Friday 2 August 2019

Altheda

I have quite a few projects on my needles at the moment but wasn't in the mood to work on any of them one Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago. I nabbed James's tablet and had a browse through Ravelry for a while, looking at friends' projects and recent favourites/bundles. Spotted lots of Jenn's designs and then this one, Altheda! Ooh, garter stitch... I like garter stitch. Pattern purchased, another cup of tea made, yarn out, cast on.


I had bought a cone of off-white mohair/wool blend yarn from eBay for a Bohus-type cardigan I never got around to knitting, the yarn is far too thick in any case but seemed perfect for this jumper. It's been very odd to knit with though, it's got a mind of its own and is unlike any other 'predictable' commercial yarn I've ever used. The stockinette on the body has a diagonal slant to it, small runs of stitches appeared to have been knit through the back loop (they weren't) and the whole thing had a much more uneven appearance than my knitting usually does. I've heard about yarns doing this sort of thing and believe it's something to do with the way it has been spun. Still, a jumper for under £20, that's not so bad! The counter-colour is a Jamieson's, Shetland Spindrift in a rich navy blue colour.


It smelt so whiffy when I'd soaked it! Not nice and sheepy, more effluent-y! Once it had dried it was fine although the stitches didn't even out in the way a garment knit in J&S or Jamieson's would. It's been an interesting project, I do like learning new things.


Here it is all dried and the seams stitched (I knit the sleeves flat). Modifications included not decreasing on the sleeves till they were 17" long, then I did two rounds of decreases (around) and a garter cuff. I also increased my needle size every 4" or so on the body for a slight A-line shape as I'll wear this jumper on top of pinafore dresses over the cooler months. I was about the state that I don't own a pair of trousers but there may be a pair of jeans in my wardrobe somewhere. I just don't like the feeling of trousers much.



I took some photos of the jumper on this morning, they're a bit blurry but hey ho, they give an idea of what it looks like on! It's great, I'm very pleased with the fit, Jenn is a whizz at fit, I even did the short-rows (I hate short-rows) because I have to admit that they're very useful fit-wise.

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