Look what the cat dragged in

Hi. It's June. It's been a long time. Guess what I've started knitting again?! I have done all of 2 inches of the body, but the point is I've picked it up again. It's come with me to several movies and it sits on the couch with me when I feel large, hot and lazy. I have no way of checking whether the waist shaping I'm putting in will work or not since I have no waist any longer.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that, late as it is, I'm finally joining the knit-along that I co-hosted. I will make this New Years Resolution yet!

Attached the sleeves...

and now I'm knitting the daunting 380 stitches for four inches. I hope it goes faster than the sleeves. This sweater has been a hard one to want to knit. Size three needles. Lots of stitches. Brown yarn. Around and around and around and around... you get the point. I can't wait to get to the color work. I'm also knitting two other cardigans and a pair of socks so at least I have something else when my brain fries from stockinette stitch overload.

Now for my progress...

So shortly after we (Amanda and I) conceived of this knit along, I... well, conceived. [If you want, you can read more here] For most of January and February, knitting made me nauseous. Most things made me nauseous during that time. So, I did nothing on it after swatching. Calculations for modifications were were far more than my foggy, first trimester brain could handle.

Until a couple of weeks ago. I cast on. Only. I have a provisional cast on without having even joined the round (I decided to forego the pictures- hope you're not disappointed). I've been concerned about the problems people have been having with sizing and steeking and I couldn't decide whether I wanted to add more stitches to steek, or whether I wanted to do it as written, leaving myself the option of just making the damn thing a pullover if I couldn't handle it any longer. Also, I realized there is no earthly way I could try on my sweater as I worked, since if it fits me now, I've made a big mistake. I planned to work based on my measurements from December, which might be a little more busty than my non-pregnant self, but will likely be just right for next winter and nursing.

So, that's where I am. I think now that Amanda has started over and there are a few of you also starting late, that maybe the group vibe (and the lack of nausea) will help me to finally get started on this sweater!

Enid, meet Elizabeth

So here's the latest on my Enid cardigan: after knitting the sweater body all the way up to the underarms, I think, hm, I should stretch this thing out on to a bunch of circular needles and check the fit.... Bad news: I've knit myself a potato sack. It's huge. HUGE! Like many of you, I have been endlessly frustrated with Véronik Avery's instructions for what should be a really really simple knit and I've made a decision.

Goodbye Véronik, hello Elizabeth.

What I love about the Enid cardigan is the colorwork around the yoke, and the slim, modern fit. What we seem to be getting with the original instructions is a baggy mess with a crappy looking loose collar. So, I'm starting over and following Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Kintting without Tears" percentages system this time - folks who have used this before have raved about the beautiful fit and I'm hoping to add myself to that list of fans. Using EZ's method, the sweater will be worked almost exactly the same as written in VA's instructions, but the numbers will be tailored to MY bod and will hopefully fit much better. I've started completely over from the bottom hem and even though I have the sleeves knit, I think I'll re-do them to keep with EZ's proportions and percentages. I'll be keeping the fabulous colorwork around the yoke from VA's pattern, but that's about it. I'll keep you posted on the new EZ Enid. I'm about to head over to the couch for an afternoon of lazy movie knitting. The sky has been rumbling and darkening all morning - it's the perfect day for it!

It's been so quiet around here.

Come on people! I'm dying here... how is everyone's cardigan (or for some, pullover) coming along? What's the progress looking like?

Hesira's Finished Enid

Well, here she is. I have mixed feelings about this project. I learned so much through the process and gained a lot of confidence. I am interested in knitting more sweaters in the round, and trying steeking some more. However, I have a few disappointments as well.



If the whole point of steeking is to reduce the amount of seaming, the button band and buttonhole band negated that. What a pain! You can clearly see where the stockinette stitch overlaps the steeked edge on both sides of the button area. And speaking of buttons, I couldn't figure out how to place just 9 buttons. I had to use 10. The crochet edge is pretty when you put it on, but for me it's not really functional. It's difficult to tell just where the button HOLES are.



I was hoping the puckering would lay down after blocking, but it's still there. I swear I was carrying my floats loosely, but not loosely enough, apparently. Hopefully, with time, this will ease out.

As Lizz said, the only way to wear this sweater is completely buttoned (or zipped in her case) up. Sometimes I like to wear a cardi with just the top button fastened, but even that is impossible with this sweater.

I think there are places where the pattern is a little vague. Two examples: assuming the knitter knows what to do with the sleeve seams and there is no indication of exactly how many stitches the knitter should initially crochet across the button band. Strangely enough, it all works out in the end. It's comfortable to wear and fits better than expected. It looks really pretty

Would I ever make it again, or recommend it to someone? No way. Am I glad I made it? Absolutely. Things I'd do differently if I made it again:

No provisional cast on. I'd either let it roll or use some non-rolling stitch border.
More stitches in the steeking area. There was too little selvage for a beginner steeker like myself.
Different button holes.
Higher neckline.

