Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Choo Choo Knits, M.D.? and other musings

So I've been knitting a cabled cape on and off for some time now. Last week I sewed in the "shoulder saddles" and started working on the collar. It was a basic 3x3 rib - no problemo. I cranked out the collar, got the front bands on, sewed the buttons in - abracadabra. Tried it on my dress form. Not so magical. The saddles made the "shoulders" seem like they're from the 80s - very square and possibly needing shoulder pads underneath (goodness I hope they don't make shoulder pads any more!) - and the left shoulder was a bit better than the right. See...

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I consulted Ken...of course no help except to say "it doesn't look right". So...I sat down at the dining room table and took out my trusty seam ripper and carefully disected and extracted the right saddle from the front/back seams down to the point where they all got separated in the first place (and saving the top stitches where I picked up for the neck).

Open Saddle Surgery...(kids, don't try this at home!)...

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I reknit the saddle, carefully measuring it to the pattern specifications (again). I sewed it back in - working some voodoo magic in the process. End result - it looks better by far. Maybe I'm not used to it's structure because the "shoulders" stick out past the arms. I'm torn about it and will await your feedback/thoughts. Obviously this is what you encounter with one photo of a pattern and don't know the "behind the scenes" of the photoshoot styling.

Post-op...

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After the challenge of the cape...I got back to my sweater design and finished it last night! I admit, I almost cried when I put it on and was modeling it for hubby. While it's by no means perfect, it was a great learning experience and I can't wait to work on the next one!

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Close up of the neck - right side out...

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Close up of the neck - wrong side showing (doesn't it look just as nice!)...

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I had a whole bunch of nonsense to blog about too...instead, here's one more photo (cause this posting clearly doesn't have too many already) of the princess on her birthday!

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9 comments:

purple-power said...

The sweater looks gorgeous. The cape, I just can't tell because you need to see it on a human being to see how it actually fits/falls. Actually, you should also model the sweater so we can oooh - aaah. Really.

Sarah said...

Love your sweater design! I have that stitch pattern on a pair of socks, but I think it really deserves to be on knitwear that's seen more easily!

Elaine said...

I think the sweater looks great! You should be really proud of yourself!

Dora said...

Oh my gosh that sweater is GORGEOUS. I am sooooo proud of your work and jealous of your ambition. Now I am just sooooo sad I did not get to come to NYC to see it today. :) I do promise we will catch up soon.

Unknown said...

Absolutely gorgeous

Unknown said...

I think it looks wonderful - congratulations on a great design.

Unknown said...

Great job on the sweater design - any more thoughts on the cape?

MoniqueB. said...

That took guts! But your cabled cape is looking superrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Love the colour too.
The pink sweater is something that I wouldn't wear, but it's made beautifully and with love.
Wear it proud!
Hé, that's the birthday girl....er... princess! She's cute!

Anonymous said...

That sweater is so lovely! Are you planning to publish the pattern?