A WIP Moves into the Finished Column

When I first started reading blogs, there were several Massachusetts bloggers who attended a workshop that Sally Melville was holding at a LYS. When I read about the techniques that they learned and the types of things Sally was teaching in her book, The Knit Stitch, I knew I had to learn more and I was definitely not disappointed.

In reviewing the projects, there were a couple that I knew I had to make right away. I made several Shape It Scarves and then my big investment came in the form of the Einstein Coat. Living in North Carolina, I knew that I could get a lot of use out of a coat like that. So, I invested the money and more importantly the time. Over the course of the last couple of years I have worked away on the coat. It was perfect TV knitting since all I had to do was knit, knit, knit! For the last year, all that was left was seaming the last arm and putting on the buttons. Can you imagine that I let it linger that long?! Recently, I went ahead and finished seaming the arm and I went and picked out buttons. Last night I got the buttons sewn on and now I can take another WIP off my list and mark it as complete!!! Once again, there is a total feeling of satisfaction in getting this project done and I really do love it. I know come December and January I have the perfect coat to wear on those days when it gets cold enough.

It turned out beautifully and fits very nicely. What did I learn from this project? I learned how to do the crochet cast-on which I have used on other projects since it creates an edge that mimics the traditional bind off edge. This has been great on scarves. I also learned that garter stitch can be fashionable not frumpy and I learned that you can construct a garment essentially in one piece. The only seaming in this coat is the two shoulder/arm seams. Will I make this again? Probably not this version. There is a lighter weight version, but I think I would try one of the other jackets in the book before I made Einstein again. As far as another immediate project from the book, I am thinking about making Sally’s Favorite Summer Sweater. I have some Tahki Cotton Classic in my stash and although we can’t wear a lot of sweaters here in the summer, it may be light-weight enough that I can get some use out of it. I am thinking of trying my hand at continental knitting again, so maybe this will be the perfect project for that adventure.

I would highly recommend Sally’s books as valuable reference books to have in your knitting library. The explanations and pictures are extremely helpful and very clear. I can’t wait for the first day cool enough to wear this coat – it will be a long wait, but I am thrilled that this project is done!