After-Action Report: Autumn Rose
I got done with knitting Autumn Rose on Monday evening. It was a heck of a project, I have to say, but the results are worth it.
When I first tried it on, it was very puffy at the shoulders. Fortunately blocking evened it out; there's still a bit of extra fabric, but no longer enough to make it worth taking it apart down to the armpits and reknitting. I think the problem happened because of my extreme short-waistedness.
I ended up not having to crack the second balls for any of the colors that appear soley in the rondel-pattern band (though in one case, this is only by about three yards). I therefore have one ball each of Shetland Black, Admiral Navy, Pine Forest, Peat, Bracken, Pistachio (which the store had to ship to me seperately, having run out when I placed the order), Yellow Ochre and Scotch Broom; anyone out there making an AR of their own, who'd like to pay for shipping? I don't know why on earth the pattern called for two balls of several of these, Pistachio and Scotch Broom particularly; I used no more than three quarters of one ball in either case. So if I had had to reknit, I'd've have enough yarn as long as I could use the longer pieces of Old Gold (steeks, remember) from long rounds in the later, shorter rounds when what's left of the ball ran out.
Speaking of steeks, the experience was so non-traumatic as to be entirely anticlimactic. I mean, I didn't even remember to take a picture of the steek before I cut it; I just thought, OK, next we cut the steek and picked up the scissors. Heck, I haven't bothered tacking the steek-facing down yet; I should, just so things don't unravel due to my movement, but so far it's just sitting there, entirely unconcerned. Shetland wool rocks.
The post-steek-cutting picture and a modeled shot of the finished product should be up this evening, assuming Liam's home long enough to take the latter. It looks great on me, if I do say so myself.