Big Cable Pullover FO

I took a holiday from "The Holidays" and preparations for them. After a week of insanity we had a mellow Saturday and Sunday when I sat by the Christmas tree and finished off this beast of a sweater.

Just as the name implies its cabled and its BIG! It wouldn't fit under a coat - its really an outerwear piece that I also plan to wear around the house as an over sized sweatshirt might be worn. Pattern: "Big Cabled Pullover" - Vladimir Teriokhin - VK Winter 05/06

Yarn: Garnstudio Drops "Eskimo"

Colour: 21, Dye lots 4548 & 6350

Needles 10mm wooden straights, 10mm Aero Circular

Start: November 16, 2008 Finish: December 14, 2008

The pattern description is very accurate - "standard fitting" with (very) "big bell sleeves". There is some errata. I also used the very helpful posts here to catch those before I started as well as to confirm I didn't want shaping as she did but rather a straighter line and looser fit as the pattern is written. This shot shows the change between dye lots just before the start of the stand up collar. (It falls half way up the last full cable.) Its more noticeable in flash photos than in person. On my monitor it also looks as if the orphan strand only lasts for a couple of broken rows and that above and below that point the colour is uniform but in real life I couldn't get anyone in the family to correctly spot the change in yarns. I did rip back and stagger the introduction of the new dye lot which I think probably did make the impact negligible.

Wearing this knit is like wearing a warm blanket but its surprisingly light just as the pattern promises. I subbed "Eskimo" yarn for the "Yukon" called for by the pattern so it must have been a suitable choice. We're having a mild spell so I wore the sweater instead of a coat last night when I ran out to pick up Chinese Food and then again this morning for the school run. I was shocked to be totally comfortable on both occasions. It'll be a great skating sweater and the perfect antidote to my standard après ski full body chill. The fit is perfect. I'm getting the knack of this "ease" thing and getting better at understanding what I'll feel good in versus what I might find entertaining to knit. Love, love, love detail on the back! This kind of attention really sets hand knits apart from store bought sweaters!

I knit the smallest size without being a "smallest size" person so it gave me amazing fit without any waist shaping. Stitches are added across the shoulder blade/bust area but otherwise front and back pieces are rectangular. (The side slits obviously also help to avoid pulling at the hip.

I appreciate his attention to detail - like the fact the big cuffs are the same size as the garter stitch edged side slits
I was hesitant to knit the cuffs as written because on paper they just seemed so huge but I'm so glad I trusted the designer's eye - they balance the whole piece, add inexplicably to the coziness factor and with the wear I've given the piece so far they don't seem to get in the way.

I could easily have had this done in a week of evening knitting. It flew off the needles at an almost theatrical pace. The kids would remark how much longer the piece would be in the span of a single show. I got held up on a couple of stupid errors on the last piece that I actually repeated causing me to frog the front to almost nothing three times! (Amazingly the yarn didn't seem to visibly suffer from the maltreatment!) Then of course I also ran out of yarn. Bottom line the yarn is going onto my list of favourites. For pure wool its very soft and doesn't bother my bare skin even around the neck.

Considering how busy this time of year is it was still a quick and satisfying knit made all the more enjoyable with a lovely yarn and a pleasing result. Its unlike anything I've knit before and will be unique in my wardrobe. I'm looking forward to wearing it. How fun to have a non-Christmas related FO a week and a half before the 25th - the feeling is reinforcing my resolve not to knit gifts this year!