Progress...or lack there of

So the pictures aren't as good as they could be...first day with a new digital camera and all...however, I wanted to post some progress photos. As I said in earlier posts, I finished the back and left front. I started the right front just after my last post. And this is as far as I have gotten.

The second job...which is turning out to be super cool (I'm a Mac Specialist at the local Apple store. I love it!) and the *real* job, and Christmas shopping and...well, you get it. I am going to focus on this tonight and tomorrow night and should be zipping right along in no time.

New knitter from France

Hi everyone,
I am new to that KAL, my name is Sylvie and I'm French. I've swatched yesterday, this is not the color I've chosen for Ivy (in fact it will be a dark purple). This is a french yarn, 50% wool, very soft, it's a pleasure to knit with!
I'm now waiting for my yarn to arrive, and I'll start immediately!

Sylvie
Blog: http://croixetmailles.canalblog.com

Back-check. Left front-check.

I am officially two fifths of the way there. Zipping right along with the help of Mythbusters, Monk and Shaft. Can ya dig it?

Round 2

Back again, this time from the top (or bottom, since it is knit up....)

My wool arrived today, a lovely light blue, demin-y colour, an alpaca/silk blend (Inca Silk from Ram Wools, China Blue). Nice and soft and probably quite warm (I have a 100% alpaca sweater and honestly it never gets cold enough for that!) But this is not for me it is for my cousin, who is at least 6 inches taller and probably 50lbs lighter than I (honestly she is a bean pole!!) so the girl NEEDS warm.

I will be casting on momentarily and no doubt ramblings, rantings, and sundry ravings will follow.

Cheers!

Progress update

So I didn't watch as much football this weekend as I thought. But I still finished the bottom ribbing and 3 ivy pattern repeats on the neck shaping on the left front. This is just zipping along now! I'm so glad the waist shaping matches the pattern repeat so I don't have to think about it as much.

I'm a little confused.

I get the side, neck, etc shaping. No problem. Here's my issue:

Cutting and pasting the pattern here's where I am:
Shape Neckline
Next Row [RS]: K to last 13 sts, k2tog, k1, work to end in patt as set.
Next Row [WS]: Work 10 sts in patt as set, p1, p2tog, p to end.
Repeat these 2 rows 2[3, 4, 9, 12, 11, 10] times more. 6[8, 10, 20, 26, 24, 22] sts decreased.

Okay, got it.

Next Row [RS]: K to last 13 sts, k2tog, k1, work to end in patt as set.
Next Row [WS]: Work 10 sts in patt as set, p to end.
Repeat these 2 rows 29[31, 38, 39, 45, 42, 35] times more. 30[32, 39, 40, 46, 43, 36] sts decreased.

Right, totally there. Here's the issue:

Next Row [RS]: K to last 13 sts, k2tog, k1, work to end in patt as set.
Work 3 rows in patt as set.
Repeat these 4 rows 9[10, 7, 6, 1, 5, 7] times more. 10[11, 8, 7, 2, 6, 8] sts decreased.

Okay, so in this last section, am I reading it right that the "pattern" is now:
[RS] K to last 13 sts, k2tog, k1, work to end in patt as set.
[WS] Work 10 sts in patt as set, p to end.
[RS] K to last 10 sts, work to end in patt as set.
[WS] Work 10 sts in patt as set, p to end.

If I am going to only end up with 7 stitches decreased in this section, then it sounds like I am only decreasing just one stitch in that 4 row repeat. Right? This is what I am thinking. I am not quite there yet, so any sage advice that anyone has would be welcome.

I finished!

After finishing the back, all the rest of the pieces went quick! I blocked as I went, so all I had to do was seam. Here's a successful completed Ivy!


Now I'm thinking about doing another in a silk blend. :)

Back done!

I finished the back! It's all curled up on itself so it just looks long and skinny now. I don't want to block it until the other pieces are done though. I started one of the fronts, but didn't make much progress because it was in the pattern stitch and I was watcing "Lost" and you know how that goes.

Blocking question

Do you block the sweater once it's completed or in pieces then sew it up? And...when you block the bottom ribbed part, do you leave it as is or stretch it out? Thanks!

Progress!

I feel like I am finally getting somewhere! I just finished the back of the sweater. The other pieces are much smaller so I suspect I'll see it come together much more quickly now. The yarn I picked has a really nice drape to it. I am very pleased.

Hello!

Hi! I'm am new to the KAL. I started last week and am pretty close to the armhole decreases on the back. I'm using a beautiful alpaca by the Socks That Rocks people in the Rose Quartz colorway. It's shades of pinks mostly with some subtle variation. When I earmarked the yarn and started the sweater, I misremembered the amount of yarn I had. After starting and decided that this yarn and this pattern are the most perfect combination, I realized I only have 1330 yards, and getting more would be difficult. I'm making the 40" size. I'm hoping the yardage is overestimated or I can make some modifications to conserve yarn. Can anyone tell me if they used significantly more or less than the amount called for? Thanks!

Hello hello!

My first post, I'm Megan, nice to meet ya. I will begin armhole decreases on the back in 2 inches. Just wanted to mention I am using Knitpicks Andean Treasure in Embers. The color is beautiful, the yarn is soft. I am rather pleased. I am hoping that the bottom ribbing section will stretch out with blocking. Right now, it's looking awfully skinny. Anyway, nice to be here. Thanks for having me. Happy knitting!