# Sweltering in Progress



## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

Well, the Vacationers....and cam, are back.

All was very well in the Smokeys and at the beach in NC. 

As promised, here be the pic of the budding masterpiece that was on the needles when they departed.










That one was such a screaming success, color, texture and all, that I determined to make another....changing only a couple strands, and ended up with an even chunkier, heavier finished product.










That one was such a screaming success (and the bulky cuffs were so cool....in the euphemistic sense, of course) that I had to make another......in the all black wool and mohair that I have been contemplating for some time, now.










_That_ one was so cool (euphemistic) that I had to do the oatmeal cream that I wanted to do, and that was where my world turned upside down again. I decided to really chunk it up and horseshoe cable the sleeves, as well, but started my horseshoe upside down......and then got to thinking.....










Instead of cables, intermittently reversed horseshoe cable twists make for a chain. 

Now that just about did me in when I figured that one out.
Those German knitters ain't gunna have nothin' over on me for much longer.:bouncy:

That oatmeal cream just happens to be the thickest and cuddliest yet, to boot, and the body is a little shorter than most.
I get a little embarrassed just looking at it. :huh:

Well, to kill the time when it's too hot to do anything else, I put this one on the needles yesterday. It's gunna be the color of baling twine with a little straw yellow and related colors stranded throughout.











Winter is going to be a treat for someone, this year. :shrug:


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Well, they certainly warmed me up. 

How much yarn would it take to make one of those in a 3X -man sized?


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Love the rope cabling on the sleeves, very nice!

As always, amazing work.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Whoa, that's a lot of sweaters. 
I like the whole stack of folded garments off to the side in the first pic.
Gonna need more dresser drawers! :gaptooth:

Do cable charts count as patterns?
Just WONDERING.


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

These weigh between 5-7 pounds, each....I suppose to fit a big fellow would take 6-8 pounds of yarn. 
I'm not quite sure what I did different with these, but they are the heaviest yet, but at no loss of pliability. Maybe I'm relaxing my tension ? :shrug:
I'd figure it was a difference in my yarns, but they're all improving in that regard, so.... :shrug:

ETA.... cable charts may just count as patterns, especially if I keep accidentally coming up with these techniques on my own. 

Yeah....the stash is getting out of hand. I just had a large cedar tree milled into shelving and cedar chest boards. 
That will be cool to give away the occasional cedar-fragranced sweater.


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

BEAUTIFUL !!! LOVE the red one in the stack to the left in the 1st pic !!! You really ought to sell this pattern and directions !!! I would definatly buy a copy , if you could tell me how to adapt a V neck .....


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Okay, FR, when's the cardigan design coming out?

I'd wear one of those as my coat spring, rainy-summer-days, and fall, and indoors all winter! (Our rainy summer days are often only about 5-8 degrees C, definitely chilly).


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

!!! 

Miz Mary....I would _never_ sell my pattern! 
To do so would be sacrilegious.

My procedure has gone through a metamorphosis from its inception, but it has boiled down to this for a pretty good one-size-fits-all.

I cast on 52 stitches, average 9 strands of various weights of usually three worsted to bulky wools, and the remainder bulky to worsted mohairs, on 32 inch, #19 circular needles....then k2p2 for however long I decide I want the bottom ribbing. I reduce the whole by 4 stitches as I switch to all knit stitch, and then make 2-3 pairs of increases in the sides, under the arm holes, as I knit up to where I split for the arm hole. This makes for a better fit at the waste, and allows a little more width at the chest and shoulder.

After knitting up from 16-22 inches, total body length, including ribbing.....total length depending on whether you like a cropped fit or a mid-lower thigh fit or whatever in between....then split the circular knit onto two needles for the front and back panels, then knit up about 11 or 12 back and forth passes, which, when reunited at the shoulder makes for enough stitches to pick up between 26-30 for the arms.
I reunite the shoulders with what Frazzlehead has postulated may well be close kin to a three needle bind off. By that time, I have 52-54 stitches in the body, at the shoulder, and I bind of to leave 32 stitches for the neck. A crew neck could be done from there, but a V would be tricky. I suppose one would have to incorporate that into the final few top rows of the front panel. That said, hoodies are easy enough........ 

After picking up stitches for the first arm on those same 32 inch, #19 needles, which makes it easier to count stitches, I switch to a #19 in 24 inch to finish the body of the sleeve. I knit out to 17-20 inches, depending, before I knit the cuff ribbing. I meander down the arm, making occasional, evenly spaced k2togs until I get to 20 stitches remaining for a k2p2 rib, or 18 stitches for a k3p3 rib, which is kinda cool. For a k1p1 rib, any number from 18-22 works, on a 16 inch, # 17 circular needle. For a simple wrist, I knit about 3-4 inches of rib. For a turned cuff, 7-9 inches.
For a tighter turned cuff, use the 17s all the way through, for a looser, bulkier cuff, I start with the 17s and switch to 19s, halfway through, to finish.

For my front horseshoe cable, I purl one, slide off three, knit three, slide off three and then knit three, (12 total) followed by another purl. I knit 5 full rounds over the turn before turning the next cable, making six stitches in each cable cycle.....if that makes sense. :huh: For my chain link cable, I used 2 instead of three, (8 total) and knit two rounds after each turn, for a total of three rounds in each cable half cycle, reversing the "horseshoe" direction each time, to make a "whole" cycle.....if that makes sense.

Frazzle......that longer, slightly over-sized cardigan has been haunting me for some time, as well. 

That will be a whole new lesson in knitting logistics, I thinks. :bow:


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## ariesgoat (Jul 27, 2010)

Beautiful work Forerunner! HOW Long were you on vacation? I'd have to be on a LONG vacation to get all that done! You're amazing.