That's it folks. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's finished or in progress sweaters. I'm especially interested in those of you who decided to change the neck shaping. Good luck, everyone!

Pre-Steeking

I'm just about ready to steek Enid. I've knit the whole thing, run a thread down the steeking column, and double reinforced either side of the column. Now I need to steam block the steeking area and get out the magnifying glasses and the sharp little scissors.

Here she is. You can see the steeking column represented by the light blue dotted line. You can also see a little of the contrasting hem on the bottom peeking out. After steeking, I attach the button band and the button hole band (yet to be knitted), sew on the buttons (yet to be bought), block that bad girl, and it's done!



I thought I'd show you a close up of the yoke with the colorwork. I'm still hoping for some flattening out of the puckering once it's blocked. I have a good feeling about it. I was a little worried about my colors, as I didn't use the Reynolds Whiskey. I thought the fuschia might be a little much, and I was worried the purling might look amateurish. I actually think the 2 things take care of each other, or rather the purling softens up the color transitions and gives some dimension to the yoke. Once again, I think the blocking will help make it look less messy.



Even though the pattern says to go ahead and cut the front, I'm waiting to steek until the button bands are ready to be put in place. It makes me nervous thinking about those cut edges sitting around waiting for me to finish the bands. Maybe by the end of this week, I'll have MY version of Enid to show.

HAPPY MARDI GRAS, YA'LL!

Hello from Newcastle! (north east of England)

Hi everyone

I've just started swatching for Enid. I think I'm going to be in for a long haul with this one and I can't deny, the idea of steeks is making me more than a little nervous! But I enjoy a challenge.

I'm a big busted gal with a narrow waist so I'm particularly interested in hearing about how others have chosen to modify the pattern...and I'm already considering converting Enid into a jumper rather than a cardi.

The yarn used in the pattern isn't available in the UK so I'm planning on using some of my tweed stash. Possibly in the colours pictured below with the grey/brown shade as the main colour, I'd be interested to hear what you think of this combo:

Looking forward to getting to know you all. Helen

How to float thread on purl stitches

Can anyone tell me how to float the thread when you purl on the front? I'm at the point on the colorwork where I need to purl a row. I tried it on a swatch, and the MC shows through when I float. Also, I can't figure out how to attach the new thread to purl without it showing on the right side. Am I dense, or is anyone else having this problem?

Trying It On For Size

Hi Everyone.

I thought I'd share some Enid experience with you. I've gotten the sleeves joined to the body and have tried it on. Here's my pic


For those of you who haven't knit a sweater in the round yet, let me tell you, the first few rounds after joining the sleeves are awkward to knit when you get to the sleeve part. That eases up eventually. Also, be careful when joining the sleeve and don't put it on upside down, like I did the first time I tried. Of course, no one else is as dipsy as me, I bet. Another thing, and I know this is terribly obvious, but I thought I'd bring it up. There is no mention of sewing the underam seam in the pattern, or if there is, I can't find it. I've read it several times. Am I missing something? I know most people would just assume if you have the same number of bound off stitches on the sleeve as on the body, that you should make a seam there, but normally a pattern tells you to do so and when. I'm planning to sew mine after the whole thing is knit, but before I steek.

Also, this sweater appears to short for my curves. I may have to lengthen the bottom when I go to make the hem. We'll see after it is all yoked up. OK, I showed you mine, now you show me yours!

some questions about sleeves and neckline

Hello Enid knitters,
I have not yet started Enid. I am swatching and pondering. I am thinking of making this sweater as a pullover in stead of a cardigan. Is anyone else doing that? Also, I may follow she who is knitting Enid in rose quartz and may make a hemmed sleeve. Is the sleeve straight? As for the neckline, I am reading EZimmeramn's 'Knitting Without Tears" and seeing if I can incorporate some of her shaping into Enid.
When I read the posts about the "itch factor"in this sweater it made me consider making my facings with a different, softer yarn (I have some fine merino in my stash).
Sarah

Lizz's post

I just joined this knitalong because, like all of you, I fell like a ton of bricks for this pattern when the winter issue of IK appeared. I have been gearing up to begin but have yet to cast on. Lizz's post on completing Enid is sobering....the low, boat-ish neckline really does seem to be a hazard. I am thinking about how to learn from Lizz's experience: what would be the best way to alter the neckline? could one just keep knitting, decreasing at the proper rate (what would that be?) and make a neckline that fits higher?

Enid is done!

