I know this makes me sound so newbie, but I am so confused.

I've never knit a sweater before, so maybe this is easy and I just don't understand it. I just finished the four repeats of the twisted rib pattern, and now I'm here:

First Decrease Row [RS]: K2, p2tog, p1, [k3, p1, k3, p2tog, p1] to last 2 sts, k2. 96[105, 114, 132, 150, 168, 177] sts.

Work 11 rows in patt as set.

Second Decrease Row: K2, p2tog, [k3, p1, k3, p2tog] to last 2 sts, k2.

85[93, 101, 117, 133, 149, 157] sts.

Work 11 rows in patt as set.

Next Row: K1, m1, k to last st, m1, k1.

Work 5 rows in stockinette st.

Repeat these 6 rows 6[7, 9, 7, 5, 4, 5] times more. 99[109, 121, 133, 145, 159, 169] sts.

Cont in stockinette st until work measures 14.5[14.25, 14.25, 14.5, 14.25, 14.75, 14.75] inches, ending with a WS row.

Okay. I don't understand what to do. Do I do the first decrease row then the second decrease row? What does " Work 11 rows in patt as set" mean? What pattern?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Look what I wore to work today!

Finished Ivy late last night. Wore it to work today to rave reviews. I just posted to my blog all of my notes and changes. Read on here: Truman Knits!

Hello and Welcome! (again) ;)

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to say "welcome", since we've had a few more KAL members join up in the last couple of weeks. Feel free to post when ever you feel like it, if you have questions or even if you just have pictures to post! And if you've figured out the answer to someone's question, don't be shy, you might just be the first person able to answer it. If you just need a bit of encouragement, just scroll through the blog archive and you'll see lots of gorgeous finished Ivys.

I'm usually lurking (er, perhaps "procrastinating online" is a better term, heh) and am happy to support my fellow knitters.

Knit on! :)

I need some help

I am struggling with the directions for the left back. How do I read the pattern at the instruction about the neckline, waist, and armhole shaping being worked at the same time?

My blog is a mess right now, I think it's a sign that I am done w/blogging. But I will post my progress here, when I get to that point.

I was so happy to find this KAL last weekend when I was struggling with "work in pattern as set." It all sounded so simple. But that is always my clue that I am not reading the pattern right. I have all of that figured out now, thanks to some of the pictures posted.

Thanks!

Alpaca advice

So, I learned how to knit as a kid, then did nothing for 20 years, then knit 3 pretty simple sweaters, then did nothing for 5 more years. This fall, though, I went on a spree and have knit several scarves & hats and started Ivy. I say all this so you will know that I don't quite know what I'm doing. My black wrap sweater was stolen (along with my bag) last summer, so I really wanted to do black (plus I feel fat and it's slimming), and I chose Frog Tree sport weight alpaca - mostly because it was the only thing I could find that was the right gauge on the right needles and I'm not good at adjusting. And I insist that it be excruciatingly soft and non-itchy.

I love the yarn, but it's so fuzzy and dark that it's really hard to see the stitches and I make a lot of mistakes. However, you can barely see the cables at all, so it doesn't matter if I make mistakes. On the other hand, why go through all of that trouble if you can't see the cables really? (it looks like curvy ribbing). I got all the way up to the stockinette section and realized I was knitting the wrong size, and so I started over - but went on a trip for work and lost my place and dropped some stitches when the holder thing fell off and now I can't figure it out, so I'm about to start again.

My question - is knitting this in fuzzy Alpaca totally idiotic? Should I switch to a less fuzzy yarn, and if so, how do I figure out what yarn to use? (And is yarn returnable?) This was the only one in the store that was 6 inches on #4 needles. I do sort of like the alpaca, but it does seem like a lot of trouble to twist the cables when you can barely tell. I'm not in love with cabling (I knit on my very long commute, so it's kind of a pain on a moving bus).

Thanks for your thoughts, for the great pattern, and for the blog!

Victory! Sweet victory!

It's finally coming together, people. I have had so much trouble with the sleeves. It's not the pattern...you know I have nothing but love for Glenna...it's my arms. The body will fit me fine. What's the opposite of monkey arms? Shrimp arms? Whatever it is, I have them. So in addition to having to make the sleeve generally a little shorter, I've had to shorten the sleeve cap too. Glenna gave me some great advice. I've worked it out and ended with the same 15 stitches, just like you would if you follow the pattern. I've had to put this down and come back to it a few times, I'm not known for my math skills. However, he result is good. I did a mock up of the sweater to try it on and it fits perfectly. Now to unstitch and block it. I start a new job on Monday and I am going to wear this to work. But here's a preview. One with the flash to see the detail, one without to see the color...

New Admin

I've come to recognize that I'm not likely to finish Ivy as much as I like the design. I've also recently taken on the responsibility of ring admin for the Knitting Blogs ring. As such, I'm not going to be able to continue as admin for this KAL. Is there someone who is interested in stepping up and taking the responsibility? It isn't a lot of work, just basically fielding requests to join and such. Please email me at crazyfiberladyATgmailDOTcom or leave a comment to this post.

Thanks!