Finished: Rainbow Radiate

Rainbow Radiate is done and photographed on the HOTTEST day thus far. I must really love knitting.

Pattern: Radiate by Joji Locatelli (Rav Link)

Needles: US 6s and US 4s

Yarn: Hue Loco Phyllis DK in Vivid Sampler Rainbow, 316 Dye Studio House DK in Graffiti, Wichita Woolery Tweed DK in Graffiti

Mods: I made my own custom sleeves and did NOT follow the body shaping.

I am really happy with the fit. I could have used some more positive ease in the body but it does make a nice line at neutral or negative ease. The total yards ended up at 1,351 yards and I used up all of the tweedy yarn. I have had this idea for this rainbow sweater for close to five years and I’m glad it’s finally in existence. Now to wait for fall to actually wear it!

Happy Knitting!!

Autumn Gold Yoking

I had some waiting room time this week and I really powered through several sections of my Autumn Gold sweater.

This pattern is pretty good thus far. Easy to follow and making a nice fabric. I am using a sunshine marker to help me keep track of each section when it asks me to knit for a certain length. I could measure from the increases but this feels more secure based on my previous knitting mistakes.

It’s also been nice to move to the bigger needles and not have so many stitches bunched up on the needle. I think I have two of five increases done so I have a lot of more stitches to add to this thing.

Happy Knitting!!

Swatching: Bibliophile Sweater

I decided to swatch for a second sweater after my Autumn Gold went so well. This time around I chose the Bibliophile 2 by Alicia Plummer.

I wound the yarn and used the recommended needles. And boy oh boy did that NOT work. My fabric is almost bullet proof tight and way off gauge.

I think I will I will try a second time with just one needle size up. I think that will give me stitch gauge but not row gauge. So there will be maths involved when I go to actually and knit the sweater.

Guess I can’t win them all? Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Autumn Gold Sweater

Thanks to my successful swatching, I was able to start my Autumn Gold Sweater!

I am making the size XL and have already made one modification. I did not want to work the ribbing on the pattern recommended needles so I chose other needles. They are smaller than I will work on the body so there will be a size difference, just not to the designers specs.

I am done with the 1×1 ribbing and can switch over to the main body in stockinette. I much prefer stockinette in the round to ribbing in the round! How about you?

Third Sleeve Attept

So these are the sleeves I am not happy with. They are extremely boxy and square. I used some stitch markers to mark where I want the sleeve taper to really get going.

I ripped back to the marker and added 8 more decreases before the ribbing then used one needle size down to work the ribbing. The new sleeve is on the left and the old version is on the left. The difference is night and day!

Stay tuned for final FO photos!!! Happy Knitting!

Not Quite Done

The hem of my Rainbow Radiate is finished and I popped it on for a test fit.

I LOVE how the body fits and I think I am done fiddling with the body. However, my second attempt at sleeves still isn’t right. The sleeves are too wide and bunched around my wrists. I need more decreases to take out the excess fabric and slim down the ribbing.

Time to rip them back again…..happy knitting!!

Taking Out A Few Rows

I had some dentist waiting room time with each kid. So I am really focusing on my Rainbow Radiate. I brough my smaller size needles and put in the sleeves to rip back and redo.

I went 7 rows back into the stockinette and I’m going to start the ribbing here. I also think I will sneak in a couple extra decreases to cinch the cuffs in. The yarn ripped back very nicely considering it was a tweedy yarn. I am bit worried that I didn’t go back far enough. I will see after the final try on….

I should have a finished sweater soon!

Hats And Sunburns

Summer time also means major pool time for my kiddos. I took the liberty to put my pasty skin in the sun with some 70 SPF and knit on a chaise lounge.

This Dream State Musselburgh is my project I grab for auto pilot knitting when I don’t want to think or not sure what I want to work on. I think I added two stripes in this pool visit? My kids did occasionally press me into service to go down the family slide or watch them perform cool tricks.

I unfortunately protected my legs so hard that I ended up burning my shoulders and chest. Lessons were learned! Happy Summer!!

Blocking Test

My Rainbow Radiate is SOO CLOSE. And this yarn is part superwash so I decided to do a quick wash and block to understand it’s fully true size.

I put some try it on tubing through the live stitches and did a basic wash in Soak. It looks so lovely in the sun and dried very quickly in the hot summer sun! And boy am I glad I did this, look how much it grew!!

I went from high waist top to almost full sweater. For the hem I am going to add a couple more decreases and start the 2×2 ribbing. The sleeves are also too long and I forgot to go down a needle size on the ribbing. I think I will rip those back a wee bit and take out 6-10 rows.

Happy Knitting!!

Sweater At The Pool

I took my Rainbow Radiate on the road. The kids have swim lessons this week and I am using this down time to try and power through this sweater.

I am still round and round through the body. I did add a single increase on each side seam when I thought it needed it. I think I will add another 2 in a couple of inches and maybe one last set of 4 when I start the ribbing to account for my belly and hips. I’ll see how I am doing at yarn chicken.

Happy Knitting!!