Wranglin' the wrap

Finally, something to post about --and a newsflash for you: Seaming sucks. Especially when you screw it up as often as I did knitting this baby:



pattern: Raglan Wrap from Laura Irwin's Boutique Knits
yarn: 9 balls of Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK in "ink" for the size M.
needles: 3.75mm
buttons: bought on ebay --Vintage anchor (peacoat) buttons
mods: buttons sewn through both front pieces with the exception of at the neck and waistband (still used the snaps there), and I blocked it out a little longer than called for to try to get a little more length in the body.



um, ok --I think I might be in love with this sweater. I am DEFINITELY in love with the yarn. Though I bought too much. The pattern specified 8 balls for the small, and then 13 (????????) balls for the medium. Ok, it wasn't worded quite like that but that's what the medium instructions essentially amounted to: you will need 9 to 13 balls. Uhhhh, what do you do in that situation--shoot for a mid-point? I erred on the side of caution and bought all 13. I now have 4 leftover. Or, I WOULD have if I hadn't had to tear it out (twice) to keep re-seaming it. I used 9 balls exactly. Then when I had to seam it up for the final time I had to dip into the tenth ball for that reason alone. So now I suppose I could return the three remaining for something else, but enh? It's beautiful yarn. There may be a cowl (or two) in my (and someone else's)future.

I will spare you the long story about my seaming issues other than to say that originally I seamed the sleeves all the way up to the armpits (seen in my previous post). I had woven everything in before changing my mind. At one point I even mistakenly CUT THROUGH (gasp!) knit stitches thinking that they were the seaming yarn. (Cursed dark yarn), but in the end it all came together beautifully --and I think I may have finally mastered the mattress stitch. It is definitely my best seam-job to date. Why does that sound dirty?

And before anyone asks --it is meant to be reverse stockinette --I haven't inadvertently seamed this sweater together inside out. Though with my track record, would it really be a surprise if I did? I grappled with whether I even liked the reverse ST stitch, but I think the border is "fancy" enough that it actually kind of works here.

In short, this sweater might actually get some wear. Though after some great advice from miss Puffin, I think that I am OFFICIALLY done with anything remotely resembling a batwing. Yes, you now have that in writing, and any previous plans to knit Nati are now dead in the water.

Though now the question remains: "what the hell am I going to do with all that yarn for it???"

I had the world's laziest weekend, spent mostly thrifting and walkin' around in our sudden Spring-like temperatures around these parts (though as I type this it is now snowing again...) so our knitting "photoshoot" on Saturday deteriorated into some serious silliness, and as such subsequent photos of the sweater itself were not the best and look more like this:



Ah well. Consider it the sweater in action.