Pattern Enid Cardigan, Interweave Knits Winter 2006
Design By Véronik Avery
Yarn Reynolds Whiskey
NeedlesKnitpicks Options and some non-descript DPNs
Date Started 12/08/06
Date Finished The knitting and steek was finished 12/22/06, but the finishing was done today 01/21/07
Alterations I used some of the stitches for a crochet steek, and instead of a button band used a zipper.
Thoughts Let's start with the good things: I loved knitting this. The yarn was great to work with, and softened with a washing, and the colors were beautifully put together. This was my first steeked sweater and I feel totally confident to do others and think it was a great technique to add. And because of some unforseen dislikes I learned how to put a zipper into a knitted garment (really easy by the way, and I hate sewing!).
Now for the bad. I really don't like the fit of the final product. The problem is not in the measurements, they are all well and good. The thing is, the cardigan looks great zipped (or in most peoples cases, buttoned) but looks rediculous opened! The whole cardigan droops and becomes shapeless and the entire neckline feels like it is sliding down my chest. It's not functional as a cardigan and therefore really disappointing. But all in all, not a total loss.
Now I don't want to discourage those currently working on Enid, but I will say, I would not recommend this project to a friend. That's a first for me.

sleeves?

Anybody know why the sleeves are coming out so large? Are there corrections that we don't know about? I'm casting on four stitches less than the smallest size and then going to follow the increases from there. I'm hoping this will work. I'm knitting one of the middle sizes, but my arms aren't that big. Anyone else make it through a sleeve yet? I'd love to hear how it worked.

Update

I'm happy, since it looks like my waist shaping and gauge finagling on the sleeve are working out just fine:

The edges are rolling a bit, can't wait to fix that with the hem facings. I guess there is nothing stopping me from doing that next...it might be just the break I need before I slog my way through the next sleeve.

I'm thinking ahead--I do not like the idea of a 'wide boat neck' look, I just know that with a garment like this it would annoy me. I plan to work some short rows on the upper back and work extra decreases to remedy that. I'm also psyching myself up for a hand-sewn steek. I don't think I have enough room to spare for a crocheted steek, and I don't really trust my skills with a sewing machine enough to risk it.

I was doing a good job being faithful to Enid but I thought I'd 'warm up' for colorwork by joining the We Call Them Pirates knit-along...and casting on a pair of socks for a friend's imminent birthday. Heh.

CR

Newcomer

Hello everyone! I'm a new member to the knitalong, so I thought I would introduce myself. My name is Kim and I just started this sweater a couple days ago. I'm using the Reynolds whiskey in Tobacco and for the contrasting colors I thought I would use red, orange yellow, lime theme. I'm not sure though. I have hours of mindless knitting before I need to worry about it too much. I'll be posting my progress on my blog too. I'm looking forward to seeing all the different Enids.

New Rules for Susan

I, Susan, do solemnly swear to live by the following rules:
1. I will not spaz about my gauge before my swatch has even reached 3 inches in length
2. I will not measure my swatch with the needles still in the fabric (Can I get a duh?)
3. I am not the Yarn Harlot. I will do a proper swatch and not claim a sleeve counts. Maybe once I've knitted as much as the Harlot, I can do the same as she.

The gauge is looking much better, and I won't do my final measurements until I've given it a bit of a wash. Honestly, measuring gauge on 2 inches of fabric with the needles still in it...

Meh.

I have a swatchy question for all of you. Did you knit a circular swatch? Is that what you're going to practice steeking on, those of you who are planning on a practice one?

See, I cast on a sleeve-sized swatch myself, and if all went well, I was hoping I might be able to continue it as a sleeve. However, the sleeve swatch I cast on looks like it's going to be huuuuuuuuge! So that problem seems to be fairly consistent among us. My gauge is a bit off, too. I'm supposed to be getting 26 stitches to 4" with the larger needles (the 4s), but I'm getting more like 23 stitches thus far- and I knit tightly! Granted, I've only done about 2 inches, but I get the feeling these needles just aren't the right size.

Also, I'm using a pair of inox dpns, and they feel a bit sticky with the silky wool. I prefer Addi Turbo or Knit Picks circulars, so I'm contemplating placing a Knit Picks order for a couple of #3 circs. The 4 dpns are slowing me down.

Well, I'm going to continue on my sleeve swatch with a circular #4 and see if the smooth finish on the Options needle makes a difference (shut up, I can dream!) and I can eek out those extra stitches per inch. Otherwise, it's time to find some #3s. I'm glad the rest of you seem to be making better progress.

And stupid Blogger won't let me post any photos of the sleeve that's twice as wide as my arm.

Stupid Blogger.

