October 04, 2004
Grace at last
Project Specs:
Pattern: Knitty Grace
Suggested Yarn: Diamohair Bene
Yarn Used: GGH Soft Kid
Needle Size: US 8 bamboo straights & 3.5mm circs for garter stitch border
Gauge: 18sts/4" in St st
Let me just say that even though this not a dream to seam, I am quite pleased with Grace. It's been a long, hard, uphill battle for us, but we finally came together and met at a seaming party. Whew!
Remember this tragic look at Grace a while back. I reknit the right front again and it still ended up being the exact same size (too small!) Then, I must have recounted the rows on both of those(left and right fronts) a dozen times and came up with the same number of rows on each. I refused to rip until I could figure out just where I went wrong. Hmmm, same number of rows, decreases on the same row numbers, what's up! It turned out the right front was knit with US size 7's and the left front was knit with US size 8's. Don't even ask how that happened. Next, there was the issue of the back being too long. So I decided to rip the correct left front and knit 10 extra rows to meet the length of the back before shoulder shaping and just knit the right front to mirror it. More work than I had planned for this little number, but now it's done. Yay!
I have to say that mohair is a bear to rip. And I have to give a big THANKS to
Anita for her great
tips for ripping this type of yarn when she was working on Birch. I used a darning needle to tink and separate each little strand one by one and though I did not have a remote handy, I did have a
postcard ad for Direct TV handy and it worked beautifully (it did have a remote pictured on it, lol). Let me tell you that mohair will fuse to itself if you place two strands any where near another. Rerolling it would have been wild, but wrapping it around the card worked out really well. I initially tried to pull the ball from the center (will never do that again) and it just got caught and knotted. It was a mess at the beginning. So I put the ball in a plastic baggy, poked a hole in the bag and just let it spin. But on the flip side, I have to say that mohair is great for hiding those
tricky seams.
This concludes my participation in the 
. Lisa, thanks for hosting. One button down and only a few to go (with only one more popping up before I wipe the slate clean). And I must say I was stoked to find a cute little lace cami on sale at Tar-jay (aka Target) for 3.99. It's so hard to find a cami in October. And it had to have lace on bottom trim and at the v-neck. I usually don't have luck finding great sale items when I'm on the hunt for specifics, so I was quite trilled.
After knitting, ripping, and coughing mohair, I really didn't know if I would enjoy this top, but I just love it. It is my first knit with mohair and now that it is completed it is soooo soft. I thought as Grace progressed that I would NE...VER wear this, but I have already taken her out for a spin and it was one smooth (and soft) ride. There may be more mohair knits in my future. Let me rephrase that. There will be more mohair, my stash demands it, lol.
Posted by froggy at October 4, 2004 05:27 AM
Really pretty sweater. It's sometimes the ones that are the most difficult that we like the most. No pain, no gain!?!?!?!
she looks gorgeous, might even be a project for my odd ball order :) After seeing it knit up...I don't think its going to work for my fuzzy wrappy top obsession.
But it will be fun to test. I can't wait for it to get here to show :) Can't wait to see your next project.
Froggy, your Grace is beautiful! I really like the way it fits you. I had not really given this sweater a glance on Knitty, but after seeing your wonderful version, I may try it someday (after I do all the other stuff!)
Have a great week!
Done like dinner, eh? good for you for hanging in there. I'm a bad, bad host. Mine is going to the frogpond. Such as life. Oh well.
But yours looks wonderful. I'm happy that you stuck it out, and it looks fantastic on you.
So your hard time with Grace is over... but she was worth it, she looks great!
Can't wait to see what's coming next....
That looks just great - well done for sticking with it! I really like the look of this little sweater, I like the layered up look with a t-shirt. Glad that my tips helped out a little - it's really a patience thing with mohair, isn't it?
Very very pretty. Congratulations. I'm moving so slow on my Rebecca sweater made of the same yarn. It's tough stff for me to knit with. I think I'm way too intimidated to do any ripping!
