All There in Black and White

I've finished my black Katrina v-neck sweater. This one seemed to take a long time to finish, despite how lovely Patons Katrina is to knit. I kept cheating on it with other projects. Finally I decided just to finish it, but it felt like the thing that wouldn't leave. Now it is done and I am delighted! It fits; it's comfortable, and it's stretchy and silky.



The pattern is from a Patons booklet called: Patons Classics Endless Summer. It's a small collection of patterns designed for Patons Fresco. Fresco and Katrina knit up at the same guage: 18 stitches on a 5.5mm needle.

I made the white sweater in Fresco, and it turned out great too. It was my second finished sweater, and I still wear it. The pattern is a straightforward classic v-neck style that a beginner could easily tackle. There is only one error in the pattern. When shaping the armhole for the front, it forgets to tell you to cast off under the arm on the purl side to match the other side. I made the small size in the white but the extra small in the black because of the stretch factor in Katrina.



My favorite feature of this sweater is the neckband. The first time around I knitted it flat, the second time on a circular. What I like is that it is thin and sits so nicely. It is not knitted in ribs to give it a bulky look. Instead you pick up knit stitches all the way around, then purl one row, then cast off in purl on the right side. I use that method for lots of other patterns now too. It also makes the v-neck round out a little.

The other modification I always make with sweaters is to lengthen the sleeves. I like extra long sleeves.




My one frustration with this sweater was how long it seemed to hang around. It is a somewhat boring knit after all. I was on the last sleeve, and burning my way up to the finish line when I noticed an extra pair of bamboo needles sitting on the stool in front of me. Where did those come from, I wondered. I picked them up and was horrified to discover that I had not switched from the smaller needles to the larger ones after completing the cuff ribbing. Ack! The thing that wouldn't leave!!

Okay, I should explain that reference. Doug and I picked it up from some friends of ours way back at the beginning of our marriage. It is what we say about certain house guests who stay longer than we would like them to. Our friends had a brother in the family that never knew when it was time to go home. Finally they would put on their pajamas and go to bed so that he would leave.



The black sweater has found a home...