Thursday, April 26, 2007

VK Fair Isle Sleeve Sweater

or "What I Did at Work Last Night: A Photo Essay"
or "A Million and Seventeen Ways Not to Make a Sweater"
or "Vogue in Red: An Erotic Mystery-Thriller by Nikki the Shizknitter"
(oh, wait, that last was a mistake)



Vogue Sweater, how I hated you. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong with you. I knit the fair isle sleeve too big, despite the fact that I subtracted stitches (apparently not enough). I didn't wash my swatch, and the red in the fair isle bled into the white (curse you, JaggerSpun Zephyr DK!). I knit the front to an entirely different pattern because I didn't check the Vogue Knitting Errata before starting (curse you, faulty VK patterns!).

Fortunately, there is always a cure. The sleeve got cut, in my attempt at steeking. I say attempt because the outcome was not totally perfect. Though there were several tutorials on crochet steeking (I don't have a machine), none of them were for something like this, just cutting off the sides of the sleeve. But I did it anyway. And I cut off the bottom, too, as it was a little too long. Then I picked up some stitches along the bottom. Again, not perfect, but hey, that's what Fray Check is for.


The red bled a lot. A lot. A whole lot. I haven't had color bleed like this since the Sugar N Cream cotton washcloth I made. Why should this yarn have bled so much? Anyway, dye once it bleeds
onto the fabric, doesn't set immediately. I thought I had rinsed it all out. I set it down to dry. But I guess I missed some because some of the red dye crept back into the white. Damn. I used my RIT Color Remover which is to get rid of colors that have run, and it did the trick (mostly).

And the pattern errata was eventually found with the help of the wonderful folks at KnittingHelp.com You guys are the best.


But still, this sweater left me pissed. It's like it took pleasure in frustrating me. And so, I decided to murder it. "Murder" has been one of my coworkers words for a while. He's always going to murder something or somebody. So it was my turn, and VK Sweater, it was your turn to die! (insert maniacal laugh).


Now to be fair, this idea all started from this:




That's not Kool-Aid, people. And thus, it was on!

I first considered having it die from lonliness and starvation, just by dumping it in the trash.





But I thought a sweater that had come up with so many ways to torture me deserved a more inventive death. I considered shredding it to bits in the office fan. "Feel that breeze, baby? That is the wind of inevitability!" But then I realized that we still needed an office fan and didn't want to break it.







Aha! I had it! Steek this, bitch!





But in the end, I decided to just finish sewing it up and wear it. Now, VK Sweater, you are truly conquered!


Specs:
Pattern: Vogue Knitting Holiday 2006 Fair Isle Sleeve Sweater
Yarn: JaggerSpun Zephyr DK silk/wool blend. 7 2 oz. balls Cinnabar, 1 ball each of Charcoal, Steel Gray, and Vanilla
Needles: Size 4
Yarn Notes: Despite knitting this to a tight gauge, this yarn has amazing drape. Also bleeds like crazy. Despite the silk content, not what I would call a luxury yarn in terms of feel. Spun such that at parts it is often flat like a tape yarn. Has mysterious tufts every now and then. Suspect will be fairly hard-wearing.

You know the pose by now.




And from the back.






The neckline is a little loose, despite the fact that I actually put in fewer stitches than called for. I may rip and redo it, but not now. I'm tired. There are a million more things to say about this sweater, so, um, maybe later.

29 comments:

Catherine said...

Wow. That's quite a journey. But since I'm coming in at the end, and you have those beautiful photos at the end of your post, I get to say that that sweater rocks! Sorry for the grief it gave you. I feel your pain.

Anonymous said...

I love the paper cutter picture. Off with its head!

Still, after all that, the sweater is gorgeous. Can't believe that you were tempted to throw it away.

Angie said...

From the look of it, it looks like it was worth the effort. It is beautiful and you look marvelous in it.

Adrienne said...

it looks fantastic! LOL, love the pic with the paper trimmer.

Sonya said...

You are a very funny lady. Steek this bitch!?! I don't think Elizabeth Zimmermann would be rolling in her grave, rather slugging back the wine and egging you on. For all its cruelties, it is a lovely thing.

Silvia said...

great sweater and it looks great on you !

Liz said...

The "steek this, bitch!" picture cracked me up!

Really though, the sweater is gorgeous, totally worth it.

WandaWoman said...

Strike a pose, that sweater is beautiful. Love it. Sorry it gave you so many problems though.

Sarah said...

I love it!

Great job, and it looks awesome on you.

Congrats!

VoxMama said...

Great job on that sweater! It looks gorgeous and I love the colours on you.

Bufanditas said...

The sweater looks fabulous on you!!! After all the hell it put you through, it redeemed itself. Great photostory by the way. :)

Saun said...

It may not have been a fun journey but I think it looks great.

Lucy said...

You look fantastic in your sweater - what a story - I loved it!!Congratulations!

Jersey said...

I love it! Despite the problems it gave you, its a beautiful sweater!

Anonymous said...

Great post, and GREAT sweater! I found your blog through the Fair-Isle KAL and had to click on over - I've been dying to make this sweater since I first saw it and now I want to make it even more!! Your color combo is awesome :) Too bad about all the hell it gave you, the finished product certainly looks worth it though - you showed it who's boss, it's gorgeous!!

dickie said...

LoL! great post. =) your entries are always so entertaining.

despite all the hardships the sweater looks like it fits you well.

Unknown said...

I made that sweater. It's F*$@&ng b!#^H! The sleeve gauage is all off, and I don't get the collar. But congratulations on finishing it!

Simona said...

It looks great on you.

nordwolke said...

*lol*
Thanks for stopping by at my blog! I love this photo story with a Happy End! The sweater looks great!!!

ZantiMissKnit said...

I gasped out loud (at work, even) when I saw you posed with the paper cutter (okay, so there was a teacher in my elementary school who cut off the tip of his pinky with one of those, so I'm a little scared of them).

The sweater looks great though!!! It was worth the grief!

Nik said...

she looks great through all that, though.

Svetlana said...

What a great sweater! I've never considered making it, but yours looks so cute! I like everything about it - the color, the fit and the way you wear it. Bravo!

Thank you for stopping by at my blog!

AR said...

Steek this! hehe

It looks great!

James said...

Good job, yo! That is one fine looking sweater. I'm glad you were able to wrestle it into submission.

turtlegirl76 said...

That looks fanatastic! (no pun intended) Great job on the fit and wow! The details on the arm are awesome. Well done.

SoapDoc said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SoapDoc said...

Oops! Just so you don't think I am stupid, I deleted the first message and will post this revised one :)

OMG, I thought I was going to pass out! If you had cut that thing up (even though I KNOW how much you've been through with it!) it would have been such a shame, it's so lovely!!

It looks AWESOME! Glad you decided to keep it!

Kamika said...

Beautiful sweater. Looks great on you! Now I feel confident enough about making it. I needed to see it on someone with a larger bustline than the model. LOL Good job!

Monique said...

Ok you are a mess and definitely going into my favorite links. Keep it up girl. You make knitting fun!