....FINISHED!
(I know, I know - two posts in one day. I'm just so excited! After all the turmoil there's a happy ending. ::Grin:: Just had to share!)
I must confess, though, I did commit murder in the process. Yes, that's right, I had to kill the acrylic:
See how nice & flat those stitches are? All done in about 2 minutes with my steam iron. I resorted to "killing" because the yarn is 60% acrylic, 40% viscose. In other words, unblockable. When I tried it on pre-steaming, the sides did NOT meet across my chest. Well, they met, but the strain was palpable. (Will the button pop? Will the stitches pull? Does she really want to flash an entire restaurant at some future date?) It was also, as anticipated, about 4" too short - 2" taken up by the strain of pulling across my chest! However, I didn't panic - I just got my iron hot, baby. ::wink::
And, dear readers, it worked:
You know what amazes me the most? That bright lime green actually looks good on me. (In my humble opinion of course!)
The back (a little blurry):
Killing the acrylic took away all the lace puckers & now the fabric is flat & drapey. Just how I like it. Plus I managed to pull another 2 inches out of both the width & the length. I'm a happy camper.
So - here are the stats:
- Pattern: "CeCe" by Bonne Marie
- Yarn: 8 skeins of Schachenmayr Nomotta "Lipomo"
- Needles: Denise, size 8. In retrospect, not the best choice for this sticky yarn. Addis would've been better.
- Modifications: Because the yarn was heavier than what Bonne Marie intended, I had to make the smallest size (I believe a 36) in order to end up with a 40. I'm glad I didn't go bigger - this sweater's fit should be on the small side. Other than needle/yarn size, there were no other modifications.
Why I like Bonne Marie's patterns: They just work. Period. You don't have to worry & futz & wonder about mistakes. She makes knitting that could get complicated incredibly easy. She is a knitting pattern Goddess. So there. ::wink::
One problem with this, through no fault of the pattern, is that the back of the neck bows out quite a bit. I could try & gather it up but honestly, it doesn't bother me enough for me to bother with it. My hair usually hangs down far enough to cover the back anyway.
Whew! I'm going to cast on one or two things tonight & glory in the fact that CeCe is DONE! Boring, mind-numbing stockinette....here I come!!!!
Looks good! I can't see anything wrong with the back neck.
Posted by: Alexandra | June 04, 2006 at 06:37 PM
You look GREAT in the lime green. Wear it more often! Another lovely, beautiful creation you have finished. I'm green with envy. ;o)
BTW, I have pictures today. lol.
Posted by: Jill | June 04, 2006 at 06:38 PM
Looks terrific and the color looks great on you.
Posted by: Deneen | June 04, 2006 at 06:48 PM
CeCe looks great!!!
Posted by: Vera | June 04, 2006 at 06:57 PM
Looks great! Ah, nothing like the power of blocking - or steaming in your case!
Love the green!
Posted by: Jenn | June 04, 2006 at 06:57 PM
It looks gorgeous on you. Who knew killing would look so good!
Posted by: Joan | June 04, 2006 at 07:56 PM
I'm so happy that CeCe worked out for you. Awesome! It looks great and lime green definitely works for you!!
Posted by: Wanda | June 04, 2006 at 08:25 PM
Bron: congrats! I love it on (and yes, you do look great in that shade of green).
woohoo!
Posted by: jess | June 04, 2006 at 08:30 PM
Thanks, everyone. For all the nice compliments today & for listening to me piss & moan about this for the past week! I'm crossing my fingers that my knitting will be worry-free for awhile!
Alexandra - You can't see the neck problem because of the camera angle - believe me, it's there! DH even noticed it & for him to see something wrong, you know it sticks out! But I'm SO done with this & ready to move so I'll leave the neck alone. :)
And Joan - It's good to see you well enough to be "making the rounds." I'm still holding good thoughts for your recovery!
Posted by: Bron | June 04, 2006 at 09:10 PM
Now you have me contemplating if I can "kill" my cotton twist tunic to give a bit.
Your CeCe looks great and that green is funky!
Posted by: Wendy | June 04, 2006 at 09:24 PM
YEA! I'm so glad it fits, and it looks fantastic on you.
Posted by: Leisel | June 04, 2006 at 09:34 PM
Bron CeCe looks fabby! Gosh I wish I could knit that well! I would love to attempt an actual wearable garment! Greens always look good on people with red tones in their hair! :o) Keep it up!
BTW, LMAO at "used the F word, with gusto and wild abandon" :oD
Posted by: Garnet | June 04, 2006 at 09:53 PM
WOW! CeCe looks great! I am speachless!
By the way, I got you the paris yarn in color nr 38. But I did not get to the postoffice before it closed on saturday, so I will post it you tomorrow.
Posted by: Silja | June 05, 2006 at 04:28 AM
Love, love, LOVE! your CeCe! The green is bright and springy and looks great on you.
