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Here is the long awaited legend for this chart:

I’m really happy with the results, and it fits really well.  Of course, that is kind of the point of a custom knit sweater.

Here are a few pictures of the sweater I call FLAK…

I’ve completed knitting on the body.  The only thing left to do is knit the neckline, and then tie up all the loose yarn.

This is the first time, in many, many months that I don’t have any live stitches on this sweater.  In fact, as of right now, I don’t have any live stitches on any needles at all.  I can’t remember the last time I’ve been able to say that.

Well, that’s about to change.  I’ve got 3 projects lined up.

1. Argyle Socks
2. Cabled Jacket
3. Sweater for Gwen

I have yarn for one of those projects, so I’ll get started on Gwen’s sweater as soon as I finish the neck on this one.

Here is a picture of the sweater as it stands right now (don’t mind the goofy looking mannequin):

I stayed up too late knitting, so I’ve got to keep this post short.  I’ll post some pictures soon.

WOW!

It was in February.  I’ve made a lot of progress since then.  I worked the start of the front.  I picked up and finished both sleeves.  I joined the body and worked about 7 inches.

I’ve got about 7 inches left to go in the cable pattern, then 2 inches of ribbing.  Once that’s done, the only thing I have left to do is the neck ribbing,  and hide all those darn yarn tails.

My goal is to finish this sweater in 2008.

I’ve really enjoyed this sweater.  However, I’m ready for it to be done.  Mostly because I want to wear the darn thing.  That, and I promised myself that I’d finish this one before I’m allowed to purchase yarn for my next sweater.

I knit a couple of baby sweaters when I first learned how to knit.  They were mostly stockinette, and I remember thinking how much work they were.  Well, they’ve got nothing on this baby.  This thing is a lot of fun to work on, never a boring moment with all those cables.  But it is a lot of work.

Unless plans change, my next sweater will be cabled, but in a much, much larger gauge.  Think size 11 needles and chunky yarn.  I’m expecting it to go much faster.

The bottom looks pinched because I’m using a circular needle that’s a few inches too small.  I tried switching to a longer needle, but that kept puckering while I was knitting.  It annoyed me, so I switched back to the shorter needle.  Besides, I really like working with my Lantern Moon!

 I heard some slightly sad news.  Janet Szabo is no loner offering this patter / design template for free.  However, it is well worth the $8.00 she is asking for it.  She was discussing not offering this pattern long term, so if you are at all interested, I would purchase it right away.

Starting at the right is a 6 stitch wave cable, then a 4 stitch honeycomb, then a 10 stitch braid, another 4 stitch honeycomb, and another 6 stitch wave. This set of cables represent the side panel. The mirror image of this panel will be repeated on the other side of the center panel.

To the right of the side panel is a 6 stitch braid, then a 23 stitch simple Celtic cable with a 24 row repeat, then another 6 stitch braid.

 Now, I just need to order my yarn!

This is my first “Girl From Auntie” project. I’m truly amazed by the quality of her design on this pattern. Not only is the pattern extremely well written, the charts are easy to follow and the legend is excellent.

Her use decreases to move the cables, and reduce the size of the hat are very creative. All of the decreases are hidden in the knot pattern, there is not one decrease on the vertical cables, at least until the second to last row. The cable pattern goes all the way to the last row, and the symmetry is never lost.

I love this pattern!

This hat was knit using Blue Sky Alpacas Melange, colorway 811 (Bubblegum), which is a deep pink.  This stuff is wonderful to work with.  It’s smooth, even, and very, very, very soft.  I’ll defintely work with it again.

This is could be a challenging project, if you’ve never done cables before, but it is would also be a truly satisfying learning experience.

I’ve decided on Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, in Forest Heater.  I ordered two balls of the yarn, to make sure I liked the color.  I also purchased Claret Heather, but it is way more red than it looks online. 

My gauge is dead on with size 6 (4.0 mm) needles.  I’ve got a little more edging to do on my Reid, which it turns out I should be able to finish as a Christmas gift for my daughter.  So, I won’t be doing much work on the sweater before Christmas.  I might pop into my favorite LYS tomorrow (since they’ll be open) and get one of those fancy rosewood circular needles to work the sweater on.  I’ve been saying all along, that when I do this sweater, I’m going to treat myself to a good set of needles.

It isn’t much yet, but here is my gauge swatch:

I’m thinking of changing out the center cable on the FLAK with something more like this.

I’ll probably have to add a cable on either side, maybe some chevrons.  I’ll keep hunting.  I’m also considering adding a Triquetra to the back, in the middle, between the shoulder blades.  Since the sweater is knit top down, I’ll have to experiment with flipping the chart  over.  I’ll post more on that later.

 The gauge is good, the size is right on, but they are THICK.  They are so heavy that I couldn’t use them as fingerless gloves.  Either I’d wear them when it was really cold, and my fingers would freeze, or I’d wear them when it was warmer, and my hands would be too hot.  I’ve decided to go back and finish the fingers.  I’ll make another pair of fingerless gloves with different yarn that is lighter weight.

 Maybe some of that wonderful Malabrigo.

I really like the way the Triquetra looks on the back.  You can see from the picture that I left all of my bind-offs loose, so I can easily pull them back off and join some new yarn to finish up.