Also--

I was rushing to catch the bus this morning and realized that I was almost done with the body so I grabbed my double pointed needles and cast on for the sleeve instead. I did a provisional cast on--I'm hoping to do a similar treatment at all the edges--sleeves, hem and neckband. I think I'll be doing all of them in green (my favorite color). I'm being really Virgonean about it, but I just can't stand the idea of three separate edges. Don't get me wrong, I am MEGA-excited about the look of the contrast psuedo-piping and especially the interior facings in a whole other color. I'm not the sort of person who edits colors from Noro or freaks out about mismatched sock stripes...but SOMETIMES, I guess I am ;)

CR

P.S. I'm several rounds into the sleeve and it's way too huge--I'm knitting the 33" size and 60 stitches is coming out far too large, at least for my liking. I'm going to go with Amanda's sleeve modification. Another edit/update: I have a confession to make--I wasn't getting gauge on the body, but I was okay with that. I was getting 6 stitches to the inch, which is yielding a sweater that measures 34" around--much closer to the size I wanted. I am a loose knitter and had to go the size 3 needles to even get that gauge. Instead of changing the CO # and the taper (as Amanda did) I think I'm going to just knit the sleeves on size 2 needles. This way they will come out the intended measurements. It was "huge" because I forgot that I'm knitting at a different gauge. I'm also liking Joan's matching sleeve/body hemming...

This might be majorly boring for a lot of you, but I know we have some first time sweater knitters in the KAL, so I hope this exhaustive amount of info is helpful.

In other news, I had a dream last night that I cut my steek after reinforcing only one side--with a CONTRAST color thread. Whoops. I was very happy to wake up to an intact sweater.

Snooze...

Hi all! Happy New Year. I cheated and cast on at Christmas--I just couldn't resist, and it was perfectly non-demanding knitting that left me free to talk to relatives and drink spiked eggnog to my heart's content.

I'm almost done with the lower part of the body:

I did attempt the usual provisional cast-on but...I didn't trust it. It was my first time using it and with that many stitches, I found it difficult to count the first row and maybe I'm foolish but I felt like screwing up one of cast-on stitches would prevent the waste yarn from unzipping later...was this a correct worry? I ended up doing a crochet chain provisional cast on instead, and I'm happy with that.

I'm shaping the waist and lengthening a little...I knit for about 3 inches, then gradually decreased every inch until I'd decreased by about four inches. I knit for an inch then started to increase every inch and I'll do this until my stitch count is back to its original stitch count.

I'm thinking ahead to the steeks...I'm really liking the sound of crocheted steeks (versus sewn) but I didn't plan/include the extra stitches necessary...I'm kind of thinking that I might do it anyway. I know from my gauge swatch that this yarn grows slightly, so maybe I will be okay doing it anyway? I'm kind of a reckless knitter =]

Over and out,

CR

New Member!

Hi, I'm Rebecca and I'm so excited to be joining this KAL! I have to wait 2 more weeks before ordering my yarn and that is hard to do! But I'm finishing up some small wip's while I'm waiting. I'll be knitting Enid in Telemark since the Whiskey although beautiful doesn't fit the budget right now. I've decided on the dark chesnut brown for my main color. Um... I may actually be a little crazy for admitting this to you all but after 2.5 years of knitting..... Enid will be my first sweater (as well as my first attempt at any colorwork at all). I'm not even allowing myself to think about the steeks yet or my brain might explode. I'm anxious to learn more about tweaking the waist & bust shaping on Enid that several of you have mentioned as I'm a very full D cup. This is gonna be a fun ride! Thanks for letting me knit along.

New Year's Knitting.

Hi all, I've been knitting away on my first sleeve all day and I thought I'd share a few tweaks that I've already made (I know, I'm never happy).

I cast on for the 36" size sleeve and knit about six inches before everyone in my home came by and said - that's huge, start over. So, I did. I decided to shoot for the same stitch count at the top, so I've had to modify the taper some. I casted on 50 stitches, knit 4 inches and have been increasing per the instructions every inch following to end up at 80 at the top. It it starts to look too much like a funnel, I'll stop increasing, but so far with this weight yarn, the increases are pretty subtle.

And, I visited Depth of Field Yarn in Minneapolis - a fabulous old school knitting shop owned by one of my Mom's high school pals. The owner is a knitting genius and this is the conversation we had:
Me: Hey, what do you know about steeking?
KG: Steeking? I love steeking. I steek all the time. I know everything about steeking. I taught a class on steeking.
Me: Great. This is what I'm knitting, and she's got no extra stitches built in for the steek, what do you think?
KG: Change it. Cast on 5 extra stitches, that's all you need. Knit the steek stitches through the back loop so they're twisted, they'll hold better that way. Crochet up the sides of the center stitch and cut the ladder.
(At this point, she grabbed a sample sweater she just happened to have sitting next to her to show me what she meant - she has samples of everything technical - she's amazing - and sure enough, it looked great.)

So, that's my plan - 5 extra twisted steek stitches.