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!!

Rainbow Radiate Body Building

I feel like I never make progress until I step back and look at my Rainbow Radiate.

I stopped and measured here as I am halfway through both skeins I am alternating for the body. I am blending two different bases from two different dyers that have the same color (ish). I am very very very very pleased to say that you can’t tell one bit. It’s creating its own unique fabric but I am getting very little striping.

I still have a long way to go to finish the skeins I have going now. And then I have one full skein and some partial skeins left to finish out the bottom. At this point it is going to be as long as its going to be. I’m just going to knit until I run out.

Happy Knitting!!

Rainbow Radiate Body

The sleeve slog is over! My Rainbow Radiate has two complete sleeves!!

As predicted, sleeve #2 took almost another full skein of yarn. I have measured precisely and by eyeballing I think they match. But I can’t promise they are exactly the same as I did a lot of counting in a dim room while watching movies.

Now on to the body…..I have 1.5 skeins of the Tweedy DK from Wichita Woolery and 2 skeins of the 316 Dye Studio House DK to finish this project. I have previously made this size and used 4.4 skeins of the main color and for this project I had 5. Fingers crossed!!

Happy Knitting!!

3/4 Of Sleeve #2

We had movie marathon this past weekend I really put the gas on my Rainbow Radiate sweater and the second sleeve.

I really had to dig around and find more removable stitch markers to keep track of my progress. It is a little bit easier this time since I can count the rows on sleeve #1 and repeat for sleeve #2. Based on the stitch markers I am roughly 3/4 done.

I am excited to get back to the body as there will be much less counting and a lot more auto pilot knitting to do. I am still cautiously nervous about running out of yarn for the whole sweater….but that’s a problem for another day.

Happy Knitting!!

One Finished Radiate Sleeve

I have been slacking on this project and it has been sitting on my WIP pile. But I did finally finish the first sleeves on my Rainbow Radiate sweater.

I don’t have super long arms but I like a good sleeve so this took almost an entire skein. And I have a new full skein attached so I can start sleeve #2. This confirms to me that I will need to use my Wichita Woolery similar skeins and alternate with my 316 dye studio skeins to finish the body. Not the best outcome but I can use helical knitting to reduce the differences. This sweater is so speckled that I don’t think it will show in the end.

Happy Knitting!!

Almost A Sleeve

Slowly but surely, I am making a Rainbow Radiate sleeve.

I have been slipping my arm through the neck opening and putting the sleeve on my arm to try it on as I go. I am placing the decreases where I need them for my anatomy and NOT where the pattern states. I think I added 6 or 7 total decreases?

This is a superwash yarn so I am cautious to stop a little before I think I need to in order to accommodate blocking growth. I am super close and should start the ribbing soon! And then of course….do a second sleeve.

Happy Knitting!!!

Divide Those Sleeves!

After some fiddling and a few dropped stitches, I have my Rainbow Radiate ready for sleeves!

I finished the short row shaping, put sleeves on waste yarn and worked about 6/7 rows of the body. I have decided I like working the sleeves first before the weight of the full body of the sweater exists. It’s less fabric to have in my lap and “turn” as I work sleeves.

I grabbed some shorty circulars and put the first sleeves on and going. This has a second silver lining….I can maximize the yarn used in the body without having to save any for the sleeves. I have two kinds of grey main color that I am blending so I need to be careful.

These will be full length sleeves so I have some way to go to get these done but those short round and round circles are mostly satisfying. Lots of progress develops quickly! Happy Knitting!!

Peaks Of Pinks

We are back to golf lessons and patio time for mom. Which is great as my Rainbow Radiate has reached my first pink color!

I am glad I went back and corrected the stiches that were bothering me. The rows are long now that I have fully increased for my bust but the rainbow is worth it. I have three more colors to add after this hot pink. So I am CLOSE.

Of course after this it is miles and miles of stockinette body in the main color of the speckled grey. I should be careful what I wish for! Happy Knitting!!

Finished: Synthe

I finished finished my Synthe sweater!

Pattern: Synthe by Kjerstein Rovetta (Rav Link)

Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in the color Amaranth

Needles: US 9s for body and US 8s for sleeves

Mods: I added body length and omitted many of the waist increases. I also added single crochet around the next to bring it in and make the opening smaller.

I ended up using 7.6 skeins of Shelter which is right about 1,060 yards of yarn. This whole thing is SO light given that this was a woolen spun yarn. It is for sure not next to skin soft and I will likely need a tank or shirt underneath for long wears.

And I think I like the fit and how it compliments my shape. I’m happy with the modifications I noted above. I knit this whole thing in just about a month and a half. Which is pretty nice based on the level of my mojo lately.

I am already dreaming of my next sweater! Happy Knitting!!