Oops
I was a lazy knit blogger. I gave poor Shrug (not) For Ball (SnFB) a wimpy, undeserving post tacked onto the end of a non-knitting post. SnFB has been pouting in the most piteous way ever since. SnFB's portrait, once more...
Boring Stats:
Pattern:Shimmer from Knitty
Yarn:Shine Worsted from Knit Picks, the cream colorway. 60% cotton, 40% modal.
Gauge:Er, gauge? What gauge? We don't need no stinkin' gauge! (I think it was 4.5 spi...)
Needles: US 8, Addi Natura> circulars. I also used a couple of Susan Bates US 8 circulars when I attached the sleeves.
Start Date: April 2nd, 2007
End Date: April 13, 2007 When I started this project, I scoured the internet looking for shrug patterns. I wanted a shrug that would cover my arms and shoulders but at the same time had a small back-profile. My mother made my outfit for senior ball, a drop-dead gorgeous Chinese silk brocade corset, and I didn't want to cover up any more of the corset than absolutely necessary. A shrug would serve many purposes:
1. It keeps my arms, back, and shoulders warm.
2. It covers my arms, back, and shoulders.
3. I don't normally wear strapless outfits, so see reason number 2. I found many candidates. I eventually settled on knitty's Shimmer because I liked the diamonds. ;) And it had the right back length. I cast on about thirty different times, experimenting with different needles to achieve gauge. (I dislike swatching with the passion of a thousand fiery suns.) Even though I had gauge, it was still huge. I was driving myself bonkers before I fnally thought to try casting on a smaller size. Presto, it fit! I'm almost too paranoid about the cotton stretching to wear it. I invested 11 days of my life into knitting it and I really really really don't want to wear it, wash it, and then when I wear it again realize that it would fit a gorilla. Somehow, that doesn't seem attractive. I'm currently knitting an after-the-fact swatch so I can see how the washer/dryer affects the gauge. (Yes, if I had done the swatches before I did the shrug, I would have been able to account for it in the shrug. But I was nervous about running out of yarn, I wanted it done yesterday, and did I mention that I hate swatching?) As I've mentioned many times, this shrug was knit with the intention of wearing it to Senior Ball. I ordered color cards from Knit Picks to see which cotton blend had the best look, which was not scratchy (scratchy fabric is horrible), and which coordinated the best with the fabric of the corset. I finished it in record time, then finally tried it on with the rest of my outfit last Saturday at Gaskell's. Unfortuately (and Mom agrees), while still beautiful, it was a little "too casual" for the outfit. Fortunately, my mother loves me very much. She had oodles and oodles of the skirt fabric left over and sewed (is that even a word? What is the past tense for "to sew"?) a shrug out of that. Of course it matched. It was gorgeous. I know that cotton is not elastic. I didn't realize how not stretchy cotton is until I knit with it again for the first time in about, oh, four years. Other than that, I have no real beef against Shine Worsted. Some knitters have said that the cotton content of Shine Worsted hurt their elbows. I personally didn't notice any discomfort from knitting with it. Then again, given that my elbow already has general low-grade discomfort from tennis two years ago, I may not have noticed anyway. Given how quickly I knit this (11 days? Did I do anything else that week? I think I may have slept) I'd think I would notice if the cotton was killing my elbow. The only thing I disliked about the pattern was how the sleeves were attached to the back. It was very, very awkward getting the round sleeves to play nicely with the flat needles.
Boring Stats:
Pattern:Shimmer from Knitty
Yarn:Shine Worsted from Knit Picks, the cream colorway. 60% cotton, 40% modal.
Gauge:Er, gauge? What gauge? We don't need no stinkin' gauge! (I think it was 4.5 spi...)
Needles: US 8, Addi Natura> circulars. I also used a couple of Susan Bates US 8 circulars when I attached the sleeves.
Start Date: April 2nd, 2007
End Date: April 13, 2007 When I started this project, I scoured the internet looking for shrug patterns. I wanted a shrug that would cover my arms and shoulders but at the same time had a small back-profile. My mother made my outfit for senior ball, a drop-dead gorgeous Chinese silk brocade corset, and I didn't want to cover up any more of the corset than absolutely necessary. A shrug would serve many purposes:
1. It keeps my arms, back, and shoulders warm.
2. It covers my arms, back, and shoulders.
3. I don't normally wear strapless outfits, so see reason number 2. I found many candidates. I eventually settled on knitty's Shimmer because I liked the diamonds. ;) And it had the right back length. I cast on about thirty different times, experimenting with different needles to achieve gauge. (I dislike swatching with the passion of a thousand fiery suns.) Even though I had gauge, it was still huge. I was driving myself bonkers before I fnally thought to try casting on a smaller size. Presto, it fit! I'm almost too paranoid about the cotton stretching to wear it. I invested 11 days of my life into knitting it and I really really really don't want to wear it, wash it, and then when I wear it again realize that it would fit a gorilla. Somehow, that doesn't seem attractive. I'm currently knitting an after-the-fact swatch so I can see how the washer/dryer affects the gauge. (Yes, if I had done the swatches before I did the shrug, I would have been able to account for it in the shrug. But I was nervous about running out of yarn, I wanted it done yesterday, and did I mention that I hate swatching?) As I've mentioned many times, this shrug was knit with the intention of wearing it to Senior Ball. I ordered color cards from Knit Picks to see which cotton blend had the best look, which was not scratchy (scratchy fabric is horrible), and which coordinated the best with the fabric of the corset. I finished it in record time, then finally tried it on with the rest of my outfit last Saturday at Gaskell's. Unfortuately (and Mom agrees), while still beautiful, it was a little "too casual" for the outfit. Fortunately, my mother loves me very much. She had oodles and oodles of the skirt fabric left over and sewed (is that even a word? What is the past tense for "to sew"?) a shrug out of that. Of course it matched. It was gorgeous. I know that cotton is not elastic. I didn't realize how not stretchy cotton is until I knit with it again for the first time in about, oh, four years. Other than that, I have no real beef against Shine Worsted. Some knitters have said that the cotton content of Shine Worsted hurt their elbows. I personally didn't notice any discomfort from knitting with it. Then again, given that my elbow already has general low-grade discomfort from tennis two years ago, I may not have noticed anyway. Given how quickly I knit this (11 days? Did I do anything else that week? I think I may have slept) I'd think I would notice if the cotton was killing my elbow. The only thing I disliked about the pattern was how the sleeves were attached to the back. It was very, very awkward getting the round sleeves to play nicely with the flat needles.
4 comments:
I hope you're pronouncing SnFB as "Snuffby" ['snVfbi]. 'Cause that's how I pronounce it...
It's obviously pronounced "agenothree." ;)
You are my hero!! I have been ignoring my hideous unfinished Shimmer for over a year... the yarn called for in the pattern (Lion Brand something) was horrible, and I hated knitting with it. Now that you've inspired me, maybe I'll try again with Addis... maybe the bamboo needles I was using were too pointy.
My first attempt (which I refused to blog about) was knit with the suggested yarn. I found it to be waaaaay too scratchy to even think about wearing. I was much happier with the cotton, though I think anything (except Red Heart) would be nice to work with than that Lion Brand stuff.
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