Stella off the needles

Stitch Therapy will be five years old this September! For the past five years I have only knit for the shop and to inspire my customers and friends to knit or crochet. The "Stella" is a personal knit for me. I am beckoning the autumn weather and the change of leaves just so that I can wear this beautiful jacket.

I had taken a rest from knitting the spiral texture to knock out a few more knits for the shop when I realized that the close date for the knit along was a week away. I think I put it down for four weeks - this was a bit ridiculous since I had only about four more inches to knit before I bound off.

The upper yoke nearly did me in - I couldn't see straight while I read the chart, mixing wrong side rows with right. I started it over about three times before the stitch came to me. Now I am just at the edge of binding off and I think that I will embellish the 'Stella" a bit further by adding the crochet Crab Stitch all the way around the outer edge and add some sort of closure at the top front yoke.

This was a fun fast knit for me!

YOKE APPEAL

Monday is my day off and in the afternoon I was enjoying my Mountain Peak coffee and getting ready to begin the final approach to the addictive knit when I noticed that my stitch count was slightly off and that the back of the jacket was off center.

Where did I go wrong?!

After counting the stitches four times I began to unravel the Stella yoke. My plan was to finish Stella that morning, but when I joined the sleeves to the body I had miscounted the stitches across the back of the jacket.

I do have a habit of jumping ten digits while counting by two's, but my recounts usually fix the problem. Fortunately, I had left the scrap yarn in the sleeve stitches so that reduced some of my fears of recovering the Spiral stitches in the body.

All has not ended well. I did re-knit what I ripped out, but I have decided to give Stella a rest for a few days with a 29" long circular 8 at the base of the neckline. She is draped on the mannequin as part of the permanent collection at Stitch Therapy, with her yarn still attached.

That'll teach her.

Custom Fitting the Sleeves

The style of the armhole is crucial to the length and the final fit of your sleeve. My arms are longer than the average bear so I always adjust the length of the sleeve on all of my knitted sweater. Because of the raglan shaping at the armhole "Stella" I added an additional 2-3 row repeats.

Notes On A Sleeve

I love the spiral effect of this stitch pattern, but I let it fool me into thinking that it was more than an optical illusion. It took me four tries to get it right because I assumed the spiral would shift past my ring marker. This is a fun and quick stitch repeat once you settle into it, but be careful not to miss a single "yarnover".

Heads up, the left sleeve is knit in reverse - simple and fun!

Introduction: French Girl Knits, Stella Knit-Along

Stitch Therapy Brooklyn is thrilled to offer this knit-along for the gorgeous Stella Cable and Lace Jacket from the book French Girl Knits by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes . We’re doubly blessed because Kristeen has agreed to knit along with us and offer comments as we go.

I chose this pattern because of the inspirational techniques used to combine a delicately strong Spiral stitch lace and with a classic Seed stitch to create a chic texture. The sweater is both fashionably contemporary and romantic at the same time and suits most fashion personalities.

To sign up: simply click on COMMENTS at the bottom of this post: tell me who you are and leave a link to your blog or give me your Ravelry name. I’ll add you to our Participants List in the sidebar so you can share your experience with other knitters. As we move through the different parts of the pattern, be sure to add comments to the related posts, with links to your progress on your own blog or Ravelry name as we knit along. I hope you’ll join us!

Happy, knitting along,

Maxcine

Knit Along details:
Dates: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 -- Saturday, August 22, 2009
Book: French Girl Knits by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes
Project: Stella Cable and Lace Jacket
Yarn: Berroco Cuzco
Finished Measurement: 33(38 1/2, 44, 49 1/2)"
Yardage: 1300(1430, 1560, 1820) in recommended yarn
Address: 176 Lincoln Place, Brooklyn, NY (bet. 7th & 8th aves.)

Drop-in clinic at the Stitch Therapy Brooklyn bricks and mortar for local participants every other Thursday nights from 6-7:30 pm, starting April 23. Drop-ins must be signed up for the knit along and purchase yarn from Stitch Therapy.

Click on COMMENTS at the bottom of this post to leave your name and link to blog or Ravelry name, if you want to participate.