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

Tres bien ensemble

In Triplicate

12/9/2013

14 Comments

 
During our move, there hasn't been a lot of order in my universe. I have dozens of projects in various stages of completion. And, I haven't paid attention to most of them in a long while. Last month, as Meg and I finished our first KAL, her first sweater, she asked if I would be interested in starting another project along with her and the lovely Liz. (Meg is addicted to sweater knitting. Officially.) My first KAL with Meg was a wonderful, loosely structured experience, and it provided me with a lot of motivation to meet my project goals in a timely fashion, a nice contrast to the rest of my day-to-day. I quickly agreed to round two. 
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Meg, Liz and I knit from the same pattern, the Ingenue by Wendy Bernard. Similar to the first KAL, we met to knit and discuss our project progress over tea, and we set knitting goals to achieve between gatherings. We had a lot of fun. I very thoroughly enjoy these girls, very. We made swift progress on sweaters and finished them in just a touch longer than a month. 
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Still, we didn't finish our sweaters fast enough to beat the cold. Fortunately, Chicago offers some alternatives to outdoor locations that are perfect for documenting finished objects. We decided to meet and snap pictures at the Lincoln Park Conservatory. The conservatory is a remarkable Victorian era building in the heart of Lincoln Park, which, shamefully, I had never been to prior to the date we met to take pictures. It was a great space to capture our projects. It's warm, it's beautiful, and it's FREE. 
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It's fair to say, we spent the majority of our time at the conservatory goofing around. Meg is an instigator. She brings the silly, and she had us laughing constantly. We managed to only be scolded once. If you go to the conservatory, don't touch the plants. HA!
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The most interesting part about knitting a sweater as a group is seeing the different results we each got from using different yarns and making design choices. All of our yarns produced a different fabric. And, each of us has a different sleeve. Also, we all showed-up to the conservatory without discussing our outfit plans, and we had three distinct ways of wearing our sweaters. 
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The Ingenue sweater is a top-down raglan with a wide, stand-up collar. At the end of knitting, the collar is folded and stitched into place to provide stability and structure. Also interesting, the waist decreases are done in a princess seam style, down the front and back of the body, while the increases are at the sides, as you would typically expect. 
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The rest of the sweater is knit like a standard raglan. No surprises. I knit exactly as the pattern instructed for the size small, until the sleeve. I chose to eliminate the increases and bell sleeve. Instead, I knit straight after the completion of decreases for a standard 3/4 sleeve. 
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My finished sweater is essentially zero ease throughout. I got great gauge from my yarn, Rowan Felted Tweed and size 8US needles. I barely touched the edges with steam prior to wearing it for the first time. It will be interesting to see how the yarn behaves after it's blocked. Hopefully, it's doesn't grow or shift much.
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My sweater arsenal could use a few more pullovers like this one. It's a really versatile and quick project, so I may revisit this pattern again. 
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The collar and border details give this design the right amount of visual interest to keep if from being boring. Prior to knitting, I had mixed emotions about whether or not I was going to like the collar. Now that we're finished, the collar is my favorite part. 
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That is Meg's finger. She may have learned that I'm ticklish during the course of this photo shoot. Enough said. 
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There will be more collaborative projects around these parts. In person KALs are like book club for knitters. It's really fun and social. And, the motivation... It's so helpful to know that other people are counting on you. If you're in the Chicagoland area and want to participate in our next project, contact Meg with your information and she'll get you the details. We'll be starting work on the Vitamin D cardigan in January. In the interim, we're gearing-up for our Knit for Victory projects. Liz and Meg feature their sweaters and more group-shots on their blogs, Zilredloh and Meg the Grand. Go check them out! 
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As a final note, I want to say, these pictures wouldn't be possible without the patience and skill of our awesome photographers, Felix and Mike. They're the best! Seriously! 
14 Comments
zilredloh link
12/9/2013 02:14:33 am

Had such a great time knitting with you gals! And knitting together totally kept me on task, too. Can't wait for round 2 (your round 3).

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Meg the Grand link
12/9/2013 02:56:14 am

hahaha! I love that we named our posts the exact same thing :) This was such a wonderful experience - and I can't wait until our next one!!

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Debi link
12/9/2013 06:02:54 am

I am loving reading all the posts! Your sweater is so beautiful and what a nice way to create it!!

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Sally link
12/9/2013 09:01:26 am

These posts are sooo fun! Great sweaters. beautiful ladies, and what a picturesque location!!! :)

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Renee Anne link
12/9/2013 09:19:43 am

It's lovely :) I hope it doesn't grow, too. It seems that you've done something that I tend to do: no (proper) swatching.

Perhaps that's why my hat grew so much...

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Gail link
12/9/2013 10:25:02 am

Mmmmm, Felted Tweed! One of my favorite yarns! This color looks fantastic on you! I'm not surprised you'd be willing to knit this one again - I knit it twice myself!

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Gina link
12/9/2013 11:27:10 am

So beautiful! I'd love to knit with you ladies sometime - maybe when I know what I'm doing enough to complete a whole project!

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Sezza link
12/9/2013 12:12:40 pm

I love your sweaters, and I love that you have an IRL KAL group - that is totally awesome! totally love the colour of yours and hope that life is settling after the move!

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Meigan link
12/9/2013 09:40:13 pm

Beautiful sweater, the color is stunning on you!

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katie metzroth link
12/10/2013 03:35:33 am

I find myself wishing I lived closer to Chicago, but then I remembered how much I hate the cold. :)
This looks like SUCH FUN and ya'll's sweaters are all lovely! Jolly good job!!!

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steph link
12/10/2013 07:05:08 am

great sweater....great fun...great friends!!! the perfect trifecta!!!

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Spinster Beth link
12/13/2013 07:11:08 am

That's a wonderful way to commemorate a project! How lovely. It looks like you all had a lot of fun!

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kristieinbc link
12/14/2013 09:51:52 pm

You and your knitting friends have come up with a brilliant idea! It looks like you had such a great time, and the sweaters are all beautiful. I love the Rowan Tweed that you used for yours. Well done!

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Mary link
1/5/2014 01:04:52 pm

Oh my gosh this is wonderful!! I'm so jealous you have local knitting friends to do this with! All three of you look awesome in your sweaters!

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