September 01, 2003
River Grass Gansey
Thanks to the Caroline for reminding me that finished objects are a good thing! With her encouragement, I was motivated to finish up the River Grass Gansey which I started early this year. I'm so glad to have this finished for fall, as it will be a very warm and cozy addition to my wardrobe.
The design is from the Jamieson's 2 Book and is knit in Jamieson's Shetland DK. This is lovely yarn which I bought at Colorful Stitches in Lenox, MA. Colorful Stitches is a gorgeous store that is well worth the trip. I stopped on my way home from vacation last fall. The yarn color is cinnamon and I made the largest size.
One of the nice things about this sweater (besides the lovely cabling pattern) is that it is knit in the round up to the armholes, then back and forth for the front and back. I finished the neck before starting the arms. The arms are started from the armhole and worked in the round to the end of the sleeves. The only finishing work is binding off the shoulders and weaving in the ends.
I've started on Checkers and have finished five and a half rows of the blocks of one sleeve. I thought that this sweater may be tedious to knit, but with all of the color changes and the expectation of moving on to a new row of colors, the knitting is going quickly and remains interesting. Additional motivation to keep moving on this project is Michelle's beautiful finished sweater.
Mary
Posted by at September 1, 2003 08:19 PMHi Mary Welcome to the Tea! River Grass is so nice!
You are brave to take on Checkers, I'm so intimidated by that (I-word) knitting. If I thought I could do that, I'd tackle Tumbling Blocks which is about the only Fassett design I like. Please give us commentary and progress reports about knitting something in this technique!
Posted by: CarolineF on September 2, 2003 05:26 AMMary, it's breathtaking! River Grass is a classic, isn't it? I can't imagine it ever being dated looking. Did you enjoy every bit of it? I have some of the DK in Rosewood that I've been thinking of using for this.. you may have put me over the edge. And Checkers, wow! I'll be looking forward to your reports on that one. Like Lady Fiddletwist, I am intimidated by intarsia.
Posted by: Sheila on September 2, 2003 09:37 AMmary, your sweater is really lovely! i'll bet you can't wait for cooler weather so you can wear it!
Posted by: vanessa on September 2, 2003 10:06 AMGreat job Mary on this refreshingly different aran design and great color.
Seeing this sweater and Checkers makes me feel more welcoming of fall- their bright colors warming up my memories of North winds and cold nights.
Posted by: Roi on September 2, 2003 10:21 AMThanks for the compliments. I can't wait to wear this! I agree with Sheila - this is a very classic design, but not old-fashioned looking at all. The only part of knitting this sweater that I didn't like was that I was having "needle" issues. I started with a bamboo needle that I really liked, but it broke. The replacement needle just didn't work as smoothly. It kept catching at the join. I tried a new ebony needle that I had but it turned out to have a bad tip. It was at about this time that I put the project down for awhile. Eventually, I picked it back up and plowed on finally finishing it.
Regarding the dreaded "i" word. Checkers is a perfect "i" project because there are no diagonals and no funny little shapes. The color changes are all on the same row for the horizontal changes and completely straight up the sweater for the vertical color changes. I'm using the directions in the SWAK book to make sure that I keep things looking neat, and so far it's been surprisingly pleasant to knit! I'll post a pic of the progress (both front and back sides). Something like this would be a nice intro to intarsia for just about anyone.
Posted by: Mary on September 2, 2003 11:40 AMOh that sweater is so beautiful, what nice work!
Posted by: Maus on September 2, 2003 02:21 PMbe still my heart. That just takes my breath away. WHAT a BEAUTIFUL piece of work.
Helen
Posted by: Helen in NH on September 2, 2003 02:40 PMOh Mary!!!! How beautiful! It is knit in the round up to the armholes? Stunning! So you're tellin' me I *need* to make a road trip to Colorful Stitches? The Berkshires in the fall would be heavenly. :) I see you're knitting Checkers as well? I've admired Michelle's sweater for months now. So now I have two intarsia gurus to hold my hands. ;)
Posted by: Kerstin on September 5, 2003 02:55 PMsimply gorgeous sweater! Overwhelmed as I am by being surrounded by UFO's...it is inspiring to see an actual FO.
Knit On!
Mary, your sweater is exquisite! And it's great to "see" you here.
Posted by: Linette on September 5, 2003 11:29 PMThanks again you all for the generous compliments.
Yes indeed Kerstin - Colorful Stitches is well worth the trip. The store is lovely, well-organized and has a wide selection of great yarns. They have a great selection of more traditional yarns (like the Jamieson's, Rowan, etc.) and you won't be overwhelmed by novelty yarns. They do have a great collection of Colinette yarns, but my impression was that they definitely cater to knitters that are willing to go beyond a garter stitch scarf! Oh, if only there were more stores like this in Ohio!
Posted by: Mary on September 6, 2003 09:45 PMWell, I'm late to the comment party on this one, but what lovely knitting, Mary. The sleeves are particularly interesting, and I'm quite fond of the cinnamon. Love the colors named after the great baking spices. ;-)
Posted by: Sam on September 7, 2003 11:37 AM