Nov 16 2008
swirled pentagon pullover
The brick down here in Bay Ridge is different. It’s darker, or redder, or arranged differently—I can’t quite put my finger on it. But it’s distinctive and really pretty. And when I fell in love with this wall, I knew immediately I needed to knit something and take my FO shots in front of it. And now. The yarn I bought at Webs was the perfect color, and the geometry of Norah Gaughan’s Swirled Pentagon Pullover was perfect.
Totally perfect.
Swirled Pentagon Pullover (my Rav page)
Yarn: Valley Yarns Colrain in Steel, bought at Webs in October
Needles: US 8
Skeins: 10 (9.25 or so, I’d say)
Started: Sunday, November 2
Finished: Friday, November 14
Notes: I didn’t get gauge exactly, so I knit the small size to get basically the extra-small. I knit the body in the round, adding one purl stitch for a faux seam (I’m not sure why I wanted a faux seam, but I like it). The sleeves are semi-deliberately too long, which I like—makes the whole thing more cozy (I knit them in the round, so I worked 10 rounds in between decrease rounds, rather than decreasing on the 10th round). And the turtleneck part isn’t the 9 inches called for, because that was strangulating me; I think it’s more like 7.
Otherwise, I followed the pattern exactly. I will always trust Norah Gaughan—when picking up stitches for the neck, I initially didn’t trust the number given in the pattern for some reason. So I decided to just pick up what seemed natural, making sure it was a multiple of 4. And then I counted my stitches—92, exactly what the pattern said!
Oh, there is a small typo in the pattern—my trust doesn’t go too deep, apparently. The half-pentagon for the back yoke says something like “continuing in 2×2 rib” but that is wrong—it’s got to be 1×1 rib just like all the others.
I wore the sweater to my grandmother’s surprise 80th birthday party yesterday, and though I yammered on to anyone who would listen that I’d finished it the day before, the response was generally, “Wow, I thought you got that at a store!” Which, I have to say, was the best compliment I could have gotten. And now it’s in all the family portraits!
Stunning sweater! It fits you perfectly too.
Store bought is the ultimate handknit compliment! Congrats, it’s beautiful!
It’s beautiful, and the bricks are a perfect backdrop. You knit at the speed of light Minty, you’re so impressive! Happy Birthday to your Nanny!
fabuloso!
god, you’re right! the sweater with the brick background is awesome. my father today said that he though bay ridge reminded him of philly :) i told him you said the exact same thing!
fabulous sweater! but you already know that i love it :)
Lovely!
Great looking sweater!
The mortar on the brick is set back from the edge of the brick, so they stand out a bit more.
Fabulous sweater!
The bricks are also one small one big repeated and the small ones are a different colour than the bigger ones. Here all the bricks are the same size but the colour varies in each one.
I love this pattern and your result it’s just wonderful. Perhaps it will be my next project!!!
Kisses from Spain ;)
gorgeous!! wow. definitely deserves the ultimate *store bought* compliment!! You’re such an inspiration, Minty!!!
Wow! It looks really fantastic on you. Great job!
It looks great!–Definitely worthy of people assuming you’d bought it!
This is really gorgeous! I can’t wait until the semester is over and I too can knit a sweater!!!
Fanfrickintastic. Sweater, pictures, you.
It is so beautiful. Makes me want to knit a sweater again (my first one wasn’t awesome).
It’s gorgeous!! Perfect yarn for that pattern. Love!
What an awesome sweater! I’m going to have to check out some colrain! :-)
Its beautiful. I love the finishing, and the shoulder cap decreases - did you follow the instructions there?
Stunning! Did you need to alter the pattern at all to fit your petite frame? Great color for you!
Pretty pretty - looks store-bought indeed! Nice work.
Man, you are a fast knitter! The sweater is fantastic. It looks like there’s some nice shaping in it too! Looks great on you.
That looks great, and the color is just perfect. Nice job!
That sweater is gorgeous. And the brick wall is perfect to show off the colors. :)
The sweater is absolutely gorgeous. I love the color too. What a perfect way to remember it too in years to come in the family portrait. I do think that saying you bought it at a store is the best compliment a knitter can get.
The sweater looks great! What did you think of the yarn?
