Bronx Girl Knits!

May I present Sonnet:



I haven't put the buttons on it yet but it is done. My mother in law loves it, although I have some issues with it. Oddly enough the yarn which feels so light and thin when you are knitting with it, is really very heavy. The sweater pulls down quite a bit from the weight. It is longer than it should be. Granted I may have mis-calculated my gauge but I don't think so, since you plug your own numbers in I was pretty careful when I did my swatch. I think it is the weight that stretches it out. It did tighten up when washed. The Bernat Satin washes beautifully. It felt a bit stiff coming out of the washer (gentle cycle of course) so I was concerned but after 45 minutes in the dryer (on low) it is really soft and comfy feeling.

The sleeves also came out too long and too wide (my mother in law is quite small so this may also have to do with her size rather than it's size!). When I had completed the increases the instructions say to continue until the sleeve measures 16 1/2 inches. I was already at 17 3/4 inches when I reached the correct number of stitches. What I did to compensate a bit was to eliminate a few of the decreases for the sleeve cap. This helped, so now it works as a cuffed sleeve. Overall I do love the pattern and am pretty pleased with how it came out. It is after all my first adult sized sweater.

Here is my progress on the blanket squares:


I actually gave up blocking each square, I only did the really small ones. The larger ones were stretching too much. I had to laugh because I realized my math was off, 9 squares long and 6 across is 54 not 56. I guess I'm getting old. I have these 4 strips done, I will do the other 2 tonight (I had forgotten that yesterday was Easter so not much got done since I have dinner at my house). Then I will put them together and wash and block it as a whole.

I was able to get back to the Shapely Tank this morning on the train. I just completed the first decrease. I am hoping I will be able to get most of the front done before I leave for my conference on Thursday.