Knitting beyond my comfort continued....

Yesterday, I blogged about my attempt to knit beyond my comfort zone by knitting a lovely sweater seen here:



Zoe Sweater

It is a top-down knitting pattern with lace work and cables, both of which I have never done.  I have knitted a ballet sweater for my daughter that required seed stitching at the edge and the rest was knitted in stockinette stitch and seamed together.  I knitted it in 5 pieces, two arms, the left and right side slanted front and then the back.  It was cute.  But this is one piece with picking up stitches to complete.

The new techniques that I would be learning would be lace work, cable stitch, casting on in the middle of the work, picking up stitches and binding off in purl stitch.  WHEW!!!  Wow, that is a lot when I write it out!!!  Thank goodness for YouTube videos!!!

I posted that I was not convinced that the pattern emerging looked right, but that I was not giving in and frogging it.  That I was going to believe and follow the pattern. 

I looked and looked at my emerging work.  I looked and looked at the pattern picture.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.

LIGHTBULB MOMENT

It is upside down!!!!  Turn it around and I am in a happy place.

I continued with my stitching, confident in my pattern.

Then tonight, I realize that it cannot be that way as this is a TOP DOWN pattern.  Stress.

It has to be this way.....see the markers where I would slip the cap sleeves off....

It could be the rolling of the stockinette stitch that is throwing off my perception of the project.

Sigh................

Just when I thought I was working this right.  I have only 5 more rows until I slip the sleeve stitches onto waste yarn.  Then, perhaps, I shall see this more clearly.




"In your pattern, believe, my young padawan." Yoda, as a knitting instructor, says in my head.

"Yes, Master Yoda."

Knitting beyond your comfort zone

As I have previously mentioned, I am better at crochet than knitting.  But I know that my knitting skills are never going to improve unless I start knitting projects outside my comfort zone.  I have baby hats on DPNs under control now and felt it was time to push my boundaries.

I saw this sweater this weekend and feel in LOVE with it!!!

Zoe Cardigan

I have never done lace work or cables but I decided to give it a whirl and bought the pattern.  I LOVE instant downloads :D

Grab myself a longer size 6 circular needle and some lovely silk bamboo yarn and off I went!!!!

Here is where I was at yesterday:



Not completely convinced that the cast on stitches at the end are correct....



 Today, I am here:

Still not convinced it is correct.....

I shall keep trying to see how this plans out.  I am not giving up and frogging yet.  The lace work and the cables are coming out beautifully and I am in love with the yarn.  If I am able to pull it off, this shall be a gorgeous sweater with a nice drape.  So I shall endeavor to carry on believing in the pattern and my pattern reading skills, which luckily, are pretty good as the pattern has left out a step or two so far.

Wish me luck and check back in for my progress!