As the last post of the year, I can think of nothing better than to share my favorite (and last) finished object of the year. I actually started this sweater back in July. I was able to knit most of the body before I put it away to knit my Ravellenics sweater. I pulled it out at the beginning of December and completed it on Christmas Eve.
pattern: Oranje, by Ann Weaver
yarn: Cascade 220 Sport, in Blue Hawaii, Natural, and Vandyke Brown
needles: 5s and 6s
raveled: Blueish Oranje
This sweater had a couple of firsts for me: it was my first time steeking, first time using more than two colors in a row, and first time knitting braids. Out of all those techniques, the three colors at once was probably the hardest. Catching the floats of the colors not in use really slowed me down. The braids were the biggest pain in the butt because the two colors of yarn get twisted around each other and then untwisted on the second row. Steeking was actually the easiest technique!
I only made a couple of modifications to the pattern. I spaced out the waist shaping so it wasn't as dramatic and added an inch to the body because I like longer sweaters, although that probably wasn't necessary because the yarn grew a bit after blocking. I took out an inch from the armwell to account for a different row gauge than the pattern. Lastly, I knit chart C to match the pattern pictures, not the pattern charts.
Below is a view of the sweater inside out. I think I did a darn good job of making nice sized floats with the unused color. I may add a strip of ribbon on each side to cover the folded over steeked edges, but for now I'm quite sick of sewing.
I'm totally in love with the sweater and I'm already planning on knitting another one in 2013. I'm thinking a red, white, and black sweater with full length sleeves that I can wear for Badger sporting events. This sweater was a lot of work but it was worth it. It feels nice to end the year with such a great project.
Happy New Year to everyone!