St. Enda Sweater

I can't believe I made this.

Pattern source: Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore
Yarn: Jamieson's Shetland Heather
Started April 9, finished October 11

Other posts related to this project, in reverse chronological order:
End of September Status Update
For those about to block, we salute you
St. Enda back completed!
Summer knitting goals
Sweater front is done!
Progress, I has it
Aran sweater progress
The proper way to begin a project

End of September status update

I'm ahead of schedule on the stupid, hateful St. Enda sweater. As you may remember, my goal was to have one sleeve finished by the end of September. Although I do not have one finished sleeve, I have two sleeves which are both almost finished.

I finished the first a few weeks ago, I thought, until I realized that Alice Starmore apparently designed sweaters for gnomes. It looked a little stubby to me, but sleeves always do look funny before you sew them up, and the schematic measurements are all in metric so they are meaningless to me (the US really should go metric, but that's another rant for another day). I trusted in the pattern and after washing and blocking the sleeve realized that not only was the saddle part too short, but the whole dang sleeve was a few inches short as well.


By that time I had already begun the second sleeve so I will finish it and then go back to the first one, rip back the saddle to the bind off, add a few more inches and do the saddle again.


Actually, I only have about 2 more inches of very short rows and can feasibly finish this sleeve by the end of the month (i.e. tonight), thus fulfilling my goal. But who knows what I'll feeling like doing when I get home from work at 9:30 tonight? I may just have a glass of wine and some ice cream and call it a night.

Here are both sleeves side by side, just because it makes me feel productive. The little blue markers on the left indicate where I originally would have bound off, following the pattern instructions. Also, notice how nice the sleeve on the right looks, perfectly illustrating why blocking is so important.

For those about to block, we salute you

Despite the amount of math and swatching and blocking of swatches I completed before beginning the St. Enda sweater, I began to doubt myself about the size and fit. I'm almost halfway through a sleeve and it just doesn't look right, though I've checked and re-checked the pattern schematics and my gauge. I knew that I was erring on the small size with my knitting and planned to block the sweater to size, but still I worried.

To allay my fears, last week I washed and blocked the back piece. The difference is amazing. The front and back were the same size, but look at them side by side now!



The back looks really fantastic and finished and boyfriend-sized!

It is only recently that I began knitting items on the too-small size, and blocking them larger. It's a great way to control the finished size of your garment. Knitted items tend to grow when washed so you can always block something to a larger size, but you can't make them smaller (not without felting anyhow). Eunny Jang taught me this in response to a question I posed on Craftster a few years ago.

There are different methods of blocking including steam blocking (which is terrifying as it involves an iron near knitted items) and spray blocking, but I use the simple wet blocking method as described in Stitch n Bitch. I wash the garment by hand, roll it up in a towel to remove excess water, then lay it out on my blocking surface and pin it in place. This seems like the most logical way to block because eventually I will have to wash the garment and I don't want there to be any surprises. No doubt that whatever the results of steam or spray blocking, they won't predict how the fabric will behave when it is washed.

As for the surface on which I block, that is another whole subject worthy of an entire post. Suffice it to say that I don't have a professional blocking board but I may end up buying one. Though many say they're not worth it, I haven't found a good substitute yet.

The St. Enda is ahead of schedule right now. My goal is for one sleeve to be done by the end of September but I think it will be done a week from now. Let's see if my prediction comes true!

St. Enda back completed!

Sorry for the sideways-ness, but it looked funny when I rotated it. I have achieved my goal of finishing the back of this sweater by the end of August. For some reason I'm very surprised by this!

Just to prove that it's not just another picture of the front, here are both pieces together:


I'm happy to be on track with this project. Now I only have to do the sleeves, which will undoubtedly be the most complicated and time-consuming part. The front and back are just big rectangles but the sleeves, of course, are narrower at the cuff and the top has to fit in the armhole.

To complicate matters further, these appear to be what is called saddle sleeves, which I've never made before. I thought this sweater was drop-shoulder and that's how I measured, but there will actually be a strip of fabric from the sleeve separating the front and back of the sweater. I think. I clearly need to figure this out soon.

Sweater front is done!

And it only took me three months! I will need to pick up the pace if I'm going to reach my goal of having this done in time for Eric to wear it this winter.

