pepperknit

I’d been very, very afraid that the Tivoli was going to be too small again. And I knew that it was time to try it on, sort of a now-or-never moment. And yay! Fits perfectly. Comfortably. It’s the bestest.

As I mentioned, I’m in love with the structure of the USMP from the current Inteweave Knits. I was doing some blog-trolling this afternoon (what else have I been doing today) and I came across the knitalong.

Ai yuh, the gauge issues people are having! And here I blithely ordered myself some KnitPicks alpaca this afternoon (Sunset for the main color, Woods for the accent), noting that the suggested gauge of the yarn was a little off, but figuring I’m a tight enough knitter that it won’t be a huge problem. Only time will tell, I suppose. The shipment of yarn will likely arrive this week. Unlike many of those in the kal, though, I am not afraid of knitting on tiny needles (2s or 3s). In fact, I almost prefer it. Admittedly, it will mean that the sweater will take ages to complete, but it’s nice to have an ongoing project, right?

The few finished sweaters that appear on the kal don’t have the same crispness that the piece in the magazine has–I wonder how that could be accomplished? I didn’t want to compromise on the material (100% alpaca) because I figured it would be really nice to knit something that was soft enough to easily wear against my skin.

I also am considering not doing the foldover bit and instead making two backs and joining them. Or, maybe, working the front slightly lower in the neck so that it doesn’t choke me, but keep the feel the same. My other hope is that if my gauge is off–producing a too-large piece–that instead of making drastic adjustments to the pattern, I can simply make it in the smallest size the pattern calls for.

I’m making great strides on the Tivoli. I’ve just finished the shaping decreases:
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And am about to start in on my 2.5 inches of knitting straight. As I said yesterday, I decided to do a hybrid of the two patterns, casting on 144 stitches instead of 136 but proceeding until I had 240 sts, just as in the pattern. So I have a slightly larger neckline and slightly narrower straps.

I’m using size 5 Addi Turbos and Knit Picks Shine–my gauge is approximately 24st/4 in. The size 4s gave me 25st/4in, and size 6s would have made the knit too open. I am liking the way this looks, and think it’ll be fine. (Fingers crossed.)

It is SO bright outside, the cream color is washed out and shadows are heightened.

I went to NYC this weekend marginally against my will, to celebrate a friend’s birthday. The best thing about the trip was the long uninterrupted time to work on the Tivoli T. We took NJ Transit in order to save some $, which means an increase in time (versus Amtrak).

I decided to take a slightly different approach for the sweater–did no picot edge and started with more stitches at the outset, in order to have a wider neck (by just a little), but I’m now following the new pattern unchanged.

Had trouble hitting gauge again but have left it: Got it to 24st/4in on size 5s, and didn’t want to go up any higher for fear that the stitches will look too open. We’ll see what happens. Pictures tomorrow!

I skipped out on work this afternoon (well, took a half vacation day) and walked over to Borders. The weather today is particularly nice, so I turned my ipod on and made my way. I looked at a bunch of knitting magazines and have confirmed my love for Interweave Knits’s Union Square Market Pullover–the cover sweater. I admit I’m not entirely convinced about the little foldover/button deal, but the structure of the piece calls out to me. Love those sleeves!

I also sat and looked at the knitting books, just to see what I could see. A woman came over, and I asked if I was her her way–I wasn’t–and then she started talking to me. I didn’t realize she was at first, what with the ipod being on, but then I stopped listening to chat with her a bit. She asked me if I know about the yarn stores in the city (yes) and if I’ve made specific patterns from books that I do not own (uh, no). It was a weird conversation. And as she left, I realized she was the woman I saw in Sophie’s that day. What a coincidence.

I looked at Weekend Knitting and Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (no need to link, right? everyone knows these ones) for some time, but ultimately decided that the few patterns I liked were too simple to buy a whole book for. The hourglass sweater? I can definitely write my own pattern for that one.

So I bought the Interweave Knits and then made my way to Sophie’s, to get a pair of size 5 Addi Turbos, which I want for the Tivoli (since my gauge was too tight on the 4s). The store cats were “agressively friendly,” as Jennifer, the owner put it. The longhaired one kept reaching out and putting his paw on my arm. It was cute, but, well, being allergic, it kind of had to stop. I ended up buying Rowan #30, which I had been looking at online.

Despite all this knitting-related action, all I’m going to be doing for now is the rest of the Lopi bag and thinking about how I want to tackle the Tivoli. I may just go back to the original pattern. (Someone on knitty pointed out to me that the straps are wider–hence the starting with fewer stitches. But I would prefer the narrower straps.)