Saturday, January 03, 2009

Kingscot – the final episode

December just flew by. The girls came home and before I was fully aware, the house was bursting with life and running a house with many adults from different generations (we had grandmothers for Christmas as well) with varied needs was a full time job, but it was a job I enjoyed. The knitting time was limited but once life is slowly returning to normal, I am having more time with the precious wool again.

Kingscot is finished and has been waiting on a dress form to be photographed. The rest of the cardigan proceeded easily; the sleeve heads were easy to adjust to my gauge and were sewed with ladder stitch without any difficulties. Now, I am so sorry that I can’t credit the source… I was reading blogs some time ago, following links and ended up at the site where I saw how the buttons were attached so that there is smaller button in the backside. I have seen this done in sewing but had never thought about bringing this to knitted garments. As soon as I saw this done, I realized its benefits in the knits. Somehow this stabilizes the buttons and they don’t seem to drag down since the weight is distributed evenly in both sides. All in all, knitting Kingscot was a very good experience. I think I learnt a lot, or rather, I got to use all kinds of little tricks I have learnt over the years and most of them from reading blogs and searching internet. Using big needles, 4 mm’s, was not – after all – such a bad experience.

I know I was worried from the very beginning of the color, or rather colors, of the yarn but now that the cardigan is finished, it does not look bad. Certainly if I were to start all over again, I would pick plain yarn, but I will let the cardigan be the way it is now. So I’m not over dyeing it just yet.

I am glad I decided to skip the seams where it was possible and the adjustments (you can read them from the previous posts) proved to be good. I am really happy of knitting the button bands simultaneously with the fronts. I made the sleeves a bit skinnier around the wrists, to make them more wearable under coat, but maybe this was not such a good decision. Somehow the wide sleeves belong to the design and maybe I should have left them the way they are in the original. What I love most in the design is how the back looks; the way the pattern pulls in lightens the back and makes it to drape even and it looks lovely.

And then few pictures of me in Kingscot…

… and the final verdict:

It is too big for me. But I like it anyway!

(I have three volunteers waiting for me to decide whether or not I will keep it myself or if I will pass it on.)

I have been planning plenty of knitting for this new year. I have a very long list but I am sure most of the items will be dropped off the list while new patterns start arriving with inspiring spring issues. I just can’t wait to see what is coming up next.

All kinds of resolutions have been made in this new year but I’ll talk about them later if I am able to keep any of them, too embarrassing to share them now, if by tomorrow or by next week they are forgotten. But somehow this year the feeling of a fresh start and the new set of 365 days were very welcome.

So it is January, in the good old times it used to be very cold month and today was just like the good old times. I took the dogs for a walk on ice and the wind was strong and the temperature was maybe –15 ºC and the walk against the wind forced me to cover my nose and the cheeks with a scarf and that did make me very happy.

After all these years knitting and wearing wool still makes me very, very happy.

A very happy new year to You too!

Lene

30 comments:

  1. Happy New Year to you, and thank you for sharing your wonderful talents with wool in 2008. I look forward to following your creations in 2009.
    Jean in mostly warm and sunny South Carolina.

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  2. It's always nice to open your blog & see a new post...I've been missing your knitting and thoughts.

    The sweater is lovely! My stomach cringed when you said it is too big for you. How good you have willing recipients in the wings offering to take it.

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  3. Happy New Year, Lene.

    The sweater is just lovely. I hope you keep it as it suits you so well. It will not seem so big when you layer other things under it for your near arctic cold.

    I'm not sure you can comprehend our crazy weather in Texas. It is 82F today; I'm gardening, the BF is playing golf. Now it was down to freezing yesterday and will do so again tomorrow, but today is early summer.

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  4. Kingscot is beautiful in its many colors. It may be a little big, but it doesn't look too much so in your photograph. Happy New Year!

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  5. Beautiful! I am a fan of both Norah Gaughan and you. What a great trick with the smaller button inside. Thanks so much.
    A Happy New Year of wool and health.

