Oct 05 2008
Jacquard Pulli: Er ist fertig!*
Socktoberfest did not start with socks for me… it started with the completion of this sweater. It has been hanging around since April, and I finally had enough momentum to finish the yoke after returning to work on it in September. I could not put it aside any longer… and I am so glad I pushed through to complete it now!
Jacquard Pullover
Pattern: Rebecca #34, pattern #1
Yarns: Jo Sharp DK wool (brown and ivory), Ella Rae Classic (ivory), Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (pink), Cascade Lana d’Oro (blue), Knit Picks Andean Silk (green)
Needles: Size US 8 circulars (body) and DPNs (sleeves)
Started: April 22nd / Completed: October 4th
[All Jacquard Pulli photos here]
I started this during Project Spectrum as an all-encompassing knit project. The colors used in the Fair Isle pattern were choices from each element, and I liked the traditional, yet modern, style of the sweater. I bought the magazine at my LYS in January, and this sweater was the #1 reason why I picked it up. I toyed with the idea of getting new yarn, but once I looked at my stash, I thought that I may be able to do some real stashbusting with yarns that were already in the stash. Most of these yarns had been in there for over two years! . The colors came together so well, even with the slightly varying weights of yarn that I used (worsted and DK).
Back in April when I started this sweater, I decided to make the 38″ size, thinking that the stranding would cause it to be a little smaller anyway. Looking back, this is one of the only things I would have changed. The sweater is quite large for me in the bust and the armholes (almost two inches on each side), but fits well along the hips. If I had planned things a little better, I would have made the 34″ or the 36″ for the top banding, and the 38″ for the bottom, calculating the math and decreasing in the brown band in the middle. There was no way to predict back in April that I would be smaller (I have lost almost 30 lbs since then) and this is always a dilemma when knitting garments and losing weight. That being said, the fit is not awful but I would prefer a little more form in the midsection and bust line, and more decreases leading to the neckline. (You can see in the above photo how the collar sticks out a bit…) I considered doing sweater “surgery” and trying to adjust the lines inside with a sewing machine. Has anyone ever tried this?
You may recall that the sleeves also gave me a little problem – they seemed so short. I added an inch onto the cuff (picked up stitches and knit down) and it worked out perfectly once it was yoked together! This was the only issue I had with the Rebecca pattern. Other knitters have told me that Rebecca patterns often have little mistakes, but I really did not encounter that with this particular pullover. I have several other Rebecca mags and I plan to make several garments – their stuff is so chic, and incorporates some really fun elements like colorwork and cables.
I am so enamored with colorwork this year – and I don’t see the end of this obsession any time soon. This is my largest colorwork project to date (and my first with Fair Isle motifs). Just a few years ago, I never would have thought this possible – the idea of colorwork scared me, and now I can’t seem to get enough. I have another Icelandic pullover planned for this fall or winter – maybe even two. And socks, and maybe a another stranded hat too… it excites me to think of all of the possibilities!
We woke up early and headed to one of our favorite spots for autumnal photographs. The leaves have not started turning colors just yet, but the days are growing shorter and the crisp smell is in the air. I love this season! Kris was so kind to snap these photos for me as the dogs ran circles around us!
…and while the Pulli was blocking, I started the mates for both my Laila’s socks and my Noro socks… my logic was that if I cast on for both of them, neither would linger for too long. NOW, it really is Socktoberfest for me! More updates on this fun month-long celebration to come!
*…and just in case you skipped German I, Er ist fertig means it is ready! Some German still sticks with me after these few years!
That looks great! I love that it was stashbusty too.
Excuse me for correcting but in german you would say: “Er ist fertig”. Like he is ready, I don’t know why but a sweater is a he and referred to as a he aswell. Hope this was understandable, because my english is not that good.
The sweater turned out really nice, and I like how it looks on you. Btw. I also have problems with the Rebecca patterns, they seem to have problems with proportions
Have a nice sunday!
Sibylle
Oh, very pretty Lolly! All the colors work so well together and it’s wonderful you were able to use yarns from your stash. Nice knitting!
