Tundra Jumper, finished

It may seem an odd time to blog about a completed knitted sweater, but why not? I find myself knitting a lot these days, and finding enjoyment (peace?) in bringing projects to completion. I'm close to wrapping up some long-term projects, and it's satisfying and consoling to tie up loose ends or make progress in ways that I can, even if it's on a knitted object.

This sweater has been "finished" for a little while, but even before the yoke was finished, I had a feeling that the proportions may be off. For my body shape, anyway. And so, after completing the neckline, I set about figuring out how to modify this (bottom-up) knit sweater to be more wearable.

First, I determined how much of the body I wanted to remove, and marked that with removable stitch markers.

Then, referencing Episode 33 of Fruity Knitting, I cut into my sweater body, and carefully unraveled it.

In their how-to, she puts live stitches on a needle first. I fiddled around with this for awhile, and finally gave up, since the texture and color of the yarn made it difficult to see the rows clearly, and because the rustic nature of the yarn made it very unlikely for the stitches to wildly unravel. I transferred the live stitches from both pieces onto to long circular needles. And then, using kitchener stitch, grafted the pieces together, being careful not to pull too tight. Léttlopi is strong in knitted form, but a bit fragile in yarn form, so I found it easier to work with shorter pieces of yarn and then spit splice the ends to additional lengths.

Once the grafting was completed, I blocked the sweater one more time, and that was that.

I'm really pleased with it and love the look with high-waisted jeans. We put Cooper in the stroller and the three of us went outside for a few minutes so Nicholas could take some photos. :)

Details

For more details, see my ravelry project page

Yarn: Ístex Léttlopi in four shades. Pattern calls for three, but I liked the look of using a bit of two different greys in addition to the red and black.

Size: I made a modified "medium" size. I did drastically alter the length of the body. In hindsight, the small might have fit my shoulders better, but I'm still happy with this size.

Pattern: Tundra Jumper by thepetiteknitter

Needles: US 4 for ribbing, US 6 for solid st st, US 7 for colorwork, all in various lengths of circular needles. 12" circulars for the sleeves.

Specifics/modifications: Most notably, I cut and grafted the finished sweater to remove 7" in length. Otherwise, I knit this per pattern.