Sorry to send so many of you off to get your eyes checked – I was really excited to have finished (including some steam blocking) and wanted to share but didn’t have time to goof around with the timer and all. Thanks for all your kinds words!
Here’s the sweater in action. (Ignore my red eyes. Me fixing red-eye results in eyes that look like bottomless pits. Trust me that the red-eye is better.)
Besides providing evidence of Chaos’ evil nature (the glow! the glow!), it should also give you a better idea of what a big cat he is. (He’s not fat, either.) This monster can handily fish things off the counter when he stands on his hind legs. But I digress. Back to the sweater…
It’s not easy to take a good photo of a black sweater that’s 50% silk – very reflective. What you can see in the picture below is that there were definite color differences between the skeins. It’s much less pronounced when I’m wearing it (and not being photographed). I didn’t knit from two skeins at once because that’s just such a drag to do when knitting in the round.
Pattern: Hourglass Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Brooks Fiber Farm Four Play (50 silk/50 wool)
Modifications: As part of my training, I gathered advice from others who had knit the sweater (let us pause and give thanks for Google). Based on my research, I added some short rows to the back of the neck and am very pleased with the results – no sweater strangulation. I also decreased the size of the neck opening. I’m not a fan of bell sleeves, so I completely redid the sleeves. Finally, since I hate sewing (and with tips from Jeanne), I picked up and knitted in the hems and the neck – which meant that this sweater required very little finishing.
Thoughts on the Result: I love this sweater! I already wore it to work today. Circular swatch notwithstanding, my gauge on the body was a little loose while my gauge on the sleeves was a little tight (my average gauge was perfect!). My sweater fits more loosely than many other Hourglass Sweaters I’ve seen, but I think it’s still very flattering.
Thoughts on the Knitting Olympic Experience: If I planned and prepped for all my major projects like I did for this one, I’m sure I’d have a lot more knitting success stories. I was also very surprised at how quickly I knit this. Had I truly applied myself, I would’ve been done last weekend. Because I apparently don’t have a good grasp of my knitting speed and skill, I didn’t select a sufficiently challenging project. That said, I think I’d rather be in the “pleasantly surprised” boat than in the “oh oh, I think we’re sinking!” boat.
If you’re wondering what those blobs are at the bottom of the picture… That’s my leftover yarn. I originally had five skeins. I purchased two extra skeins, just in case… and I so didn’t need them. Of the seven skeins, I have three full skeins remaining (plus that little bit on the right). So, just to finish off my Stashalong aspirations in fine fashion, I headed over and joined the Rockin’ Socks Club. Sorry, Kim…
Oh, it’s beautiful! Congratulations!
I had no idea that Chaos is so huge! You don’t have a house cat…you have a panther!
Oh how I love me some big boy kitty (wow, that sounded…well, wrong…). Both the cats in my household are huge :o) Hi big Chaos!
The sweater is perfect! I’m glad you are happy with it. I think part of the “not doing the olympics” for me had to do with having no idea what I would actually be challenged by versus finish easily in 16-17 days. I’m glad you finished…and it’s very practical, which is generally a great thing in my book.
And guess what??! Today is Day 4 of GF! Yay, me!
What an absolutely gorgeous cat! He’s huge…
Oh and the sweater is stunning as welll. 😉
An absolutely wonderful sweater!
Look great! Congratulations!
Gorgeous sweater. I’m having sweater envy in fact. And goodness, Chaos is HUGE! Perhaps he has panther way way way back in his genes? 🙂
Great job on the sweater! Looks really cosy. Chaos certainly is a big boy, Sockies is definatley more fat but hey she’s still cute!
Wow, great sweater, and my goodness that might be the largest black cat I’ve ever seen!
Nice job, Chris! 🙂 Hey — you should post at the Hourglass-along if you haven’t. I love the black. Come to think of it, you should post at the Black Sheep-along, where they’re making all black things.
Looks great and I imagine it feels wonderful too.
Great sweater. Gimongous cat, too. Holy cow! My Wilbur the Amazing Deaf Cat isn’t half his size, and our full grown Mewella is maybe a third, but she’s small. And still half-feral — she drowns her toy mice in the water dish all the time. Or maybe she’s trying to teach them to swim. We’re not sure. But she has a place behind the furnace where she takes food and little treasures she steals from the kids.
Thanks to your link, I can now enter the 2010 olympics as a Curler. Maybe I’ll get on the Virgin Island curling team LOL.
Rick – Syd’s hubby and biggest annoyance in her life 😉
Oh, he’s beautiful! He looks like a big, cuddly, slightly annoyed armful of cat!
Chris! GORGEOUS! Just don’t tell Chaos that I’m talking about the sweater and not him! 🙂
BRAVO!
Wow, Chris – congrats on finishing your hourglass with days to spare! The sweater looks absolutely beautiful and I can only imagine that it feels wonderful, too!
Gorgeous sweater! Long before I developed an allergy to kitties, I used to have a cat (black, actually) who was absolutely huge, too.
It’s so nice when I turn on my computer, and the first thing I see is a beautiful sweater. It’s inspiration for my day. Good work!
Chaos is huge! You don’t see it when he’s sitting. Wow! How much does he weigh?
Woot! It looks great!
Good thing you matched the sweater with the cat Chaotic’s fur.. that way it might be less noticable. I’ve thought about changing my wardrobe to brown to match the cat fur on my clothes many a time. Congrats on getting a medal!
**and the crowd goes wild as she crosses the finish line to win the GOLD MEDAL . . . what grace, what style, what great use of color . . . Did you see her offical time, well ahead of the pack.**
but really . . . the sweater is great, and I don’t think Chaos is that big, but then again I’ve always has big cats. =)
your sweater looks great and Chaos does truly looked possessed.
Your Hourglass really turned out well. Great job! I’m curious as to how you modified the sleeves. I want to make the Hourglass but don’t care for the belled sleeve look either.
STUNNING work! I really am totally inspired to start mine now 🙂 It’s so flattering!
It’s great! Looks comfy and stylish! I really like the mods as well, Ill have to remember tp pick up and knit next time
It’s beautiful! You’re making me want to cast on….must…not…cast….on….
Congrats on olympic gold and one truly fabulous and flattering sweater!
Cate
Wow! HOurglass looks great!
And so does Chaos, of course.
That’s a really sleek sweater! Man, I’m still nowhere near done with my dark green Hourglass sweater, or my orange sweater either. And given the season, it’s really time to knit Hautter, if I’m going to have it ready for summer.