Hooray! I finished my Ravelympics 2010 project (Fair Isle Collared Swing Jacket) last night. I was weaving in the final ends about the same time that the Star-Spangled Banner was playing for Team USA 4-man Bobsled #1, as they received their gold medal...62 years in the making. Thrills abound!
I think that event was actually the most exciting of the Games for me. Or, maybe it was just the way NBC manipulated staged the coverage to make it more exciting and keep us watching. Whatever. I cheered Steve Holcomb's team to victory and shed tears to hear our National Anthem (rather than yet another playing of Oh Canada...the words to which I think we all know by now). Now, if we can just sing O Say Can You See today after the Hockey game...
Anyway, I've actually earned TWO medals for this project : one in the Sweaterboard Cross and one in the Nordic Colorwork Combined. And, even though this is really a "swing jacket" (wider at the bottom than at the top) rather than a sweater, I'm sure I'll enjoy wearing it with jeans, etc., anyway.
The collar is the "colorwork" part, billed as a Fair Isle Collar in the pattern in Vogue Knitting, Fall 2009. Strictly speaking, it isn't Fair Isle (as it has more than two colors on a row; more than 5 stitches in the carry on the reverse); but I did a little re-charting on the fly and made it Fair Isle. I also found these neat buttons when last in Louisville...and thought they would be perfect with the colors in the jacket and collar.
The original pattern was for short sleeves...but I had plenty of the Baby Alpaca Grande Tweed, so I just kept knitting (and decreasing) to make them long sleeves...which I much-prefer anyway. The collar is self-lined, so to speak, in that you knit a turning row at the end of the colorwork part, then knit 25 "plain rows" for the lining...and then sew it to the neck. That way, you don't see the "messy" side of the colorwork (where all the colors of yarn are carried and crossed). I've never made a collar like that, so that was certainly a new technique learned for me.
Also, just had to share this photo (left) of Gus and Duchess with you. We made a few final furniture changes the other day, moving our two chairs from our bedroom bay window to the keeping room (which also serves as my office) bay window, where we could have our coffee, read the paper, watch the birds, and enjoy the fireplace (which is double-sided)...all at the same time. Well, obviously, the dogs thought we moved those chairs to that spot for their convenience and comfort, don't you know? [Elmo prefers that someone with a lap occupy the chair before he takes his nap there.]
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