Sunday, November 16, 2008

A Merry Sheep's Reel

The sleeves – like I anticipated – flew from the needles. I am happy and relieved; happy that the dress is finally finished and relieved that it turned out just about what I had hoped for.I started this from the top, used Elizabeth Zimmermann’s percentage for the number of stitches and the ratio of increases for the yoke and Bohus sweaters as inspiration for patterning. I kept referring to Poems of Colour (a book by Wendy Keele) every so often and knitted few rows from the book as they were written there. I truly love the scattered purl stitches that are typical to Bohus designs.I used 400 grams of two-ply woollen spun Finnwool (Pirtin Kehräämö) natural beige for the main colour. The blues and browns are mainly old Alice Starmore Campion but I might have added few Shetland Spindrift into the mix too. The sleeves are simple and finished with few rows of garter stitch. For the most part I knit with 3 mm needles, but while doing garter stitch, I switched to 2,5 mm. I did add one row of brown to the other cuff to echo the brown rows in the yoke, but really this was not necessary and just made me have to weave in two extra ends. But I like the tiny brown row, it is this something that makes the sweater little bit cracked and not too perfect.

As I have mentioned in the previous posts the hem was knit several times. The first time around it was more or less straight hem and I did not like it that way, the second was like the one in the dress now but there were too many increases and it did not look quite as good as this one. I cut down the amount of stitches and got it right the third time. Also there are few garter stitch rows to prevent the hem from rolling up. The dress is not very long, which is hard to tell since I took pictures on the dress form. It is little bit over knee high for me. It feels light and airy. I aimed for loose but not saggy fit, so there are few decreases towards the waist before the increases start for the hem. There were times when I thought that this knit was just dragging on but for the most part I had a good feeling about it.

Since last post we have got some snow, the temperature is well below zero - perfect weather for a wool dress. Right now I don’t know what I will knit next. Part of me does not want to leave the dress behind but thinks that it still needs something added onto it, but part of me is eager to go ahead.

Neither part is winning so my knitting is at standstill. I have a feeling that this will not last long.

Until next next dance,

Lene
PS. This last picture was taken later on with the timer to show you how it fits real me.

76 comments:

  1. Anonymous18:31

    Your creativity amazes me.

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  2. I was thinking that I would comment, "You never cease to amaze me!", but I see marji has beat me to it! Knitting that dress would take me many years. If I started now, perhaps my 1 1/2 year old granddaughter could wear it to high school!

    Linda

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  3. Anonymous19:32

    Lovely and amazing.

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  4. What a beautiful dress!

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  5. Lene, it's beautiful in every detail, collar to hem! What a wonderful garment to greet the winter in!

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  6. Anonymous19:57

    Very pretty dress, Lene. Good job.

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  7. Like Linda, I think it would take me many years to knit something that big with the size needles you use! You must knit like the wind!

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  8. Absolutely beautiful!

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  9. So pretty, and what a clever design! I think I have to withdraw what I said about not writing patterns in your previous post...

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  10. Anonymous20:36

    just wow! you have got to publish your patterns somehow! in your own time, in your own way...but you must!

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  11. Aivan uskomattoman kaunis!

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  12. I love it! It really looks good on you too :)

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  13. Oh! So very beautiful... The yoke colors reflected in the stripes at the hem, the shape and flow of the skirt, the subtle texture of the garter ridges at the hems... I too really like the small brown line at the cuff. A delicate detail.
    Very nice!

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  14. Anonymous21:02

    Wow, it's stunning! Just the thought of making a dress with 3mm needles makes me go a bit dizzy!

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  15. Anonymous21:07

    This is beautiful. I want one just like it. This might be goal of mine for next winter. I LOVE IT.

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  16. OMG! it´s so beautiful!
    best wishes from Iceland
    Frida

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  17. Anonymous21:38

    Lene, you have such a wonderful eye for color and balance and your knitting skills are terrific. What a beautiful dress and it fits you just right!

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  18. Anonymous21:43

    This is so beautiful that I'm speechless (and have to delurke to tell you...)
    Fantastic!
    Ursula

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  19. Anonymous21:46

    wonderful !!!

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  20. Anonymous21:48

    really lovely. A poem indeed!

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  21. WOW! What a beautiful dress! I love the colours and the details! Well done! =)

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  22. Lene, Lene, what a lovely and beautiful dress you've knit. A Merry Sheep's Reel is a true Beauty and it's for you! That has me smiling.
    It's a great fit. Well designed and knit! I'm rather fond of that wee brown row on the sleeve.

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  23. I love the hem!

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  24. Wow! What a beautiful dress, I want one for my self!

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  25. Anonymous22:31

    What a lovely beauty you make, I realy love it. You'r a great tallent and inspiration for the knitting world. Thanks Lene.

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  26. Anonymous00:22

    Beautiful! I especially love the little coloured frills on the hem.. and the single brown detail on the cuff.. and the fair isle yoke..!

