Sweater Workshop Sample

And what do you suppose these are? Are they windsocks, lobster buoys, urn cozies or sleeping bags for Care Bears? Nope. These colorful knitted items are sweater samplers and this week I started one myself. Supposedly, by the time mine is completed I will have mastered all the sweater techniques needed to make something I've been drooling over for a while..........the lovely Dale of Norway sweater called ISFJORDEN. Ohhhhh, how I love the colors in this sweater!

I have completed five lessons on my sampler and have already learned a few things I didn't know. I learned how to do a Cable Cast On which resembles a smooth cable or rope of yarn. It is reversible and, more importantly strong and elastic. The book says that the spacing of the stiches will force looseness on your first round. It looks very nice, don't you agree?

The next thing I learned was that it is VERY IMPORTANT to take one last check to be sure the stitches are all straight on the circular needle before joining in a circle. Beyond this point, it's the start-all-over-again department. I didn't do this and, yep, my stitches were twisted. I didn't realize it until the fourth round and wasn't about to rip it out. But, if it had been my lovely Dale sweater I would of had to!

Making connections? Coming to the end of a ball of yarn is final and you definitely can't make a sweater with one ball of yarn! I learned how to make an undetectable connection. It is right there in the stockinette stitch...can you see it?

I think this sweater sampler is going to teach me all sorts of things. I don't think I even mentioned the book, it's called The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee. I'm using Patons Classic Merino.