gaspard le nuage d'orage

Gaspard the storm cloud

The Vital Statistics

Pattern: Gaspard le Grand by Christine Rouvillé from WMD Les Wouimardis.

Size: Four years.

Yarn: madelinetosh tosh dk in Composition Book Grey.

Needles: 3.75 mm.

Stash/recycle content: Ah, no.

Start to finish: 8 May to 8 June 2013 - one month (plus a day)!

 

Comments: This little sweater was love at first sight. I made a lot of modifications structurally, which was branching out a bit for me. To start with, I knit this sweater seamlessly instead of in one piece from front hem to back hem as the pattern instructs. To do so, I cast on 4 stitches less required for both the back and front together and knit in the round to the underarms, again creating an Elizabeth Zimmerman faux seam on the inside (I think it is a bit more stable than just a line of reverse stocking stitch).

Then I divided the work to knit the upper fronts and upper back from bottom up and didn't cast off at the shoulders which I grafted together (but wouldn't do this again as there does need to be some reinforcement there - three-needle bind off would be a better choice).
 

The stitches for the front collar were already on hold and I continued to knit across the remaining live stitches from the back. I also knit the collar longer than required for this size, 20 ridges altogether.The sleeves were also knit in the round with a faux seam; the garter stitch cuffs I knit flat and seamed.

I did have some trouble with the pattern - as far as the sleeve decreases go, when the pattern instructs to decrease 'All 4 and 2 rows' I believe that it means, decrease on the fourth and then the second row. The sleeve decreases are a bit odd in that they are more widely spaced at the top of the sleeve and more narrowly placed at the cuff which is the opposite of usual sleeve shaping. I also encountered a bit of trouble
in that my gauge knitting in the round does not seem to be the same as my gauge when knitting flat so I had to knit a few extra rows in the body and before the cuff of the sleeves to compensate.

There are a couple more translation errors but nothing that interferes with u understanding the pattern.

The kangaroo pocket is adorable. Knitting note to self - yes, by all means pick up stitches with a smaller needle but remember to switch back to the correct size needle for the actual knitting (how many times have I done that?).

I think that this may be my first time knitting anything sizeable with madelinetosh yarn and I was very pleased with it. The degree of shade variegation is just about at my limit but I think that it works really well on this garment. The fabric is lovely and squishy.

Verdict: I am really, really delighted with this garment and baby b likes wearing it - hooray! I'm hoping to knit it again and again and again in the 6, 8 and 10 year sizes, have already stashed the yarn.

gaspard grows up

I'm having a wonderful time knitting this little pullover. I have finished the kangaroo pocket and cast it off with a neat three-needle bind-off that attaches it to the neckline (note to self with regard to three-needle bind-off: for goodness sake, don't forget to actually cast the stitches off, not just knit the two pieces of fabric together).

Just the sleeves and ends to weave in to go now. The pattern even includes a schematic for where to pick up the stitches along the armscye (for me of course this is going to be around the armscye as the body is already knit in the round and the shoulder seams grafted; will have to compensate a couple of stitches for that too). Am debating whether to knit the sleeves flat or in the round and if I knit them in the round, what sort of faux seam to use, whether to knit the garter stitch cuffs flat and then how to seam them.

I also have to figure out how to get through the day with baby b wearing underpants because he is growing up too. I think that's why I am concentrating so much on the knitting.

currently knitting

 
No sooner had I cast off the ribbon-tied wool vest, than I cast on with great haste for Gaspard le Grand in madelinetosh tosh dk in colourway 'composition book grey'. Today I made it to the underarms and dropped a stitch at either side (I'm knitting in the round again instead of back and forth - really strange construction this design but I'll get to that later) in order to create a faux seam, á la Elizabeth Zimmerman.

I actually ended up doing it on the interior of the garment rather than the exterior. It doesn't look like much more than a line of reverse stocking stitch but I think that the EZ-style seam (where you pick the stitches up one rung, then two rungs, then one rung, then two and so on) does add a little more stability.

Anyway, I am loving how this fabric is turning out. The tosh dk is lovely springy yarn and I'm delighted to be knitting in this colourway. Grey is so elegant, so stylish, graphic, so beloved by architects, so looks like the stuff that other stylish knitters knit and that I aspire to. Grey is just so not me.

I used to wear dark charcoal grey in my twenties but at a certain point couldn't do it anymore, didn't feel comfortable in it, wore it and felt old, old, old. This was around the same time that I suddenly became comfortable with navy blue which I had always thought matronly. So there you go. So clearly this knit is not for me, it's for baby b who is so gorgeous that he can carry off anything. I've got a bee in my bonnet at the moment about knitting for my kids - after this I'll be casting on for Mini Manu for miss bear. Or maybe Brock in some Orange Flower BFL/Silk Fingering Weight that I'm awaiting in the mail. And I bought some Rowan Cocoon recently that I thought would be great for a Fisherman's Pullover. Ooooh, I love to knit!