And the wall is a perfect backdrop. I see a few things that are different than most brick walls — the use of the half bricks, the different colors (half bricks are lighter), and the mortar is more recessed. The wall looks really “dimensional” in these photos, but not at all distracting.
You’ll do anything for a good photo, Minty.
Looks amazing.
It looks beautiful. The yarn really shows the stitch definition.
Amy
Love! Absolutely gorgeous.
That brick IS unusual–love the sweater. It’s a great color too!
Wow, that sweater looks great! And frankly, so does your Grandma if she was in the picture because I sure couldn’t pick out the 80-year old woman!
omgosh!! Super perfect. Love it!!
As usual, as soon as you knit something, I suddenly want to cast on for that exact thing, stat - even though I have seen it in multitudinous incarnations before, and never looked at it thrice! I wish you very well to wear it. xo
That’s so beautiful, and I can’t believe you did it in a fortnight. Sigh!
Every second brick is sideways. That is weird Ü
Gorgeous!
It looks super-great, it really does.
omg! that is just BEAUTIFUL. i’ve always loved the pattern, and the colour and yarn are just perfect with it. great fit, too.
The sweater looks amazing! Thanks so much for using Colrain!
Kathy
WEBS
It turned out beautifully! That yarn is so great - it’s got such a nice sheen to it. Steel is an apt name for it, for sure. Love the geometry of the pattern at the neckline. Very nicely done!
so cute! your sweater looks amazing. i am inspired to knit this one next.
Wow — amazing work! I love the color you chose!
Fabulous!
Love it! You always make me take a second glance at patterns I’ve dismissed… like this one.
It’s just beautiful on you! Color me impressed too! Happy birthday to your grandma!
i had kind of dismissed this book, but your sweater is making me think twice! yours seems to look more fitted than the others i’ve seen on ravelry; i wonder if that was a product of your gauge change? either way, it’s perfect on you.
Can’t say enough how much I love this sweater! It’s perfect!
i actually think that the bricks are both more red and darker, and they’re also arranged differently!
your sweater is so, so, so beautiful. i covet so, so much. i can’t believe you knit it so fast (sort of hate you).
The sweater is fantastic, congrats!!
AweSome! Where can I buy this?! Seriously.
That’s an awesome sweater and wall! The store compliment IS the ultimate compliment you can pay to any crafter!
It is absolutely gorgeous! It looks spectacular in that yarn; I’m seriously tempted to copy you.
I love the wall, too!
That sweater is absolutely beautiful; great job! And happy birthday to your grandmother!
Excellent sweater.
How fantabulous!!! I can’t believe you finished so quickly! you’re awesome! And because I like them (apparently) here are some more exclamation points to convey how much I like your FO: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is a gorgeous sweater!
Stunning!! And I like the bricks too.
Oh wow, I LOVE it! I’ve always lingered over this page in Knitting Nature, but I’ve never had the right yarn ready to go for it. Whatever you used - it’s perfect, I’m seriously tempted to copy you!
And on faux seams - I just had to explain that to a non-knitter. I was showing someone my tangled yoke cardi with the faux seams and he just couldn’t grasp why you’d bother. I kept saying it was a design feature, that it would look weird without seams, and he pretended to get it. I think you have to be a knitter to know that it’s just one of those little details that makes a big difference - it’s more couture than craftroom and keeps those non-knitters amazed with our talents!
Holy smoke, the Valley Yarns Colrain is SO AFFORDABLE! I’m totally going to be your sweater twin!
That is a one fantastic sweater!
Your sweater is beautiful.
No one in that picture looks 80, but happy b-day to your grandmother.
Gorgeous!
That *did* come out perfectly!
your sweater is fantastic!!!
I love this sweater! Beautiful design and looks great on you.
this is in Knitting Nature? have to go check my book. it’s fabulous!
OH YEAH. beautiful sweater, and the stitch definition is WOW! I want one.
That is a most AMAZING sweater. I’m new to knitting and am floored by Norah Gaughan. Wonderful job!
Wow. That’s absolutely stunning. Awesome work, I’m so jealous! Keep it up!
like she said - no one in the pic looks old enough to be the birthday girl! great sweater/brick combo - but that sweater will look good anywhere!! Thanks to Norah, and to you for the hints on how you made it your own.