Mmm… what a lovely piece of colourwork. It is beautiful!
Thank you for the correction, Sibylle! I always got mixed up with genders
What a lovely way to begin fall! Good timing to get it done and move onto Socktoberfest.
Perfect fall colors and a lovely day to show it off!
The colors play nicely together. Beautiful work!
oh, lolly! This is just stunning.
Another beauty! And such perfect timing for autumn too!
Great job. I really want to do some stranded colorwork but I think it will have to wait until the baby is a little older.
So pretty, Lolly! You look so happy in it. The colors came together so perfectly; I’ll have to keep that idea in mind for future stash-busting endeavors.
Lolly! It’s fantastic! You make me want to drop everything (which I cannot do at this point) and cast on immediately!
Your sweater is LOVELY
and you look WONDERFUL wearing it!
Congratulations on the changes you’ve made,
you are such an inspiration to us out here
in blogland!
Oh, it looks fabulous on you! I’ve never performed sweater surgery myself, but I do own a vintage crochet cardigan that has been taken in with a sewing machine, and it seems to have worked very well. Well done on losing so many pounds – what an achievement!
The sweater is beautiful and you look wonderful, Lolly. Well done on all counts.
Ausgezeitnicht!!
Wunderbar Lolly! Just beautiful.
Beautiful! looks lovely on you! Such a brave girl you are with all the logistical mods…
That looks great! Good job.
Hi Lolly,
Another gorgeous FO.. I’m so jealous, I’m not seeming to finish anything at the ‘mo… using Socktoberfest to try to catch finish-it-up-itis. Interesting to hear about the weight loss, I thought this sweater wasn’t as flattering on you as usual… I also lost a chunk of weight this year and had to do sweater surgery – it is possible, and only requires the same bravery as steeking. Check out what I did to my kauni cardi here:
http://knittingsheep.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-to-butcher-your-knitting-stage-1.html
http://knittingsheep.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-butcher-your-knitting-part-2.html
http://knittingsheep.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-butcher-your-knitting-part-three.html
It turned out amazingly well, and I’m so glad I did it, as I would never have worn it otherwise!
Okay, the sweater is great, but holy shit, girl! 30 pounds?!?! *That* is impressive. Congratulations!
Wow 30 lbs! Go you! I was going to initially say that it looks like it’s on the big side, but for good reason! It still looks great though! Congrats!
That’s the best colourwork sweater I have seen. It flatters you and brings out everything about the fall season!
You should be really proud, it’s incredible! I’m itching to do some colourwork now. And if you don’t want to tackle it with the sewing machine it’s always nice to have one or two sweaters that are loose and cosy that you can curl up in – this looks perfect for that!
GORGEOUS!!!! I also love the second one you linked to — the zip-up cardigan. I imagine that involves steeks — that scares me! However, since your projects always inspire me, maybe your trying steeks will get me over my fear!
Awesome job on the sweater! I am totally feeling the need to knit a colorwork sweater.
Beautiful!! Great colors!
It is beautiful!
had to come for another look – and i had no idea you lost 30 lbs!! wow! congratulations. i just joined sparkpeople with the aim of losing a little myself – have you been on that?
It’s gorgeous!
It’s a beautiful sweater, and the colours look great on you! Enjoy wearing it!
Der ist aber schoen geworden! And those photos are stunning, I’d love to be at that yellow meadow right now.
Btw, your German to English translation was correct. When translating, you use proper grammar/syntax of each language, instead of translating literally
This is so pretty! I hope to make something like this in my lifetime
What a beautiful sweater! And congrats on the weight loss. That’s a really remarkable change!
I love that sweater ~ it is the prettiest one so far! You should be very proud!
Really beautiful!
I can’t tell you how much I love that sweater! And it is perfect on you, really it looks wonderful!!!!!!
Congrats on the weight loss, how exciting, you look fantastic. I on the other hand have found mine again and I’m just, well I’m kind of beside myself. Literally!!!!
