Michelle, ma belle... tres bien ensemble
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Michelle ma belle, sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble,

Tres bien ensemble

Double the Fun.

11/4/2013

17 Comments

 

What's better than one finished sweater? Two finished sweaters, of course! 

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Not long ago, Meg and I were knitting, and she told me she was ready to knit a sweater. Her first. She wanted to know if I might be interested in knitting the same pattern alongside her for moral support. I'd never done a knit-along before. I typically consider myself a 'lone wolf' when it comes to project selection. But, Meg is a lot of fun, and I was sure knitting a sweater with her would be the same.

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I told Meg to narrow down her project selection on Ravelry and let me know which pattern she'd like to try. I'm not sure what I expected her to send me, but it definitely wasn't a hip length, shawl collar, color work sweater with seamed sleeves. I told you she was fun! A sweater of this size is an ambitious endeavor for an experienced sweater knitter. Meg was completely up for the challenge.  

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We met at knit night to buy our supplies and started knitting the Drops Catherine Jacket. We broke the pattern down into pieces and had 'homework' assignments to complete in between meetings. It was fantastic motivation to have another person depending on my progress before she could continue hers. And, I didn't have any troubles staying interested in this sweater while I was knitting it... I often suffer from a wandering eye when I'm knitting on my own.  

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I'm not sure I am the best influence for a blossoming sweater knitter. I didn't make Meg swatch before we started (TISK TISK!). In my defense, she assures me should would have refused any insistence to the contrary. It worked out, which only encourages future bad behavior. One place I did put my foot down, however, was seaming. I LOATH sloppy seams, and I'm a complete snob about it. 

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There's a right way and a wrong way to pick-up stitches. And, it makes a huge difference in the look of completed projects. I don't see the point in spending 40+ hours knitting something if you aren't going to finish it beautifully. Bad finishing is the fastest way to make your hand knitted projects look, to borrow a phrase from Mr. Kors, "Becky Home Ecky".  I digress...

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While the size of this garment makes it a time consuming project, the pattern is a very easy knit. Like most Drops patterns, there isn't a lot of shaping and the construction is boxy. The only issue Meg and I both encountered was sleeve length vs. armscye. The sleeve circumference is inches shorter than the opening on the body of the sweater. We resolved the disproportionate length by seaming the excess length at the sides up to the underarm. It's not at all noticeable; still, it's a flaw with the pattern. 

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This sweater is going to see a lot of love through the fall and winter. It's so warm. So beautiful. So practical. So versatile. And, so on.

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I'm immensely impressed by Meg. My first sweater was, pardon my language, a shit show. Gosh, I've learned a lot in four years. How nice of Ravelry to act as a reminder of all the not-so-lovely projects one created before one developed her skill set.  You've come a long way, baby.  ;-)

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I think it's fair to say, Meg is officially a sweater knitter, and I am a KAL convert. In fact, we've already started another sweater with the lovely Liz. 

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It's probably apparent by looking at the pictures; we had fun documenting our projects. Mike, our gracious and talented photographer, got some great shots for us. You can see more of them and Meg's sweater over on her blog.

17 Comments
Lynette link
11/4/2013 01:08:06 am

Great, great job...both of you! You're a fantastic sweater teacher because Meg's sweater looks flawless...like she's been knitting them her whole life. Well done!

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Gail link
11/4/2013 02:03:17 am

You two are too cute! Lovely sweaters, both of you!

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steph link
11/4/2013 02:52:25 am

What great fun.....and you both got a terrific sweater out of all that fun!!! You are quite right....this is going to be the go-to sweater for the whole season! Enjoy!

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Renee Anne link
11/4/2013 06:02:52 am

That's adorable! I'm gearing up for my second sweater...full sweater. I have the first sweater I ever made and I love it, even if I can no longer wear it (the weather doesn't get cold enough for that). My second sweater was for a baby and I don't know what happened to it. My third was a sweater for Little Man. It's too big for him right now but I'm sure it will fit soon enough. My fourth sweater is actually a shawl collar vest for me...which needs washing and blocking and end weaving (and it might mean I rip out the shawl collar and re-do it due to not picking up enough stitches along the front). I'm getting ready for the next one which will probably be Ginny's Sweater from the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits magazine. We'll see though.

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Sally link
11/4/2013 09:23:18 am

This is one of my favorite posts ever! I am AMAZED that you knitted those sweaters - they look really awesome! And you guys look like you had so much fun - jealous! :)

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Nat @ Made in Home link
11/4/2013 04:56:13 pm

Love the sweater and the colours you both chose! I would be totally up for this type of KAL, when you know the people in it and actually learn from each other. Can you do a KAL on Skype? I am like you I just cannot focus otherwise, hence the effortless cardigan still being a WIP!

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PendleStitches link
11/4/2013 05:14:24 pm

You guys are adorable. And so are the sweaters. I'm so impressed with Meg's bravery. And you are a splendid friend.

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Teresa link
11/4/2013 06:55:57 pm

Wow...I cannot believe these are handmade! I am very new to knitting and would love to aspire to knit something so cute! I am very, very, very impressed

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Foam of days link
11/4/2013 09:34:13 pm

Gorgeous sweaters! You both did such a great job on it. Well done!

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kristieinbc link
11/4/2013 11:56:03 pm

Awesome! I love this post, and I love that you and your friend knit the sweaters at the same time. You both look gorgeous in them, and you were obviously having a great time modelling them. Well done!

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Debbie link
11/5/2013 12:27:47 pm

You gals are both too cute for words! These are both great sweaters.

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Loran link
11/5/2013 12:59:05 pm

Wow. Just wow. You guys are adorable!

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Gina link
11/5/2013 02:59:21 pm

Wow, I want to knit my first sweater with you if it will turn out this beautifully! I'm still working on my little scarf, but I'll get there someday!

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katie metzroth link
11/6/2013 12:39:08 am

Ya'll's sweaters look great!!! What sweater are ya'll knitting next? I checked your ravelry and thought maybe you were knitting a sweater with little ferrets on it? but I do not think that is the case. Inquiring minds want to know.

Also, if you feel like blogging about how to have neat seams, I would GREATLY appreciate it. I spent three hours seaming a baby sweater last night and while the sides look fine, I think the shoulders may be my undoing.

(I never commented on the unicorn hats bc I could not come up with any comment remotely worthy of them. amazing.)

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zilredloh link
11/6/2013 01:48:24 am

What great photos and your sweaters look great! The seaming does look superb - looking forward to knitting with you gals and picking your brain so more on all things knitting. :D

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Michele A link
11/6/2013 05:50:29 am

Ohhh! Those sweaters came out awesome! And seriously, you guys look like you're having waaaaaaay toooo much fun. I'm going to need you guys to calm down! LOL!!!

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sezza link
11/13/2013 01:48:06 pm

Love the photos, looks like you had a lot of fun! And lovely lovely sweaters!! All the best for the big move!

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