Martinelli

I (finally) finished my new sweater: Martinelli!

It is from the book Pints and Purls by Karida Collins, and the original pattern is called "Fizzy"...

Since my favorite fizzy drink is Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cranberry juice, which is similar in color to the yarn I used for the sweater, I have dubbed it the Martinelli.

It is an insanely simple knit, as far as the pattern itself goes. I mostly made it because the construction method intrigued me. Bottom up in the round, with the shoulder straps knit and then grafted on, the sleeves picked up and knit in the round.

Loved it.

However, it was not without its challenges:

1. The needles I used were not all that great for the whole purl a gajillion stitches together for the puff rib pattern. Next time...won't use cheap-o needles.

2. I cheaped out on the yarn again because this was an "experimental" project. I used Caron's "Simply Soft" in autumn red. (It may be acrylic...but it is soft! Hooray for truth in advertising!)The yarn feels nice, but has a tendency to split while you are knitting it, which is frustrating.

3. The sweater itself was not exactly at the "modesty" level that I generally strive for. As previously bemoaned, the neckline was much too revealing. I ended up improvising a garter stitch border at the neckline in order to make it wearable. (It probably would have been fine for most people, I am just very uptight.)

Still, despite the hardships...it is finished, and I am pleased with the end result.