Lolly, the sweater is gorgeous!
Ich gratuliere Lolly! Der Pulli ist sehr schön geworden. Ich muss demnächst auch mit der Jaquard-Technik versuchen. Liebe Grüße!
It is beautiful and it looks great on you!
Icelandic: Hún er tilbúin!
It’s beautiful, I love the colours and I can’t wait to see you cast on another Icelandic sweater! I’m planning one for myself as well, similar to that Héla cardigan.
Danish: Den er færdig!
Now you know!
totally gorgeous sweater,Lolly…totally!
i love that first photo, you look so happy.
it’s a really cute sweater, it would be a shame if you weren’t complete happy with it. i’d take the risk and take it in, just a little. i’ll be doing the same with my favorite cardigan pretty soon. i’ll be taking the lazy approach and turning it inside out , then taking in the sides with my sewing machine, you know, if i can get the guts to do it.
Stunning Lolly.
Amy
The sweater is lovely!
If you want to stop the neck opening from sticking out, you could try sewing a fine elastic tread VERY loosely with kitchener stitch along the inside of the opening. That would draw it just a tiny bit together.
The Icelandic sweaters you are planing should be fast knits, especially Héla. That one is very popular here in Iceland by the way.
It’s so pretty! I love the colours on you!
The leaves are changing colours here in Nova Scotia and it is so beautiful. It’s getting quite cold too! (right now my fingers are freezing, so I’m typing fast to try and warm them up! I don’t want to turn on the heat until I ABSOLUTELY have to!)
Its so hard sometimes to decided on a size, but it looks great on you.
So pretty! It looks great — well worth the color work effort.
Loly, its fab! I love the colour combination and it looks great on.
Your sweater is beautiful. Some day colorwork projects will stop taunting me and start making sense.
Gorgeous!
Wow. That sweater is so lovely. I still can’t believe you just pulled together various yarns from your stash-what a stash!! It looks like the perfect way to start your fall knitting.
That came out AMAZING!!!!! You picked great colors! I loooooove the Istex pullover – I may have to make that one next! See, I always told you colorwork was addicting!
beautiful sweater, lolly! congratulations. i’m sorry you’re not 100% happy with the fit, but i think it looks great. and the photos are beautiful!
This sweater must make you feel like a Capital-K-Knitter. It is just gorgeous.
You know, to fix the neckline, you could do a crochet treatment around the bound off edge to draw it in a little. What I would do (and I am no crochet master, by any means), is pick a hook the same size as the needle I used to bind off and start at the right shoulder seam. I’d do a round of single crochet, putting the hook into each bound-off stitch, but skipping every fourth. I might even skip every third right around the shoulders. It doesn’t have to be totally exact, but this can be enough to draw in gappy necklines. I’ve done it on a couple of sweaters with some success.
Let me know if you want to try it and need a little more guidance. At any rate, it is an amazing piece of work. And yay, you, Mrs.-I-Lost-Thirty-Pounds!
Love it! So beautiful and very flattering!
Wow, that came out gorgeous, and you look amazing in it!
Whoa, that’s a whole load of work! Congrats on a great FO!
Lolly, those are such great colors together! I like the Icelandic ones you’re thinking about too. I have some old Lopi pattern books (from the 70′s, I think!) that I still like looking at. I do think some of those styles really hold up well over time. I made a Lopi cardigan many years ago but my knitting wasn’t very consistent back then and it’s too tight around the bottom! I don’t know if there is any way to salvage it.
I think it is so impressive that you had all these yarns in complementary colors right there in the stash! The sweater is great and the color combination is perfect. Like it was written in the pattern that way! Congratulations.
Hallo Lolly!
Der Pullover ist wirklich sehr schön geworden! Ein super Stück zum Abbau des Wollbergs.
Ich hab mich entschieden deutsch zu kommentieren. Damit dein deutsch nicht einrostet.
Liebe Grüße
Theresia
Wow! Your sweater is beautiful and you look great in it. You really have a wonderful color sense.
