There comes a time when you realize that you’ve been duped. We have all been victims of pretty pictures that we see in pattern magazines, and envisioned how magnificent our FO’s will turn out. Such is the trickery of beautiful models and professional photography. I, on the other hand, have an iPhone camera on the day the FO shooting took place. No awesome cameras, grumpy knitter, and this is what you get…. just a “Meh….”

(Do not be fooled by this picture. That’s the most flattering angle of the sweater)

(Notice how I am not smiling in the pictures. There is a reason. The truth will be revealed soon)

(Way too oversized batwings.)

(Trust me, I can gain an additional 50 lbs and this sweater will still fit)

(The side that the French model never bothered to show you)

Pattern: Phildar Gilet No 416-T4-159, Sz 34/36

Materials: Jaeger Baby Merino DK (13 balls in Teal), Sz 4 circs, 2 el-cheapo Walmart buttons

Notes: The pattern, though French, was pretty straight forward because it didn’t contain complicated shapings. The finishing instructions though, were a hoot. Basically, this is what it said : “Attach fronts to the back piece. Don’t bother trying to match up the stitches because it is impossible. Look at the diagram and use it as a guide.” Hmph! Great. The yarn that I used is a superwash yarn, and when I wetblocked the pieces, it grew to monstrous proportions. What is it with superwash yarn and gigantic expansions? I think that’s what contributed to such a floppy looking sweater.

I had grand hopes for this sweater, and spent 8 hours seaming this beast. I was going to find a kick-ass furniture store and look for a similarly shaped couch that the model was standing in front of and do the exact same pose for kicks and giggles. And then, BAM!, I tried it on. “Meh…” was about the best emotion the resulting FO elicited. Just “meh”.

At first I wondered if I should just rip the sleeves apart, but it wouldn’t be a cardigan now, would it? I have decided in the end to just make peace with it and move on. Oh sure I’ll still wear it, we all need a tent sweater some time right?

And with that.. let’s move on to better pictures of the Pimlico shrug in the outdoors. This is a drastic improvement from my bathroom shots. We must end this point on a high note. Yes we must.

(ahh..much better)

(collar up)

(and again, what the pattern doesn’t show you in the book)

Pattern: Clapotis from Knitty
Materials: Handpainted Merino from Uruguay, 3.5 balls (supposedly 218 yds per skein. I still feel I was shorted), Sz 7 circular needles (Gotta love Denise Interchangeables)
Notes: Soft, warm and non-itchy. Forgot how many repeats I did on this one, just kept knitting until I felt it was the right length.
Update: Thank you all for your lovely compliments! I’ve received a few questions in regards to where I purchased my yarn. It’s from an ebay seller under the name 100purewool. Just make sure you got more yarn than what you THINK you actually need. And while you’re at it, if you have a yarn meter, please check whether or not they really come in 218 yd hanks. Don’t want you to run into yarn shortage problems like I did.

Moments after winding up that handpainted merino from Uruguay, I started knitting Clapo2 right away. 650yds of yummy goodness. I’ve often wondered what other knitters meant when they described their yarn as being sproingy, and now I know. Boing! boing! Now you if remembered my Clapo1, you would know that I used less than 600 yds of the Lorna’s Laces goodness and still ended up with more yarn to knit an extra straight repeat ( I did 14 repeats, btw, using sz 7 needles). So I figured, ooh.. I can totally bump this baby up to 15-16 repeats no problem and wrap myself in this divine sproinginess.

NO. SUCH. LUCK.
I think I’ve been short-changed on the yarn. At first, I thought maybe it’s the difference between knitting with sport-weight and worsted weight yarn, but then again, I am using the exact same needles and I am supposed to have more yarn than the last time, so what’s the deal yo? I’m already into the third ball of yarn and if I were to use it up, I’d only have 11 straight repeats instead of the original 13 in the pattern. WTF? Another giant dishcloth? It would take about a month just to order another ball of yarn and wait for it to fly from Uruguay to Los Angeles. The more I think about it, the more angered I am because I’ve worked on it ALL WEEKEND LONG and I really wanted to have it done by next week.
Yes, I could probably rip it all out and make a narrower Clapo2. But I like the width, I like the parts that are already knitted up, and I want it to wrap around me, not just my neck. No siree, there will be no ripping the Clapo2. Why? Because the yarn sticks and dropping those stitches was no fun feat. I can hardly conjur up the courage to rip. Damn it. I sent an email to the lady who sold me this yarn.. so we’ll see if she will respond to me. And it better be soon, cuz patience is not my virtue. I feel cheated. yuck.

Today started out with me receiving 3 hanks of handpainted merino from Uruguay in the following colorway. These 3 hanks are destined to be Clapo-2, since Clapo-1 has been abducted by mommy dearest. And would you know it? BF came to visit me tonite. This is how we spent a romantic (heh heh) evening together.First, we started out with the lovely yarn…. A few hours went by…

And 2 balls of lovely hand-wound yarn appeared. I was going to get to the third hank… but
BF decided that it’s time to get me this! HA HA HA… And that is the end of our little show-and-tell for today. YIPEE!!!!! (Oh and just so you know, I already made good use of that 50% off from Joann for the swift that should appear on my doorsteps any day now)

I started the Diamond Fantasy Shawl on Sunday, and boy was I pleasantly surprised. Initially, I thought that I’d be doing a lot of re-knitting because the pattern appeared complicated, but I could not be more wrong. Sivia Harding is a genius! I am totally enamored with the simple yet beautiful design. What you see here is just the first repeat of the pattern and I’m loving it.









And guess what? I finally decided on a color for the Cherry Blossom Shawl. It’s a lovely reddish/pink lace yarn by Handpaintedyarn. Two hanks of Geranio. And I purchased a hank of their Velvet Grapes just because. One can never have too many lace shawls or scarves. It’s soft, it’s plush… it’s a nightmare to wind by hand. And that vinegar smell.. whoosh! Actually, I think I’ll just try to go to my LYS and see if they’re willing to wind it for me. Think they’ll let me?

Maybe I can start hinting around for a ball winder for my birthday. I’ll be turning 26 in two weeks.. so it’ll be perfect timing. woohoo.

*Edit: I left to have a martini with my colleague right after I posted… and thinking that I am immune to the alcohol, I picked up the shawl and knitted away. Two hours later, all the yarn is now re-wound into the ball again. Ha ha… martinis and lace knitting don’t mix, yo!