Milo Finished

Another finished project. This pattern is one of those wonderful knitting cheats where the effect is much more elaborate than the effort. 

I was a bit anxious that the bright colors would yield a sweater that was too bright, but I'm pleased with the way it come out. I used my 'go-to' sweater pattern by Ann Budd for the shaping.

This sweater had quite an adventure over Thanksgiving. We flew to Atlanta to pick up a vintage car that my husband purchased. He is quite the optimistic guy, and figured that a thirty year old car would be perfect to drive back home. Turns out it refused to start that morning so he and the seller spend the afternoon trouble shooting and eventually it started up.  We drove to Tennessee to visit friends, leaving just as the sun set. When it was dark we discovered that the dash lights did not work an the heater vents did not open.

Thanksgiving was swell, except that I am experiencing nuclear allergies. The going theory is that this is due to all the dust, mold and gunk from the hurricane salvage work that I encountered. So lots of coughing and fatigue. The doctor put me on three antihistamines but they were not doing the trick. 

Friday we left for home in good weather. When we stopped for gas in Clarksdale, MS, the little car refused to start. Four hours later after more troubleshooting and lots of help from the local guy at Autozone and a nice man who we met in the parking lot it was determined that the car needed an alternator. The best solution for us at the time was to rent a car carrier from U Haul and continue the drive. 

When we got to Houston, I was about finished with the back and very tired. 

Milo Sleeves

Milo is coming along nicely. One sleeve done and one on the way. 

For the fair isle sweaters, I usually keep a purl stitch 'seam' as suggested by Elizabeth Zimmerman. For this pattern, the practice does not work so well. Instead, I'm marking the seam with a slip stitch every other row. I like it, but it is tough to keep the tension right. I think the first sleeve is a bit tight. I expect it to relax a bit after blocking. 

Finish and Start

The Ocean Glow pullover is complete and I'm quite happy with it. It has been sent to a friend who has first dibs and I'm waiting for the reaction.

I was really not interested in the small job of sewing the sleeves this week. I fusted and delayed a few days, beginning the next project instead.

Finally, I got it done.

A few notes on the pattern:

First, I was very happy to see that it translates well to worsted for an adult size. The math worked but sometimes the results are not pleasing.

Second, my normal process of doing sleeves first was very helpful for this pattern. My preference for a set in sleeve creates the need for back-and-forth knitting once the armhole decreases are done. By that time, my fingers had memorized the small pattern and I only had to refer to the chart for the large center medallion.

Third, there are two errors on the medallion chart. The first is row 28. Since the hurricane I do not have a scanner so I won't demonstrate where the error is here. If you read this and then try the pattern you will find it. Then, evaluate the symmetry and choose what to do.

Next up is Milo, a free pattern from Berroco. This one is fairly straight forward. Because I'm using stash, there is a twist. I have 10oz of turquoise, 8ounces of blue and green and 4 ounces of two purples. So, The purples are alternating in the sequence. Also, this will be mostly in the round as I seem to dislike sewing these days.

Starting out, I was surprised how many mistakes I made in the sequence. Now, I'm paying attention a bit more and doing better.

Ocean Body and Calculations

Nancy was right. I did not buy enough of the magenta yarn to finish. To calculate what I needed, I marked the beginning and end of the first whole skein I used on the body. Then I measured how many inches between the beginning and the end of the skein. Now, I know that I will need one more skein to finish the project so I can buy in confidence. 

It also looks like there will be about two beg medallions to the arm hole, then another one and a half to the neck. I'm pleased with the way the pattern has adjusted to the adult size. Sometimes it doesn't work so well.

Closeup of the medallion:

Oh, and the new owner of the Swallow sweater sent me a selfie. They look happy together.