Sunday, July 27, 2008

Staghorn

Staghorn in Wool of the Andes
click to enlarge

Done! Well, I still need to block it. What a super pattern. Easy, interesting, and beautiful. Matt will get a lot of wear out of this one this coming winter. Let's get some Project Stats:

Pattern: Staghorn by Lisa Lloyd (pattern can be found in A Fine Fleece)

Yarn: Knitpicks' Wool of the Andes in Pampas Heather (stunning in person!)

Problems with the pattern: no mistakes that I found

Changes to the pattern: I did a gauge change. The pattern is written for 16 sts to 4" in box stitch (or double moss, or whatever you want call it). I really wanted to use the WOTA yarn, and I preferred it at 18 sts to 4", so I just went up a size. The boxy shaping made this a no brainer... except when I forgot I was making the 44" rather than the 40" ...like when I went to increase the sleeves. So the sleeves are a little more narrow than they should be. Matt says they're fine (I was going to add a gusset if they were too snug for him). He actually prefers a slim fit on his sweaters, as with his small frame, clothes look really sloppy on him if they're oversized.

Overall Impressions: I LOVE IT! The sweater was so much fun to knit (obviously, a little over 2 weeks to knit an aran sweater?). The color is perfect, the pattern uses some of my favorite cable stitches.

Now I will say that it's listed as "experienced" for skill level in the book. I'm going to disagree with this. The cables are very simple and work at the same ratio (and they're all 2X2 cables), plus there's minimal shaping (just increasing for the sleeves and the front neck shaping), I certainly wouldn't call this an advanced pattern.

So I'm thrilled... just need to block it and get a pic of Matt in it!

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:50 PM

    Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  2. How quick you are to knit a fabulous sweater. I remember my first aran adult sweater took me 9 weeks to knit up, although I had a baby at the time too. I am sure Matt will get lots of wear for years to come out of it, as it looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:54 PM

    You did a great job, in such a short time. Love aran knitting!

    ReplyDelete

Sorry about having to add the word verification for comments, but even with moderation, my inbox was being over run with spam. So thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

Blogger does not give me your email address when you leave a comment, so I can not respond back to you. Keep an eye on my blog and I will try to respond there.