A Long Journey, Literally

Something...something got finished for the Summer Sweater Knit-Along through all of this vacation, then hurricane, craziness.  I didn't think it would happen when I had to frog my Heritage, but I picked my Journey back up.  Who would've thought cabled sleeves would move so quickly.

This is Alina Schneider's Journey pattern.  Remember, I interviewed her for the knit-along last month?   Well, this is my second completed sweater that she designed.  It is very me, in every way.  The moment it slips over my head, I am instantly back in high school or my early twenties.  Cables+ mustard+ tweed+ cuffed jeans+ converse = fountain of youth.   Just ignore the wrinkles and gray streaks in my hair.

Obviously, I love cabling.  But I also love the details like a split hem, folder cuffs, and an extra thick neck ribbing.  They make this sweater!  The pattern was incredibly well thought out and easy to follow.

Details:  I went with Wool of the Andes Tweed yarn in Brass Heather for this sweater.  I used a lot of skeins but didn't keep track of how many.  I had to use US size 2 and 4 needles to get a still-too-loose gauge on this sweater.  So, I decided to knit a size small, in the hopes it would fit like a medium.  It worked.  I think my gauge swatch showed I had 17 stitches and 27 rows per 4" squared.

I also wanted to make sure I got enough length for a big, comfy sweater, so I knit it extra long.  And that worked too.  It is the kind of sweater you can wear with leggings, if you're the modest type.  I am the modest type.

I knit my armholes a bit deeper than required so I picked up 4 extra stitches for each afterthought sleeve.  When working the short row shaping, I didn't figure those extra stitches into the short rows.  I just left them untouched at the bottom of the sleeve hole.  

Adding stitches meant that I was a little off on the moss rib the pattern instructed for at the bottom of the armhole.  But it was easy to see what the stitches needed to be for a smooth moss rib in that area.

I also did my sleeve decreases differently for some reason.  I think I didn't have my pattern in front of me and wanted to keep knitting, so I just did a k2tog, knit around in pattern to last 2 stitches, p2tog.  I changed whether or not I knitted or purled together based on where the moss rib pattern was at the time of my decreasing.  I realize these aren't great notes, but this knit spread out over a long period of time and I knit these sleeves while watching floodwaters rise around my home.  It's a wonder they were wearable.

I like Alina's Perfect Neckline Tutorial, but since my yarn was doubled for the neckline, it didn't work out as well for me as just picking up the number of stitches that the pattern recommended.

Our home is alright.  I thank God that we had just gotten a new roof and had our house leveled before the downpour occurred.  The back part of the house would certainly have flooded if we hadn't.  If it had flooded I think our very old floorboards would have collapsed.  It would have been a huge financial blow.

Other people around us did get water in their homes.  Some up to several feet.  My heart hurts for the troubles it is causing so many families.  So, many of us are making room in our homes for friends or strangers who are homeless for the moment.  Our church is sending out work crews to help rip out sheetrock and pull carpets, as are many.  When I have worked at these things I feel sick for the people who were flown to Dallas for shelter.  I wonder when they will be able to return to pull out sheetrock, etc before their homes really mold.   What will happen to their jobs?  I am also thankful for all of the kind well wishes I received from you guys, via instagram and ravelry.  If you believe in prayer, please  pray for the ones who are facing trouble- like job loss, homelessness, and financial ruin.  There are many.

My next knit from Alina will be a re-knit of Heritage.  I ended up ripping mine back because it was turning out too big and I was running short on yarn.  I will knit a smaller size and hopefully have enough to finish.

There's more awkward poses on ravelry, instagram, and flickr.

Check out the rest of the SSKAL sweaters on Ravelry!

More on this sweater here: the beginning, camp knitting, needing accountability, knitting as comfort