Lolly – that is one amazingly fantastic looking sweater! The colors are perfect together and suits you beautifully! Wonderful, wonderful work.
I like that sweater. And it is hard to figure out what size to make in knit ware when you are losing weight. I would try basting the sweater by hand first before committing myself to the machine for the surgery. I have heard of it being done as well but have never done it.
Maybe I will have to challenge myself to a similar sweater for the winter. And the leaves are just starting to turn a bit here in the western part of the state.
Wunderbar! That is about it for my German but the sweater is stunning and looks beautiful on you. I love the color combination. What an inspiration to work on my fair isle technique.
Oh it looks lovely, super cosy and you look so happy in the sunshine
GREAT sweater, Lolly! I just finished my Fair Isle Forever (my name for it) and it only has the neck done in Fair Isle. How you managed to get through the entire sweater I’ll never know…those things take an age. It’s beautiful on you and I love the neckline.
I said so on Flickr, but I’ll say it again. I love it! Very impressive colorwork!
And congrats on losing 30 pounds! You look fantastic!
The sweater is just incredible! The colors, the knitting — brilliant. But the 30 pounds? AMAZING! Congratulations on all accounts!
Congrats on the sweater and the weight loss! 30 pounds! That’s a lot to be proud of!
lolly, it is absolutely beautiful! the colors are lovely and look great on you. so inspiring!!
xo
The first thing I thought when I saw your picture was, what a great sweater and has she lost weight? They were almost simultaneous! In regards to your question, Kathleen Taylor and her husband had to make some serious changes to their diets because of health issues and she just did a cutting job on one of her sweaters. So keep that in the back of your mind. You look great, as always and the sweater is phenomenal!
http://kathleen-dakotadreams.blogspot.com/
What a beautiful sweater! I’m so excited to see the link to the Hela cardigan. My second (and third) sweater was an Icelandic, and I just loved wearing it (about 25 years ago!). I’ve got this new pattern on the list!
You always do such a fantastic job with sweaters and having them fit you so well. Not to mention how pretty you always look modeling them!
What a beautiful sweater! And it fits you so well. I really, really love it.
You look fantastic!
What can I add to what everyone else has already said? It is an amazing piece of knitting, it looks great on you and the colors are work so nicely together. Again, nice job.
It is stunning! Really, simply beautiful. Perfect colors too.
Love it! It’s beautiful!
Perceived size imperfections aside, it does look quite nice. Good work! And hey, finished sweater!
Gorgeous! Fair isle is a lot of work, but the results are amazing! You did a great job picking out the color scheme. I haven’t done it myself, but I don’t think you’ll have a problem making seems with a sewing machine, since that’s how store-bought sweaters are made.
I can’t wait to see what you knit this winter!
how did i not comment on this yet?
so gorgeous! i love your choice of colors! and i know that it’s bigger on you than expected but better bigger than smaller, i gotta say.
How pretty! That’s a gorgeous knit Lolly. Perhaps you can steek it to make fit your sleeker figure. Congrats on the weight loss, that’s awesome. Isn’t your sister getting married soon? Please give her our congrats!
Very pretty! I love the way those colors work together…beautiful.
Wow, that is an impressive knit – and it looks great on you. Beautiful colors!
It looks beautiful on you! I’m excited to get back to mine as soon as I finish up a few other things.
Oh Lolly, it is STUNNING! I love everything about this sweater- and it looks fantastic on you! Love!
Adorable! You. The sweater. Your pictures. Everything!
Holy smokes, it’s gorgeous. The color work is lovely and I love how they compliment each other. Nice work!!
Looking forward to seeing if you do “surgery on it”…
Gorgeous!
I love it!
Lolly, you look amazing!!! Really, the sweater looks so nice on you:)
Whew…..I’m embarking on my first colorwork project…..I’m a little nervous!
It’s wonderful! I see what you mean about the upper body/neck size, but the shape of the yoke and neck provides for a relaxed fit and I think it looks like it’s meant to be that way
Love the colors! What a great stashbusting exercise.
Beautiful work!