Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Preparing for a New Year

The Seamless Hybrid is complete. Check out that "shirt yoke" option in the saddle. My Goodness how I adore that Elizabeth Zimmerman. There were a few occasions when I thought "I must be reading this wrong" and even, I admit "this must be written incorrectly" but I wasn't. And it wasn't. It's sheer perfection.
I used Rowan's Yorkshire Tweed Aran in the "deep plum" color. It's a strudy feeling yarn as opposed to a cloud-soft deal, but it's not the slightest bit itchy; my husband is wearing it quite happily over a short-sleeved t-shirt.

I went for a 1" hemmed collar (I continued the double decreases in the front more for look than fit) and I'm very, very pleased with the outcome. I did not do fancy contrasting facing, and I thought I might regret that decision but I don't, at all.
This design is perfect for my husband - he has fairly scrawny shoulders and this hybrid saddle really seems to make them appear much broader. He has a classic saddle sweater and a few raglans. The raglans seem to accentuate the narrow shoulders and make his chest look pudgy (it's not) and the regular saddles are better but still cut a little funny across the chest. This sweater fits him perfectly and, in my opinion, really works with his body type. I'll be making him many more of these, to be sure. And being EZ, of course I can play around with stitch patterns and color to make them all different while using the same basic design.

I based the entire sweater on his chest measurement, as EZ suggests, and only tried on the cuffs of one sleeve (I had gauge issues as I got pregnant between making the body and making the sleeves and I could NOT match gauge. I ended up just putting it aside for several months while I waited for my fingers to return to closer to normal. Aside from that, the only real "issue" I had was in creating the saddle - there is a part of the instructions where EZ abandons her percentages and merely says "for 44 rows". Since my gauge was different from hers, I had been completely ignoring her numbers. So it took me a while, and a little calculation, to go back through her sample numbers and discover that she meant "50% of remaining stitches".

Other than that, I loved the experience, I love the final product, and my husband does, too. It was originally supposed to be a gift for our 10th anniversary together (September 15) then our 6th anniversary of marriage (November 11) then Hanukkah, then Solstice, and I finally finished it at 11pm on December 25. So at least it made it as a gift for some holiday, instead of just being an unceremonious "here, I finally finished."
I'm nearly finished with Martha's socks, too. I hope to see her in mid-January and they'll surely be finished by then. I have a ton of yarn left over, the socks are baggy, and a perfectly respectably high-crew length. I think I know why it's called Trekking XL now.

And finally, in "it's a small world" news, guess who I bumped into at Ikea? Annie Modesitt and family! I was glad to have been able to thank her in person for her ultra-generous donation of a signed book and a sample bracelet she donated to the auctions we held for the Professor. She was, as always, warm and smiling and I even got a big hug, right there in the middle of storage solutions. Were you looking for yarn storage, Annie? I was.

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16 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Beautifull sweater! And husband ;) Groeten uit Holland and a happy new year

3:23 PM  
Blogger tiennieknits said...

Fantastic job! Looks so great on him!

4:24 PM  
Blogger nat said...

It's very nice! It definitely flatters him. :)

Happy New Year!

4:38 PM  
Blogger Miss Scarlett said...

Great sweater and a perfect fit! Love that colour.

5:20 PM  
Blogger Leanne said...

It's gorgeous! And you're right - it's perfect on him. I've been thinking that the Seamless Hybrid might be a good fit for my guy as well - seeing yours makes me think so even more.

6:33 AM  
Blogger Rachael said...

This sweater is lovely (in a very manly way)! You have inspired me to try again for my hubby - the first sweater I made him ended up with two different sized sleeves b/c of a stich count mishap (don't ask!!) and hence he doesn't wear it out of the house. I'd love to make him one he could wear in public!! Thanks for the inspiration & Happy New Year!

8:48 AM  
Blogger Chrissy said...

BRAVO !!! I made one sweater for my honey... it was beautiful but 2 sizes too big. I think I'll start reading EZ.

5:54 PM  
Blogger Melissa said...

nak

great sweater and cute husband :)

Melissa from ww

5:57 PM  
Blogger Ellen Alexandra said...

Very nice! I just read that book over the holiday weekend and I was thinking of starting that sweater soon. Happy New Year!

7:17 PM  
Blogger Liz K. said...

What a lovely pic of a lovely man. You're right that it flatters his build beautifully.

Wishing you a Happy New Year. This one's been a doozy.

10:17 PM  
Blogger amisha said...

what a gorgeous sweater! i'm finishing up the hems on my seamless hybrid now and i can't wait... that yorkshire tweed is some delicious goodness too :)

4:28 PM  
Blogger Pamelamama said...

oh my goodness, he looks JUST like M! The sweater is awesome and so flattering; what a gratifying project.

I miss you!

8:05 PM  
Blogger Davina said...

The sweater looks like knitted perfection... it looks great on him. The baggy socks at least look good in pictures. ;)
And how cool... Annie Modesitt!! And a hug (I probably misspelled her name.)

10:07 AM  
Blogger Woman who knits said...

Love that sweater it looks great!!! It's such a perfect fit for him!

7:22 PM  
Blogger Thea said...

came to visit to check out the adorable octopus, stayed to peruse the photos... gorgeous husband sweater! I love the shoulder detail, and beautiful colors on your socks and bowls.. I'm also with you on the knitting from the stash plan, will see how long I can last..

4:40 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I love this sweater. I've viewed this sweater on several blogs and like the yarn choice you made. So of course I had to seek it out on the net and found some on e-bay to bid on. Can you tell me how many skeins you used? Next step for me is to buy the book. Thank you!!!

8:18 PM  

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