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  6. Anonymous01:09

    Your new sweater is lovely. I like the variation in color.


    Whooooo...I can't imagine walking in weather so cold.

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  7. Anonymous01:17

    OOOOOH Beautiful! I particularly like the back.
    Margie in Maryland

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  8. Your Kingscot is really beautiful!

    Happy New Year, Lene! I am so glad to see you're back - your blog is such an inspiration! May your new year be full of fibery goodness!

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  9. That is a wonderful sweater. It doesn't look too large for you int eh pictures. Thanks for sharing. And Happy new Year from chilly, Central Ontario, Canada

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  10. Anonymous04:07

    Oh, Lene, it's beautiful! What yarn did you use and what is the rib stitch you used on the back?
    Happy New Year to you!

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  11. The sweater is beautiful, including the variegated colors, and your skill just makes the pattern shine.

    I live in Canada, with cold winters (though not comparable to yours) and my mother taught me to hate winter. It has only been in the last 5 years or so, since I've discovered wool, that I've begun to enjoy winter. My feet always used to be frozen in the evening, but now, with wool socks and felted slippers, they are toasty and warm.

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  12. Absolutely beautiful. If it's too large, wear something under it rather than over it?

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  13. Anonymous07:47

    The slimmer design of the sleeves echos the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater, they look very balanced and right in the overall design. What a fabulous sweater so full of various stitches yet it manages to convey a simplicity.

    Sometimes sweaters that are a tad big are the most comfortable in the long run, especially when covering multiple layers.

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  14. Anonymous09:25

    it's really pretty! the colour and the pattern look great toghether, and it looks absolutely fabulous on you

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  15. Anonymous10:06

    How nice cardigan and the coulour is perfect. I can imagine that there are many eager person to have it.
    Have a happy new year.

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  16. Anonymous11:51

    Beautiful sweater! Do wish you would put your talents into patterns for all for us to emulate your lovely knits. Happy New Year to you!

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  17. Anonymous12:15

    It's lovely! I actually like having one or two sweaters that are a little large, they are just perfect for snuggling up in! The button tip is a great one - I will definitely be using this in the future.

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  18. fabulous knit Lene, well done. I love the colours, they remind me of the ice on a winter evening.

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  19. It's always a pleasure to see the things you make. So pretty, and what I admire the most is your unfailing attention to detail. Happy New Year!

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  20. Your Kingscot cardigan is gorgeous!

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  21. Kingscot cardig is beautiful Lene, I hope you enjoy wearing it the wool is a beautiful colour. Happy New Year. Jane x

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  22. This is a really nice sweater ! I like the back a lot...and the buttons...and the wrists. Maybe the sleeves are a bit too big for you but the body doesn't seem to be too big. Maybe you're used to more fitted sweaters ;-)

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  23. Anonymous22:56

    Once again you wow me with another beautiful garment! And it may be a bit to big, but it looks lovely on you -- warm and cozy, and it sounds like you needed it for your walk!

    Hyvää Uutta Vuotta!

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  24. Your sweater is absolutely gorgeous! I love it. It looks great in the varigated yarn. You did a fantastic job.

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  25. Anonymous01:43

    Happy New Year, Lene. The sweater came out beautifully. It is always inspirational to read about your process--it seems that few people pay so much attention to craft.

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  26. Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2009, with lots of time for your craft ideas to work themselves out.
    Thanks for sharing your progress with your readers!
    Lisa in Toronto

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  27. The sweater is beautiful! And thank you for telling us about the bubttons; it's exactly the solution to sewing buttons on a beautiful sweater I just made from some icky-to-knit [Patons Brilliance, which I now think of as "Snaggiance"] yarn.

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  28. Beautiful sweater. Happy New Year to you, too!

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  29. Anonymous03:18

    Such a beautiful sweater!

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  30. Oh...absolutely incredible!

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