That's a wrap

As soon as it completely dries, it will be wrapped!

I thought I would be knitting on this all of Christmas Eve and well into Christmas morning, but about 8:00 last night, it fell off the needles.  There was another half hour of seaming the underarms and weaving the ends before it could soak.  As of early this morning, it was only very slightly damp.

Pattern: Bedford by Michelle Wang

Yarn:  Waterlily by Classic Elite (now discontinued) in Azalea. 

The pattern was well written and not difficult, but there seemed to be a heck of a lot of knitting with it.  I actually started this project back in April.  I picked it up often, but never seemed to get more than a handful of rounds done at a time.  

The issue with the row gauge was entirely my own fault, as it was an inattention to detail. I knew my row gauge was off, but I was unconcerned because the first two thirds of the pattern was written to inches, not a specific row/round number, as the yoke was.  Once I ripped back to where the sleeves joined the body and went down a needle size, everything worked out well.  I can see the difference in gauge when I look at the sweater, but with wear and additional washings, that will go away.

Now, anyone who knows me should be well aware I have a love/HATE thing with Classic Elite's Waterlily. I love the colors and the bouncy feel of the yarn, but this was the fifth or sixth sweater I have knitted with this stuff, and EVERY.SINGLE.ONE. has required significantly more yardage than called for in the pattern.  

I discovered, upon weighing some 25 balls of it last year that not one was even close to 50 grams as called for on the ball.  Moreover, upon pulling out a yardstick and measuring several of the balls with my engineer friend from MIT, they were short a good 20% in length.  Add to that equation, each ball had, at least two, thinning spots where the yarn just came apart, which effectively further reduced the usable yardage, and one can see the cause of my disgust.

The pattern for the size I was making called for 1,325 yards of yarn. I used close to 1,600 yards out of the 1,700 I had.  Enough said.

Bottom line:  I had wanted a sweatshirt-type sweater for my older daughter. The pattern was perfect, the yarn is gorgeous, and I got what I wanted.  

Bonus: Despite my own shortcomings, it is completed before Christmas and will be wrapped and ready to go by nightfall!

Let's hope she likes it as well!

Merry Christmas!