I haven't blocked it yet or woven in the ends (as you can see) but I may do so soon, before assembling, so that I can be sure of the measurements and because it will dry more quickly if it's just one layer.

I had some concerns with the fit, due to gauge and the wishful thinking of the intended recipient in terms of what size he wears, but it seems like it's right on target. Also, in the original pattern the bottom hem is done in the honeycomb pattern which I changed because I didn't like it. Now I'm losing faith in that decision, but it's too late to change it. I think it'll be ok though - I'm sure you didn't see the picture and exclaim "What the HELL was she thinking with that bottom hem??" Please tell me you didn't.

Goal: finish the back by the end of August!

Progress, I has it

It turns out that I only worked on one project during my vacation, but I got a lot done!


It looked huge until I held it up to Eric and saw how much farther I still had to go. But still, a lot accomplished! I knew that 5 hours of watching Pride & Prejudice had to be more productive than it felt like at the time. Next time I'll take some close-ups of the pattern; I realize you can't see much from this shot.

Before my vacation, I started another project. The Lace Ribbon Scarf from the Spring issue of Knitty, made with Noro Sock that I bought at Webs last month.


I don't especially enjoy knitting lace, and I don't really like knitting scarves, but somehow I ended up knitting a lace scarf. We'll see how long it lasts. I love the yarn though.

I was going to bring the camera to Maine with me, but decided at the last minute that I didn't want to carry that much stuff. Of course, it turns out that I would have had many great photo opportunities. I knew I'd see llamas at my sister's house, but also she got baby chicks the day after I arrived - 52 of them! I have hardly ever seen so much cuteness in one place. Also, I saw alpacas, sheep, and a very cute bunny rabbit that may or may not have been wild. Next time I go I'll take the camera, I promise!

Aran sweater progress

I haven't shown you any progress on my knitting in a while and, in fact, it doesn't feel like there's a lot of progress to show. But I'm forging slowly ahead on the St. Enda sweater.


This is a fun project to knit. I like following charts! I changed the hem at the bottom, which was originally supposed to be the honeycomb pattern. I wanted it to look different but wasn't sure what to do. Finally, I decided to just knit it as written, but made an error and liked the result. I don't like knitting the honeycomb - it is tiny little cables, but they are very tight for some reason. I also have to keep checking the key because I get the symbols mixed up. It's starting to get easier though.

I'm getting nervous about whether it will fit. I took a lot of measurements, did math, and thoroughly swatched...so I should have no reason to worry, right?

The proper way to begin a project

With the heartbreak of this sweater freshly in mind, this would be a good time to describe the proper way to begin a project.

Eric has requested a "fisherman's sweater" so we spent a great deal of time looking through patterns, which were narrowed down to three choices from Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting. After choosing a pattern we went to A Good Yarn in Brookline. Much yarn was fondled and a choice was made: Jamieson's Shetland Heather in the color Ivory, which of course the store didn't have nearly enough of.

I found one online retailer in the US that could supply me with the needed quantity of yarn, Kirtland's Yarn Barn, a one-woman show in Dellwyn, VA. Here is the exciting lovely yarn:


mmm, so pretty.

Before casting on in wild abandon, as I have been known to do in the past, I took the time to swatch. For the pattern we chose, Irish Moss, I made two swatches and neither came out with the correct gauge even after blocking. I didn't want to go with smaller needles because the yarn is too thick and I don't want this sweater to be able to stand up by itself.

The options were as follows:
1. Alter the pattern so the yarn could be used. I did some math and came up with ways this could be done.
2. Choose a more appropriate pattern.

Normally, I would not recommend choosing a pattern based on the yarn because that has not gone well for me in the past. However, in this case there were two other fine patterns in the running and I realized that the gauge in both patterns was appropriate for the yarn. St. Enda was chosen and I swatched again. Again - and I cannot stress this enough - I washed and blocked the swatch.


The gauge is ever so slightly too tight (a half stitch) but a more aggressive block could easily fix that. Also, the sizing on this sweater is even larger than the other, and the small is a little too big, so it should all work out. (What is up the 10 inches of ease that Starmore designs in her garments? You may as well wear a couch cover.)

I have cast on and will post a photo when I have knit enough that it's worth looking at.