Surprise Sweater!

On Jun 9, 2:16 am, "Not Likely" notinthislifetime@yougottabejoking
wrote:
"Vintage Purls" wrote in message

ups.com...





On Jun 9, 5:09 pm, "Not Likely" notinthislifetime@yougottabejoking
wrote:
I love the colours! I had never seen a sweater like that before. Is
there
a URL where the pattern is, please?

Hi Gemini,

This is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket.
It can be found in her Knitting Workshop book:
http://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Zimm...rkshop-Zimmerm...
I imagine it's probably available at a local library.

Or you can buy just that particular pattern if you like:
http://www.loopyarn.com/detail.aspx?ID=555

VP

Hi VP,

Thank you for the urls. I will look into it a bit further. However, I just
finished snooping around the internet and found pictures of the Surprise
Sweater on what looks like circular needles. If this is the only way it can
be made, then I'm out of luck. I don't hold my needles the usual way. I
hold the right one in the crease of my leg at my hip joint, and the left one
firmly in my left hand. This lets circular knitting and knitting with
double-pointed needles out of my grasp, otherwise things could get very
messed up... not to mention painful with those double-pointed needles. LOL

Oh well... it is a cute sweater, and I'm sure someone else who *can* use
circulars can use the information on where to find the pattern. It kind of
reminds me of a sweater I knit years ago from a pattern I found in a
magazine (Woman's Day, I think... or McCalls) that is done in one piece in
stripes of different colours. You start at the bottom of the front (or
back... your decision when it's finished), knit up to the sleeves where you
cast on stitches for the sleeves, continue on up to the shoulders where you
cast off so many stitches in the center for the neck then add them back on
in the next row and continue with the same number of rows you just did for
the rest of the sleeve, then you cast off the sleeves in the next row(s) and
finish up the bottom part of the sweater. You're finished the sweater with
only the side seams and underarms to sew... and you can make a belt to go
with it if you want. It was *very* colourful... a little too colourful for
my particular liking, but my best friend loved it... so it was hers! ;o)

Thank you again for the urls.


Gem,
I did my first one on straights. The stitches were a bit crowded
together, so
next time I used a curcular as though it were two straights, and that
worked
better.

Higs,
Katherine

"suzee" wrote in message
reenews.net...

You could knit it on straight needles, it's just that there's a lot of
stitches and they'd be smooshed up. It's knit back and forth, not in the
round.

sue

Oh is is? That's neat! And it wouldn't be my first time having a LOT of
stitches on my straight needles. I did this with a large afghan I made when
I was a teen. )

*hugs*
Gemini

"Vintage Purls" wrote in message
s.com...
On Jun 9, 6:16 pm, "Not Likely" notinthislifetime@yougottabejoking
wrote:
I don't hold my needles the usual way. I
hold the right one in the crease of my leg at my hip joint, and the left
one
firmly in my left hand.

I'm trying to picture this. I think this may be similar to the way my
dad knit. He had to sit on the floor, one needle upright held between
his legs, the other held at right-angles in his hand. It worked for
him (though he knit to prove he could rather than to produce anything)
and your way works for you so that's all that counts.

:-)

VP

I don't think I hold my needles *quite* the same way your Dad did. ;o) My
right needle is held in the front crease of my leg at the hip, and normally
it leans to the left a bit toward the knitting I'm working on. The left
needle though, is held straight across horizontally... so, yes, at
right-angle. This subject came up a couple of years ago on here, and I
think someone referred to my way of knitting as "crotch knitting", even
though my needle is nowhere near my crotch. LOL

I used to be a bit embarrassed that I don't hold my needles the "normal" way
and therefore wouldn't be caught knitting in public. However, I have
recently decided that I am not going to allow myself to be embarrassed by
much anymore... so last Monday while waiting for my van to pass the
emissions test, I took my knitting out of my purse (HUGE purse, by the way)
and did almost three rows on a baby afghan I am working on before being told
my van was ready to go. I figure it anyone is going to ridicule me for
the way I hold my knitting needles, then that person would be the one with
the problem (of being rude) and not me! ;o)

*hugs*
Gemini

"Katherine" wrote in message
ups.com...

Gem,
I did my first one on straights. The stitches were a bit crowded
together, so
next time I used a curcular as though it were two straights, and that
worked
better.

Higs,
Katherine

Sounds good, Katherine... but with circulars there is nothing to brace
against the crease of my leg for support the way I do with straight needles.
If I decide to try this sweater, I will just get the longest needles I have
and crowd the stitches on them. It wouldn't be my first time putting a lot
of stitches on my needles. ;o)

*hugs*
Gem