Friday, June 20, 2008

In the Jungle

the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps.... Um maybe they sleep in the jungle but they don't sleep in the lilac bush. I'm sorry if the following pix offend anyone, but hey, this is what animals do. If this type of thing bothers you scroll quickly down to the knitting stuff....the saddle shoulder sweater is down there!


Believe me, it was quick and I doubt the sparrow was aware of anything.


This pic just cracks me up, I didn't care how nasty the look he gave me was, I was NOT letting him into the house!




Now for the knitting part.

The saddle shoulder sweater is basically done. I have a few pix for you, cuz I just couldn't wait to show you guys. Please excuse the fuzziness and lighting. The pix were taken up stairs in my sewing room just now...7:45PM so you can imagine the lighting. Plus I have enough drugs in me to kill a horse so holding a steady camera is more or less impossible right now. You have no clue how many pix I had to take to get these shots!!! LOL Tomorrow, hopefully I'll have the button band facing sewn and "buttons" in place and will model the sweater myself. (I did get a thumbs up from Vivian. Er, um, I would get a thumbs up if Vivian had thumbs)


Like it? I'm LOVING it!!!

Here is a quickie list of the things I love about this pattern
  • bottom up nearly seamless (arm pit seams only)
  • knitted in, faced, button band
  • saddle shoulder shaping
What I don't like about this pattern
  • Calls for machine made button holes
BUT I'm going to stay with the 50's way of doing things and sew snaps in the button band and cover them with some funky vintage buttons. Besides, even though I've been sewing all my life, I've never made a button hole with a sewing machine. gasp Note to self, maybe that's a skill that could come in handy some day. :-/

You can sort of tell the way it fits Vivian, but pix of me wearing it will really scream the 1950's typical shape and fit of cardigans. I found this pattern in an old magazine. I worked it stitch for stitch, row by row, inch by inch as stated in the pattern. Yeah I know, I'm shocked too, and thrilled to find that the pattern is entirely free of errors. I followed this pattern sooooo closely that I was counting stitches and rows constantly. Honestly, I think I could have gotten it done a full two days earlier if I didn't stop so often to count! :o)

The main reason for my obsessive behavior was to really understand the construction so I can tweak it. Let's be honest, not everyone likes the fit of the typical 1950's cardi. Most people want a sweater little roomier, I needed to know exactly where and how to make the changes. There needs to be changes. The sleeves are incredibly tiny, I've got really scrawny arms, not everyone does. I want to play around with the decreases that shape the shoulders as well.

More tomorrow about the sweater with better pix and close up shots.

4 comments:

  1. Can you give more info about the button band? I love that sweater! It's so... fitted & tailored & 50's! Love it. The yarn is pretty, too. What is it? Oh, and *gasp* at the thought of cutting button holes!

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  2. What about putting a collar with a bell on so the birds can hear the cat coming? or more than one bell preferably because apparently they can learn how to avoid making noise with only one on). I don't mean to lecture, really, but cat owners do have a duty to prevent their pets from decimating the local wildlife population. Preferably by keeping them indoors especially in the spring when the fledglings are coming into gardens to feed. I love cats, but I love birds too :)

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  3. I have an old Singer machine from the 50's and I used to do button holes in sweaters with it. I can't help but think that the newer machines do even better button holes. Knit up a swatch and give it a try! I think I used to put waxed paper between the knit and the feed dogs and the presser foot.

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  4. Love your whole post...

    Love the cat picks LOL

    and love the sweater!

    very cool shape!

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