FO Friday

This moment has been long coming.
I cast on for this Ski Sweater on November 11th last year. 11/11/11.
I knit on it exclusively for almost two weeks. Sleeves and body finished, I put them in a bag to await the day when I would learn how to use a sewing machine and machine stitch the armholes for steeking.
Guess what day never came.
Now, the sweater is finally done. 9 months. I could have had a baby in that time! It feels like I did. Here he is: Meet Norman, my newest baby.

The pattern is Ski Sweater in Color Patterns by Elizabeth Zimmerman. It can be found in Knitting Without Tears, though a horrible representation of the beautiful pattern. In fact, I never knew I wanted to knit it until I saw the photographs in The Opinionated Knitter. Especially since they illuminate the red hems so beautifully. Yes, it is this picture that got me hooked on the idea of knitting a stranded ski sweater.

The original Ski Sweater Elizabeth Zimmerman knitted for the 1966 PBS series, The Busy Knitter

The yarn I used for my sweater is Cascade Ecological Wool (That makes a total of 3 hand knit sweaters out of Cascade Eco Wool in my closet, with the makings for two more in my stash- Can you say SALE?) which is a bit scratchy, but should be very comfortable when layered on top of a long sleeved sweater. It doesn't get very cold in this area of California, but I am a person who is not tolerant of cold at all, so it should still get plenty of wear. Also we don't have a heater in our house, so I can totally picture myself wearing it over leggings cozied up in front of the fire on lazy days off.

Haha I took this picture right when I woke up (because it's too hot in the afternoon to entertain the idea of wool) and I had no idea how tired I looked!

So I think the most important thing about this sweater is that I steeked it. This is my second steeking project, and I think it was more difficult than the first. Steeking a sweater front and making it a cardigan is fine- you secure it, cut down the middle, and sew the cut edge down. Then you just have to pick up the cardigan band, which is So Much Easier than having to sew in sleeves.

Seriously. Don't be scared of cutting! That's the easy part. It's the sewing that got me. I'm still not entirely sure I sewed the sleeves in correctly but they are attached to the sweater and what more could I ask for? Also? Blocking worked a miracle for the purl armscye hem:

Before blocking: Look how those purl ridges BULGED!
After securing the cut edges and steaming it down a bit, they smoothed out a lot. ^_^

As for securing the cut edges, I learned the herringbone stitch for this sweater, and it was a pretty, easy stitch and looked good. I found that the best way to keep the little flap of cut stitches nice and tidy while you're working is to sprinkle some water on there and iron it down. If you're bad at sewing, like I am, and find that you get nervous? Play some slow-ish and well-loved music. (I chose Stephanie Dosen.)

Herringbone stitch done in purple sock yarn- 100% wool.

My favorite part of this sweater? The red hems. ♥

There you have it.
My newest baby.
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