Looks like it was worth the wait and the work. It looks really cute on you!
Mohair? Just say no, if you are Claudia. We are taking an extended vacation away from each other.
I like the shape of Grace, and it looks well on you -- especially photo-styled with the cami. I've played with the idea of doing a Grace-like shape, but in cotton tape. Maybe next spring...
Congratulations on getting rid of your UFO pile. You only have one left (that we know of). It looks great on you.
Lovely! Grace turned out so nicely! I think the cami makes it ultra chic!
Grace looks positively lovely!!! I can't wait to see her in person! :)
It's fantastic ! Well done on getting it the way you wanted and not ditching it.
Fab !
:0)
Looks great!
I agree with mohair being not fun to rip.
Sorry it ended up being extra work to knit Grace. Your hard work definitely made a beautiful product.
Grace looks great! Love that lace peeking out from under.
I know just what you're talking about in terms of ripping mohair. It takes patience. But the end result was definitely worth it. Your Grace is beautiful on you.
Grace is lovely! Congrats on finishing it in time enough to wear it out a few times.
Love your Grace!! She is beautiful and worth all the effort. And thanks for passing along the tips about working with mohair... I'm working on Elfin right now and am about to get to the ruffle... 700+ stiches of mohair ruffle. Now I know to keep that Direct TV postcard if I get one in the mail!
:)
Kathy
Hi Froggy! Grace looks very beautiful! Great Job! I've been thinking about knitting something with mohair for awhile..I will keep all of your tips in mind :)
I love mohair, but the rippin' peeves me. Grace came out really cute, I'm impressed with how you stuck it out.
Very pretty Froggy! I commend you for sticking with it and working out all the issues you had with it. I can see it was well worth it!
Ooo, that's a cute and feminine sweater. I'm getting more and more into the girlie stuff. Less functional sweaters and just cuteness. That's all I want :) But I remember seeing that sweater on Knitty and it's flattering. Funny how you can go through so many emotions while knitting (many negative) but 99.9% of the time it has a great outcome.
Congrats to another great outcome!
Ooooooh, congratulations on completing the troublesome seaming, and on the gorgeous results! ^_^ Your Grace is just lovely, and it really flatters you too. I love how you summarize your finished works on your blog - very informative. A great idea.
Oh, it's gorgeous!! The mohair looks beautiful, although it does sound crazy to work with. And yay for Target deals...where would my wardrobe be without Target?
Congrats on such a beautiful project!!
Grace looks fabulous on you! A very feminine knit. Now it's Audrey's turn!! :-)
Wow, Froggy, I love it, and it looks perfect on you! I stashed some yarn for this back in the spring, but never got to it, alas . . . Seeing yours may lead me to pick it up, eventually ~
Grace is just so...so...Graceful! I am glad you stuck it out with her because you look very pretty and, let's just say it again, graceful...
Love it! Looks great on you! And yeah that yarn is terrible to rip out. I was ready to throw it out the window with the couple rows I did. I am making a rebecca pattern with it and am worried I may have to rip whole sleeves. I weep at the thought and just pray they aren't too tight.
I forgot to ask how much of the GGH yarn did this version (size?) of grace take. I am thinking of putting some of her on teh needles... yeah yeah winter I know but wont be ready till spring anyways :)
Wow, that looks great on you! I love the sheerness, great for layering (and you shouldn't be limited to tanks, long sleeved shirts would give a very slouchy feel to it). Congratulations on finishing Grace!
Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute! You absolutely MUST wear this often. It looks so cute on you, and I love the way you wear it. Come over here and style my knits for me! :-)
Loving Grace. Perfect on you, dear.
let me be the 34th person to tell you how great that looks on you!!!
joy
Wow! Grace looks perfect, perfect, perfect! I really like the sheer look. The layering thing is definitely in...your finger's on the pulse of the fashion world, what can I say. :)
