All right, let's get to knittin'

Since the needles went barren last Saturday, I rummaged through the stash and came out with 9 balls of Schoeller Stahl Merino Stretch in burgundy I bought several months ago, and Debbie Bliss's The Cashmere Collection. I've admired the Cabled Jacket for a while, but I have neither the $225 to shell out for the 15 balls of Cashmerino Superchunky, nor the desire to swim in my clothing. I'm petite, I need tailored garments (so say Stacey and Clinton). So I figured I would knit the pattern (for a 48" finished bust) with the Merino Stretch on smaller needles and it would turn out the right size.

In my usual zeal, I pretty much cast on with out swatching. It wouldn't have helped much anyway, because Debbie only gives the gauge of stockinette which isn't even used on the majority of the sweater. I like Debbie, but she sure does make it hard to substitute yarns. No schematics either. So it was just a guess, but it has turned out well so far. It's a fast knit since I'm using #9 needles. Here's the progress all ready (since this past Saturday):





I'm almost done with the first sleeve, as well.

About the yarn:
It's so light! Only 100 grams for the back of the sweater. There's like 175 yards per 50 gr ball, so I may even have some leftover in the end. As the name says, it's really stretchy. This means measuring gauge is kind of difficult. And since I'm a tight knitter, increasing needle size to loosen up doesn't do much. It definitely takes some practice to get used to the stretchiness, but the stitch definition on the cables and blackberry panels is pretty good for such a "fluffy" yarn. Oh, and it bleeds like crazy! It was like I had made Kool-aid in the sink when I washed the pieces.

About the pattern:
Number of stitches remains the same, but number of rows obviously had to be increased. Raglan decreases on the body were every 3 rows (meaning some are on wrong side rows) instead of everyother row. On the sleeves, I've had to add increases to get the right diameter, and I think the raglan decreases will be every right side row, like the pattern. I'm shooting for a bust of 37" to 38", length below armpit of 13.5" and sleeve length of 18". We'll see.