Project Spectrum -- Sitcom Chic

Project Spectrum asks its participants to view their world through the prism of color. I have been enjoying my red and pink projects, and should have some FOs to post this week. However, I think it is instructive to return to past projects and subject them to a thorough review. So, in honor of Project Spectrum, I bring you:

The Good Pink and The Bad Pink.


The Good: Sitcom Chic, knitted in CottonEase. This is my all-time favorite knitted garment, and the one that gets the most wear. The perfect combination of a great pattern and a great yarn creating a wonderful finished piece.

This sweater is almost a year old, and I wear this little cardigan at least once a week. It looks as good as the day it was knit -- no fading or fuzzing, no stretching or anything. I machine wash and dry flat, and again, it is in great shape. Say what you will about Lion Brand, but Cotton Ease was a great yarn. And I will never forgive Lion Brand for discontinuing it, and am still looking for a substitute worsted cotton.

Bonne Marie's pattern was terrific: clear and simple to understand, no errors, and just enough interest to keep an easily-bored knitter interested. I absolutely love the eyelet detail and all the shaping looks beautiful.

The Bad: Shimmer, knitted in Patons Classic Merino
This pattern caught my eye immediately in Knitty, and I just loved it. I will not criticize the pattern; this knitting disaster was caused by a combination of the yarn and the knitter.

This was my first lace pattern, and I had real trouble frogging it when necessary. In the pattern, you can make the back longer by doing additional repeats before you attach the sleeves and begin the raglan shaping. I didn't really intend on making the back longer, but I did an extra repeat simply because I didn't read the pattern all the way through. I should have frogged at that moment, but kept going since frogging was too much trouble. Well, combine that one extra inch or two of fabric with a too-tight ribbed edging, and it creates an arrow shape under my armpits that points directly to my boobs. And not in a good way. It is just really unflattering.

The yarn has pilled so horrifically. I have taken the shaver to it, and it just keeps getting worse with every wear. It really looks homemade. Patons Classic is forever a felting yarn for me from now on. I actually have felted with it, and it not only looks great, it holds up nicely.

The only good thing that I can take away from this project is that I did learn how to shorten a sleeve by running waste yarn through a row, carefully snipping a row of stitches, and then knitting down from the live stitches. A very instructive process, to be sure. I am considering frogging the whole sweater to re-use the yarn for a felting project, but it will sit in the closet knit-up until the right felting project arrives on the horizon.