I told you I've been knitting up a storm since coming out of the field. Making up for lost time I suppose.Like others, I probably never would have thought to knit Astor if I hadn't seen it modeled by Leslie in this post. A bit later Jane popped up with another amazing one. Then my mom saw Leslie's and fell in love so we decided that a mother-daughter knit-a-long was in order. She gave me the yarn and pattern for Xmas last year, bought some for herself (yeah, good deal right!) and it was official. Both of us cast on fairly quickly but life gets in the way and there they sat for months. Then in October I decided I needed to finish something for myself before holiday knitting began...and say what you want about bulky knits but they are instant gratification projects. It only took about 1.5 weeks of knitting a bit in the evenings (and one long car ride) to finish this up (mom's still working on hers...hopefully one day I can get a shot of us both with our sweaters on).
About this knit...I love it and I loved the yarn. Very lightweight and soft for a super bulky yarn. I get that lots of folks don't like to knit with bulky yarn because either the discomfort of big needles or let's face it...most of us don't need added bulk. But outside of the instant gratification aspect, I think there is definitely a place for big, comfortable, warm sweaters. Though not too big...which leads me to the sizing on this. I didn't have a clue!! The model is stick thin and was wearing a 44 (!!!!) (ETA: actually, she is in a 48!!!). Leslie is also stick thin but made the 40. I'm not stick thin but I didn't want something that would swamp me. So I went with a 40...it looked bigger on Leslie than I wanted so I hoped I got something that allowed me to overlap the front if necessary, but 'fit' otherwise. It was the right choice.
No modifications outside of seaming. I kitchener'd the neck band together rather than seaming it and for the rest of the garment, used a matching sport weight yarn to seam rather than the bulky yarn. Otherwise, there were a few errors in the pattern that I reported on Ravelry. All, I'm sure, were picked up by others although errata is not indicated on the pattern page or on Berroco's site.
I thought I'd show a close-up of my necklace which in my opinion is a perfect accessory for this knit (although in the end I couldn't seem to get a shot without glare). I have a good friend who makes me jewelry...and seems to have a knack for knowing just what suits me. I don't wear jewelry frequently, but when I do, more often than not, it's one of her pieces I pick up. Isn't it perfect?
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Now playing: New Soul by Yael Naïm
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19 comments:
oh, what a lovely textural sweater! you're making me want to knit one too.
Astor looks GREAT on you.... one of these days I'd LOVE to actually SEE you wearing it..... and the necklace, which goes very well!!!
Yay, a modeled shot! Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.
Beautiful!!
It's stunning! And the necklace is beautiful too.
hey there old friend! Miss you much! The sweater is gorgeous and the necklace suits it perfect. Beautiful, as you always are. Fun to see you in the jewelry too! Love ya!
That is a great sweater! It looks like the perfect thing to wear on cold winter days. Isn't it a great feeling when you finally finish a big project, wash and block it, then get to take the pictures?
that sweater looks so amazing! what great texture.
I do love that necklace, yes. It seems perfect for you! And the sweater. Well, it seriously works. I love it! And how fun to kal with your momma!
Yay Astor! I knit mine because of you. I wish I had done the pockets!
It looks so cozy. I'd like to be wearing it right about now, as we near sunset. I am wrapped in one of my scarves, but with a t-shirt. It's not enough. Time to add another layer. Your necklace does look to suit you perfectly. Looking forward to what's next.
stunning. stunning. stunning.
seriously, i don't think i could love this sweater more!
i want to drop everything i'm doing and make myself one!
you did a fantastic job and it looks fabulous on you!
and the necklace is perfect too!
A big layering piece like that is so useful. That texture stitch is just gorgeous and it looks great on you - and nice match with your lovely necklace too.
Don't you just love it!? I wear mine all the time, each time getting tons of compliments. So glad you made this Rachel. Again, I might make another.
It's perfect and so is Astor.
I love it! The textured detaling is interesting without being too ornate for casual wear. And the whole piece looks classy and comfy at the same time. I just love it. And the modeled shots are great!
The mother-daughter knit a long sounds like a great idea. I' should really see if my mom is up for something like that next year.
That sweater turned out so well - I have to admit to not being all that wowed by the FO pics of Ravelry, but yours is just lovely and cosy looking.
The Fossey book was quite good - I think Mowat did a good job. But boy, while her heart was in the right place, she was quite a volatile character. I wish he'd done a bit more research on who killed her. And yes, this past year Whole Living has become one of my favourite reads too.
Looks gorgeous on you - perfect fit and you are right about the necklace as I love it too.
I'm rather seriously behind in reading, this is lovely!!!
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