No, not on the loom yet (I've got to get this sweater finished first), but a million ends on the Jester sweater. I now think there's a way to do this as you go, but I didn't know that at the time. Always a day late...
I used the "percentage pattern" from one of Elizabeth Zimmerman's books and made up the color design as I went along. In hindsight, probably not the best way to attempt your first Fair Isle sweater. So much maths. So much maths (slowly shaking head).
You pick something you like, but then have to make sure that pattern's stitch count fits the number of stitches you have and/or the amount of inches tall you are wanting to fill. Between decreases of course. Gotta throw in some decreases on top of everything. Add in aesthetics and just because it fits the counts/inches doesn't mean it looks good. I've probably knit this whole sweater three times. At least parts of it.
I did try to add a Jacob element. The top half of one of the standard patterns looked to me like big, sweeping sheep horns, like Jester's. I thought "Why not?" and modified it and added it in. In retrospect I should have changed the two dark "ends" closest to the "head" to white, but it's not terrible.
What I'm worried about is the buckling around the lowest patterning. I possibly probably went overboard on "Make sure to keep your floats (the back side of the patterning - see top pictures) loose" so they don't draw in and pucker. Elizabeth Zimmerman warns that it's impossible to fix that after it's done and that it's nearly impossible to knit them too loose. I'm afraid I've pushed that envelope :-/.
To top it off, there's a decrease just after that section, really emphasizing how sloppy I knit it. She also mentions to not panic about those decreasing puckers. That they'll block out just fine. I've really had to trust that and "Knit on with confidence..." but will be holding my breath as I block it tomorrow.
Yes, I am almost done and hoping to finish and block it tomorrow. I have the underarms to weave together and all the ends to weave in, but that's just tedious, no maths ;-). I'm also a little concerned about how the neck looks, but am going to give that the ole "by light of day" waiver tonight.
Because of how old this beloved sheep is and the horrible "lesson" of Handy's passing, I'm working as hard as I can to finish this sweater before the unthinkable happens. Sorry, it's been a long summer and fall :-/. I'd much rather be motivated by fun prizes at the end of a month long weaving challenge :-).
So, how's everyone doing? Weaving on with confidence?
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