Shepherd Sweater: On to the SLEEVES!

The Shepherd Hoodie is really starting to look like an actual garment! SO exciting :)

First, I finished the upper back portion of the sweater body.

Then, I joined the shoulders using the 3 needle bind off, which is a really cool technique. I think it creates a very tidy and pleasing finished look!

Here’s a wrong side view of the shoulder seam:

And here’s how it looks on the right side!

Next up: sleeves! The sleeves are worked in the round, from the shoulder to the wrist, and include a wedge of seed stitch in the armpit that gets decreased away as you work sleeve shaping. I’m working the sleeves using a long circular needle and the magic loop method. It’s my favourite for small circumference knitting! I don’t mind dpns for lighter weight yarns, like sock yarn, but for heavier weights, I prefer magic loop. (What do you use? I’d love to know!)

My execution of the decreases in the seed stitch wedge is not as great as it could be; or, more accurately, my integration of the decreases into the rest of the seed stitch is not as invisible as I would have liked. HOWEVER, since it’s in the armpit (and who looks at armpits?!), I’m not going to rip it out.

In order to make sure the sleeves are a good size for me, both in terms of diameter and in terms of length, I’m trying the sweater on as I go. This is one of the great advantages of this type of sweater construction! I do want the sleeves to have some positive ease, so that I can wear other garments underneath, so I might not end up decreasing as much as the pattern suggests.

I feel like I’m getting so close to wearable sweater even though there’s a fair bit left – a sleeve and a half, the hood, and finishing work still to do! How’s your knitting going?

Shepherd Taking Shape!

Since my last Shepherd sweater update, I’ve made some exciting progress!

I finished up the right front, which was shaped with a combination of binding off stitches and decreasing at the neck edge.

Then I worked on the left front, shaped in the same way.

Doesn’t it look pleasingly symmetrical? I’m starting to see “sweater” when I look at it instead of just “rectangular block of cables”!

Now I’ve moved on to the center back portion of the body. It’s wider than the front pieces were, so it’s a bit slower going, but no shaping to keep track of! I’m looking forward to finishing this bit, because then I get to join the shoulders and start SLEEVES!

Even for such a large and labour-intensive project, knitting this sweater isn’t at all a slog. There’s constant evidence of progress to keep me feeling motivated and excited! I only wish it was small enough to carry with me on the bus ;)

Shepherd Update!

The last time I showed you my Shepherd sweater, I was making steady progress on the lovely, heavily cabled body, and generally gushing about both pattern and yarn’s considerable charms.

I’m still totally in love with the pattern and the yarn – no surprise there. I know it’s been said (by me, and by others) already, but the yarn for this project is just SO so special. It’s not buttery soft like most of the commercial yarns available today, but it’s not really what I would call “rough” either. It just has more substance, more body, more crispness, and I loooove it. Also bears repeating: it just smells. so. fantastic. Lanolin is magical, and fragrant.

ANYWAY! I took a little break from Shepherd over the holidays, to crank out a pair of socks for a beloved whose feet were cold and whose office mates apparently had handknit socks made by their wives. Now my attention is back on the sweater!

Like my friend Amber, who is also knitting (and blogging!) the Shepherd hoodie, I’ve just divided for the fronts, back, and sleeves. (*waves* HI AMBER!) Before I divided, I worked the body length to about 16.25″, a little bit shorter than the pattern calls for, for my size, because I’m a bit shorter than, um, most eighth graders ;)

I prefer to put held stitches on extra circular cables, instead of waste yarn, so that they’re super quick to pick up again when I need them. So, that means my sweater looks like a bit of a hot mess right now. All is well, there are just a lot of extra cables flapping around!

I’m making progress on the first front piece, and getting really excited about being able to try on a sweater body sometime soon :)

Healing, Knitting. Hexa-Rainbows and Rainb-agons!

I’m recovering! Slowly – but surely. I’m very lucky that I’ve been able to take a good chunk of time off from work to stay home, consume liquids, and rest. I need it, too – I’m totally worn out! Even a quick shopping trip today completely wiped out the energy I had stored up over a few days. Oops.

Also lucky for me, it turns out that knitting something simple is the perfect way to keep my mind busy (to avoid obsessing about the potentially catastrophic meaning of every tiny ache and pain – I’m a worrier ;) ) and to create something happy and beautiful at the same time.

First, I finished some socks for a beloved with cold feet. I *really* hope they fit, but if they don’t, I can make more. That’s the beauty of knitting, I think.

Next, I made a bunch of easy, comforting hexagons.

They have been the perfect project, because I don’t need to read or remember a pattern, and they’re small enough that I can work on them even with a supervisory cat in my lap. :) They are also hella pretty.

Even though I’m really enjoying working on these hexagons, I’d love to get back to my Shepherd hoodie, too. What are you knitting, these days? I hope it’s something happy-making.

Hmmm…

Later today, I’m having dental surgery. (Wisdom teeth!)

“No task requiring skill, co-ordination, or judgement should be attempted for at least 24 hours following surgery…”

Does that rule out knitting?!!!

Maybe I’ll just hold a ball of yarn.