway yarn, albeit a very pretty one), and my second Tubey will be in a locally produced sport-weight Alpaca (color: "Jet", from an Alpaca named Stewie).
Glad to be a part of the knit-along!
*I was turned on to this site after I posted a rant on the LA knitting message board. Here's the full story, if you're interested:
When this latest Knitty posted, I just had to have coolest sweater ever ("Tubey"), and thought I could get most of it done over the holiday break - when I'd be sitting on an airplane, knitting non-stop. I'm also going to Vegas on Jan 8th, so I thought I might be able to get the thing done by then so I could look hot on the Strip in the coolest sweater ever.
I followed the pattern, cast on the required number of stitches, and knit about three inches - which is when I thought it looked too big (I cast on 70 stitches and upon eyeballing it figured the sleeves would look better with a 50 stitch cast-on), but I kept going, because I figured that the whole thing would work out in the end, and because I know better than to start altering patterns when I've just started something.
Knitting like a madwoman, I finished the sleeves in six days (to get the right gauge, I had to use size 6 needles) - and tried them on.
They look great - as a pair of pants. They're HUGE.
Damn, damn, damn. I should have followed my gut instinct and redone the sleeves when I'd only knitted a few inches. A 20 stitch reduction would have made the sleeves fit perfectly.
So now, there's no way I'll get the thing done by the 8th, and as a karmic kick in the butt, I woke up this morning with a ripping headache - so I'm literally in pain as I frog a week's work.
If you're looking for the most unhappy knitter in Los Angeles today, I'll be on my couch.
posted by Peggy Archer at 7:26 PM
6 Comments:
I kind of like wool-ease. It's not the shi-shiest yarn there is, but it's a decent workhorse of a yarn. Plus it's an acrylic *blend* (or a wool blend, depending on how you want to look at it).
The first thing I made after picking up knitting again (I learned when I was really little, but only started up again in 2003) was a pair of slipper socks in wool-ease, and they've been through the washer at least 20 times and are still doing great.
Hi, Peggy:
Glad you made it over here. I'm using your experience as a cautionary tale. Happy knitting on both your Tubey versions. Knit on!
You're hillarious! I'm using acrylic too as an attempt to break my yarn snobbery, even though there are lovely A-yarns out there. Wool-ease is a nice one that washes well - it'll be fab!
Thanks for your comment about the arms. I was wondering whether the arms would be bigger around than I generally like. By the way, I generally knit things in acrylic first. In fact, most of what I have is acrylic.
I have knit two full sweaters in sportweight Wool-Ease and I totally love the result. I say, if it feels good and looks good, who cares if it's got acrylic in it? :)
Oh no! I am so sorry to hear your full tale. I may have over-graded the sleeves, figuring that a little roomy was better than binding and tight. Oh dear. I'm going to go obsess on the math now.
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