Wednesday, May 21, 2008

FO: Death By Cables

Just in time for summer, I've finally finished Death By Cables! This sweater has the dubious distinction of having taken me longer to complete than any other project ever. It's been on the needles since October of last year--that's seven months; longer even than Icarus. Mercifully, the temperature has dropped from its 100 degree high two days ago to an absolutely lovely 69 degrees, just in time for my photo shoot.

Pattern: Dickinson Pullover by Kathy Zimmerman from the Fall 2007 Interweave Knits (my favorite issue of any knitting magazine ever).

Size: I followed the pattern for a 40 inch finished bust. Mine is not actually 40 inches. I'm not sure how to measure accurately because the ribbing and cables draw in the fabric so much, but I have a 35 inch bust, and as you can see, the finished sweater is fairly clingy. (This may change. I haven't washed and blocked it yet, which is also why the cables are a little uneven looking.)


Yarn: Berroco Softwist Bulky (wool/rayon) in burgundy. Seven skeins, I think. The yarn is beautiful: drapey and soft, with a gorgeous sheen from the rayon. I will never, ever use it again. It was the biggest pain in the world to knit with. The rayon is not only incredibly slippery, but splits like nothing I've ever seen and snags on everything. Working numerous cables and textured stitches in this yarn was like slowly peeling off my own fingernails. The only yarn I have ever disliked working with as much is Berroco Cotton Twist, which is a cotton/rayon blend, and for exactly the same reasons.

Needles: Size 8 (for the body) and 6 (for the collar) Knit Picks Harmony circulars. They were perfect for this slippery yarn.


Mods: I made the body two inches longer and the sleeves 3/4 of an inch longer than the pattern called for, to accommodate my height. I'm very happy with the finished length of both body and sleeves. Other than that, I followed the pattern to the letter. There's a first time for everything, I guess! If I were to do this again (and I won't--not ever), I would leave out the textured stitches on the sides of the large cable motif on both the body and sleeves and knit those sections in plain stockinette. I like the textured stitches, but they added four whole charts to the pattern, and those charts were not in sync with the cable charts and were impossible for me to memorize. Without those, the pattern would have been much, much easier for me to follow, and I would undoubtedly have been able to finish months ago. So although I like the way they look, I wouldn't knit them again.

Do you think this finally gets me off the hook with the KG?

29 comments:

Maureen said...

Wow! Let me be the first to congratulate you on a 'job well done'! It is stunning! Too many exclamation points?? Really, it looks great.

I definately think the KG should be appeased.

Tammy said...

Looks great! Doesn't it feel great to get a big project off the needles?!

sophanne said...

I believe you have bee absolved of whatever KG sins you were being punished for. That is really beautiful and quite an accomplishment. Congratulations. People say that all the time but I really really mean it.

Lydee said...

Wow! A FO well done! It looks wonderful, you should be quite proud.

Anonymous said...

I say you're off the hook - it looks great! I didn't realize you were using soft twist... I can't believe you finished, that's the worst yarn (I hate cotton twist too, same deal.)

Good Yarns said...

The KG must now bow to your wishes after this! You have triumphed!

That sweater is seriously beautiful and it looks beautiful on you. I bet you can't wait for Fall!

Fibra Artysta said...

It looks beautiful! Way to go!

Anonymous said...

That is absolutely gorgeous!!!! I'm so happy that you hung in there with it :-)

Melissa Morgan-Oakes said...

very lovely.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful sweater, and it looks lovely on you. Now you can do the Dance of the Finished Object! Yeah! (just don't, you know, hit yourself on anything...)

Anonymous said...

Absolutely! It looks fabulous on you! What a beautiful pattern.

5elementknitr said...

It's gorgeous!

If KG doesn't forgive now, then there is no KG - haha! (I'm sure she'll get me for that one!)

Viktoria said...

Yeah! Your finished and it looks wonderful!

I've used that yarn before too and while I liked the results, I hated knitting with for the same reasons you gave. It's one yarn I'll never use again...

Anonymous said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!

p.s. I am not doing so well with that meme post, sorry

punkin said...

It is beautiful. The fit is perfect.

Anonymous said...

That sweater is gorgeous and looks wonderful on you. Doesn't it just bite that the yarn and/or pattern that is the biggest PITA to knit is the one that turns out to be [one of the] best thing[s] you ever knit?

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous! A total success. You should be so proud of yourself... and you can anticipate all the compliments you'll get this fall/winter when you wear it out. And if the KG isn't appeased by this, she just may be unappeasable.

Bea said...

KG smiles again! It looks stunning, I must have distracted her by casting on for projects with no gauge swatch! You look incredible in the sweater, it looks awesome!

Anonymous said...

What a stunning sweater! Wear it proudly.

Sharon said...

Congratulations, what a beautiful job! And extra points for hanging in there and doing whatever it took to finish.

You probably won't believe this, but KG called and said you could buy as much yarn as you want. :D

Fancy Pants said...

First of all, Dickinson (aka Death by Cables) came out beautifully. Nice, exhausting work! Second, I freakin' love your blog. I haven't been a good blogger lately but your blog reminds me why I should be...either that or it tells me that I should just give it up because there are people much better suited to the task, like you. Thank you for putting in the blog time and making my day. I hope you are having a beautiful holiday weekend.

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

Lord have mercy that is your best sweater EVER. So impressive, Suzanne!!

Anonymous said...

wow that is just beautiful. congratulations on that.

Romi said...

Fabulous!!!

a friend to knit with said...

oh my gosh. i think this sweater is so fabulous!
really really beautiful!

Kim said...

Hot Damn! That sweater is absolutely amazing and cabley and gorgeous! I'm speechless!

Anonymous said...

That is a gorgeous sweater. The style and color suit you, and the knitting is wonderful. You should be proud!

Karen said...

What a fabulous sweater! Beautiful knitting!

Laura said...

I'm sorry I wasn't reading blogs earlier this week so I could tell you immediately how great this looks! Nice job!