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  27. Anonymous00:34

    Really cute, Lene!
    The fit is just perfect!
    Margie in Maryland

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  28. Anonymous01:06

    Lene:
    I echo all the comments. :)
    Beautiful photographs too.

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  29. simply gorgeous!

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  30. Whatever you put in those hot drinks, I want some too! You generate amazing productivity. This is an elegant must-have dress for winter. (Likely next for me...hee hee)

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  31. Anonymous03:20

    This dress just floats down from the yoke, anchored lightly by the few lines of blue at the hem - it could have been formed from clouds, with bits of sky peeking out top & bottom. Lovely.

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  32. Anonymous04:42

    SPECTACULAR! I can't say much that hasn't been said already.

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  33. How Beautiful! I just love the flow of this dress. Nothing is missing! But I always think of your knitted pieces being ended with your little embroidered bird somewhere. It makes me feel good to read about all of your projects. And I love the weather updates as I am now in a place that has no autumn or winter and I never thought how much I would miss it until now!

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  34. There are so many aspects to the dress that I really like, it would be really difficult just to pick one. First of all I love the colors & design that frame the neck, this really makes the dress special, yet the shaping is so important and you did a masterful job with that as well, ending with the shades of blue that you worked towards the bottom of the dress really ties in beautiful upper section. - WONDERFUL!

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  35. Anonymous05:35

    Wow -- beautiful!

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  36. Anonymous05:45

    It is beautiful!

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  37. A real success--it fits wonderfully. So much work, and it wasn't even winter. Very impressive.

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  38. I love the hem!

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  39. Anonymous07:21

    Lovely!

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  40. Anonymous07:39

    LOve it, love it, love it!

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  41. Anonymous09:16

    Absolutely incredible! I love that brown row, and the hem is really lovely. Thank you for sharing this with us!

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  42. Anonymous16:05

    EZ would be so pleased to see where her influence has taken you! What a triumph--congratulations on an amazing FO.

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  43. STUNNING!! You look wonderful.

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  44. So beautiful! I love the colors, the design, everything about it. You are so talented.

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  45. It's a triumph! Lovely, useful and so creative. Hooray! I hope you are wearing it proudly, but I predict your daughter will try to steal it from you.

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  46. This is wonderful. You inspire me to try bohus. Thank you for sharing.

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  47. A lovely, lovely dress. Wear it in good health.

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  48. Anonymous20:49

    I've been eager to see this dress in its' finished form. Simply beautiful.

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  49. You are such a talented artist!

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  50. Anonymous21:43

    Lene, your dress is perfection!

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  51. Anonymous02:07

    Brava! It's absolutely gorgeous. The brown on the sleeve is not a bit "cracked!"

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  52. The dress is beautiful. I enjoy everything you knit, but I think this is my favorite.

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  53. Anonymous03:37

    wow! this is really breath taking. Lovely work.

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  54. Your dress makes my heart sing.

    Love the last photo. :-)

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  55. I can't say anything that hasn't already been said. It is absolutely beautiful!!!

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  56. How absolutely beautiful!

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  57. Anonymous00:38

    I am speechless. The dress is incredibly beautiful.

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  58. Gorgeous. As one would expect from Lene...

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  59. What a wonderful dress.

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  60. Anonymous20:09

    Never have I seen a yoke look so sweet and sophisticated. Your detailing - especially in the hems is so natural and appropriate.

    In fact, the more I look at this dress, the more I see myself at home, sitting by the window, wearing the dress and a soft pair of jeans, writing.

    Thank you for the inspiration.

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  61. I don't always comment, but enjoy your blog and I LOVE your new dress. Thanks for all the pictures and close-up shots. It looks great on you and the colors look so nice together. I'm glad you are so happy with it, too!

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  62. Anonymous01:59

    Truly a work of art.

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  63. Anonymous14:01

    Very, very, very beautiful!!!

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  64. Anonymous01:30

    Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Well done on having the staying power to finish it, sometimes miles of stocking stitch can be disheartening. The end result is amazing, you must be so chuffed!

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  65. This dress is absolutely stunning!
    Love your attention to details ;o)

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  66. Anonymous21:32

    Aivan ihana ja kauniisti istuva mekko! Olet äärettömän taitava ja ahkera.

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  67. Lovely! Absolutely lovely!

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  68. The dress is absolutely wonderful! You are an inspiration!

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  69. It is amazingly beautiful in design and fit. It's almost as if it were just created out of air and settled about your shoulders with the sky and other colors of nature there for a bit more adornment.

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  70. Anonymous17:17

    Breathtakingly beautiful! What an amazing artist and craftswoman you are! What you make does not only show how very skilled you are - but also it shows your love for the prosess and what you're creating! You're such an inspiration!

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  71. Anonymous08:21

    Stunning

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