I've got the pattern and some lavender Cotton Fleece in my stash, but by golly, now I want a green one.
Posted by: Sara | June 05, 2006 at 04:57 AM
Wendy - thanks! "Killing" works on 100% acrylic/viscose/unnatural sounding yarns. ::grin:: You're melting the plastic to make it flatter & in the process it expands. I don't do it very often, but it's a useful technique to know, especially for someone like me who ISN'T a yarn snob & who uses a lot of acrylic. :::wink:::
Everyone: I knew that, in general, green looks good on me. However, I was concerned about the neon properties of this yarn. I figured it would either work, or I'd look like a lime popsicle. ::wink:: I'd always thought that very bright colors were best for the young. Yeah, I know - that was old fogey thinking! hehe
Garnet: Give yourself a bit more time to get comfy with knitting, then just go for it! Knitting a wearable isn't nearly as hard as you think and the longer you put it off, the harder it will seem! I probably wouldn't start with CeCe, but something nice & basic would do worlds of good for your confidence.
Posted by: Bron | June 05, 2006 at 06:46 AM
Absolutely Gorgeous! The color, the design, and am so very Thrilled for you that it fits! Horray!!!!
And you are not an "old fogey." You are Very Hip!
Have a wonderful day everyone!
Posted by: Margaret | June 05, 2006 at 07:47 AM
That looks fantastic! I love it!
Posted by: Erica B. | June 05, 2006 at 09:31 AM
Bring on the steam!! It looks fabulous - and yes, lime green is a great color on you!
Posted by: jillian | June 05, 2006 at 09:45 AM
Wow! That looks great! The green is super on you. I'm afraid it would make me look like a candidate for some new drug trial or another. On you it's great! I need a couple of lightweight summer things to wear over tanks in the heat. Maybe I'll try CeCe. Yarn suggestions? Since you own all the CE in the known universe? lol. BTW did you sell that last cone of Silk City? And would you do me a favor? Go to Colorsong.com, click Skirts, Shells, and Tanks, and look at that first kit, the lace jacket. (Sorry, I don't know how to make a link, and since I'm not teaching, I have no kids to show me how.) I'd loooove to do that but a $100.00 jacket is just nevah gonna happen noooo. How hard do you think it would be to make up something along those lines? Am I out of line for asking? Sorry. I'm getting wordy here. But whaddya think?
Posted by: Willa Jean | June 05, 2006 at 10:10 AM
It looks fab on you!
Posted by: monica | June 05, 2006 at 01:05 PM
Wow, I love it, it's perfect! Great fit. I love Bonne Marie's stuff too. I just started my Cece last night. I can't wait to finish. I'm using a cotton/rayon/linen by Plymouth soooo, no acrylics will be harmed in the knitting of my cece.
Posted by: Julia | June 05, 2006 at 01:38 PM
Congratulations on taming the CeCe monster- looking good!
Posted by: Kristen | June 05, 2006 at 02:32 PM
Thanks & more thanks everyone! Y'all are great for my knitting ego. This is especially nice coming off of the "Red" not-so-great experience. It's always nice to have a real winner. :)
Dang, Willa Jean. You can sure pick 'em. That is a gorgeous lace jacket & it would probably be doable but would take some time. I love the construction - it looks like the two fronts dip down & are "stepped" up to the waist on the sides. You'd probably knit a bit on a panel, increase for the next, knit a bit & so on, adding panels as you go. The saving grace is no sleeves - no armhole shaping that I can tell. So - if you had the lace pattern (or one similar) you could probably work it out. Sizing might be a problem, though, depending on how many stitches your lace pattern was across. You'd have to be careful matching the pattern to your gauge. I wouldn't even attempt to copy the lace pattern of the jacket - if it was crochet it would be easy, but copying knitted lace isn't my strong suit. ;) But that's just me - maybe you're a whiz at it!
Regarding CeCe - Bonne Marie had tons of yarn suggestions on her site at one time - not sure if she has them listed with the pattern now. However, something lighter than what I used, certainly. A dk or light worsted weight would be perfect. Something as heavy as CE probably wouldn't work well. Frankly, the only reason the Lipomo I used worked is the "killing" - otherwise it would've stayed to bunchy & bulky for the lace pattern to shine.
Yep - all the Silk City is gone. :)
Julia - Good luck with your CeCe - I'm so glad you're taking the kinder, gentler route & avoiding killing innocent acrylics. :::grin:::
Posted by: Bron | June 05, 2006 at 02:45 PM
It looks beautiful on you Bron! Congratulations on a job well done. The green is lovely. I'm SO glad you were able to steam it into submission. Good for you. :o)
Posted by: Terri | June 05, 2006 at 06:26 PM
Thanks, Terri. :) It was definitely touch & go - I hit all the highs & all the lows with this sweater! hehe
Posted by: Bron | June 06, 2006 at 06:21 AM