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

Oh my goodness !!! Bless your heart !! I can use my first yarns from spinning to make one !! :goodjob: You must certainly have STRONG hands !!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

FR those are beautiful, as usual. But right now I'm sitting in 92* and not liking looking at those. You must have a/c


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> you are so productive - makes me wonder what you did with all your spare time when you WEREN'T knitting!:hrm:


Well, I was younger then, and far more energetically inspired.....so, I was building this place......and still am.
I'm still debating whether or not to post about the pond I've been building over the last year, for the purpose of hydro-electric and other uses. Those fellows over in alternative energy are a snooty lot, and I really don't care to grace them with my experiences. :indif:
Maybe I'll just post about it in here. 
It could be fiber related, cuz while I'm running the dozer, I _think_ about what I'm going to knit next. :spinsmiley:

I wasn't actually on vacation the last two weeks. 
Lori, Lily and Sam went to the east coast with Lori's cousin.
Sam is kind of a special boy, and we took this opportunity to let him see the ocean. His mother is approving, somewhere.

MW......no a/c here....just a pond to jump in and cool off between knitting sessions. :shrug:


....and..... Miz Mary, you are most welcome. If you have any questions, just ask.  As for my hands, well.....I have milked a cow or two for close to half my life, and I blacksmith...and I split wood by hand.....and, and, and..... :shrug:


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

FR, you are just such a cool guy. Just had to say that. I think you're amazing (not just your knitting, either). :happy:

You're not as far from the cardigan as you think. The pattern (I use the word in it's loosest sense, so as not to offend your sensibilities) will be almost exactly the same thing you've been doing so far, but you'll be working it back and forth the whole time, not in the round. Cast on the same number of stitches, work the same style up to the armpits, with the increases along either side, and then when you get to the part where you have to separate and do the back and front separately, you'll just have the back (half the stitches) and two fronts (a quarter each) to do. Then the same three needle bind off thingie you do at the shoulders, work your sleeves the same as always, and then you need to do the button band and collar. That's the only part that is a bit different.

You could knit a button band on afterwards, or you could work the button band as you knit the body of the sweater. Just cast on about 10 extra stitches, five for each side, and knit those in garter stitch while the rest of the sweater goes in stockinette (so on every wrong side row you'll knit five, then purl to the last five, and knit five again). That'll give you a border on either side of the front panels that won't curl or roll. Seed stitch would work too.

You can use toggle closures so you don't have to do buttonholes, or, you can make buttonholes the easy way: on one side of the front you need to make a hole every so often. Knit two stitches of your border, then cast off one stitch (your stitches are so big one will make a big hole!) then knit the other two border stitches and finish the row. On the next row back, when you get to the place you cast off one stitch, make one stitch (cast one on right there in the middle of your knitting) and keep going like nothing happened. Voila, button hole.

The last thing is the collar or hood and that you already know how to do: just pick up the stitches around the neck and do your giant ribbed collar for a really pretty rolled collar, or make a hood. 

Darn it all, now you've got me thinking about making one like this!


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

I must say, these last few days I have _wished_ that I was a cooler dude. :huh:

I have given the coat a lot of thought, and I'm just going to give fair warning.....

When I do the front border and lapel collar what-have-you....... it will all be knit in one piece, stitches picked up from the completed body, on #36 needles, K2P2, with about 15-18 strands.  (ETA....maybe even 20-22 :heh: )

I want a chunky border.  I'll prolly go with a belt tie, either braided or knit from the same yarn as the coat.

The only question is the color...... :huh: (ETA....after some contemplation, I realize that I currently have an abundance of dark charcoal grays and blacks, in some fabulous wool _and_ mohair selections.  )


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## Pearl B (Sep 27, 2008)

Absolutely fantastic as always Forerunner :thumb: and what all the other posters have said too!:bandwagon:


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

You have big enough circulars to pick up the whole border? Waaaay cool. That will look truly amazing, and the ribbing will be lovely. I have seen some sweaters held closed with big shawl pins, too, quick and pretty. 

Do you have dpns in your giant sizes? There is a neat way to knit a cord ... Another thing from "that Zimmerman chick": cast on three to five stitches and knit them. Then instead of turning the work, slide them back tothe start of the needle and knit them again from the same starting point - not where the yarn left off. The tail of yarn that pulls across the back folds the piece into an almost tube. It is called I-cord, if you wanna look it up.

Another really fun way to make ties is a thing called a lucet. Being the handy guy you are I bet you could make one, and boy are they fun to use! You can use a bunch of strands together with a lucet, too, a technique I now refer to as "forerunner style"


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I am so gonna have to make something like this. You are an inspiration, FR!


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

I do have several #36 circs, 2-3, each of 32", 40" and 60". :ashamed:
I've got 36s and 19s (as well as a few smaller diameter :indif: ) in 8 inch dpns, mostly for making mittens....but I do have my three 18" home made broomstick dpns in #36 (roughly). 

I feel confident in my tooling. I just be looking forward to October, is all. *sigh*

That I-cord sounds interesting....... The one coat I made for Rachel, last year, I braided the tie. I was really surprised how well that coat turned out, being my first.
I must say, I was intending it to be a _little_ smaller, to fit my petite niece, but it ended up fitting my Amazonian Rachel Jo to perfection. :whistlin:

I knit that one on 17s, and picked up the stitches for the lapel, but knit a hood instead of a collar. It's gotten lots of rave reviews, even.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

FR feel free to post about your pond. Doesn't matter if it is fiber related, post it in the FAC, we talk about all sorts of things in there and some of it has nothing to do with fibers.


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## Ana Bluebird (Dec 8, 2002)

I agree:


> I BOW to your mighty magnificence, FR


 And thanks for the pictures too!


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