Bad Penny KAL

I'm done!

2005-04-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

I'm so surprised at how fast this knit up. It took me just over 2 weeks-it's amazing how much faster sweaters without long sleeves are!

I tried to take this photo showing how my hair matches my trim as much as the designer's did hers in the original photo on knitty, but it didn't work out so well. :-) But, you can just almost make out those eyelets in the bottom ribbing and the ones at the raglan decreases.

I really think I'm going to like wearing this. The binario looks a lot heavier than it is, because one strand of it is cotton. I think I'm wearing this to work tomorrow.

Now that's lucky...

2005-04-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

WittyKnits for you to find a few more balls of the same color/dyelot. This sweater is just-meant-to-be. I'm glad it worked out otherwise creative license would have come into play or a lot of frogging. It's looking great by the pic you posted. Keep up the great knitting.

Progress photo

2005-04-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

I've actually gotten a lot more done since I snapped this photo last night, but I didn't have a chance to upload a new one. Here's a closeup of what the binario looks like knitted up:

Near yarn disaster!

2005-04-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

So I posted last week about how I feared I'd run out of Binario to finish up the body of my Bad Penny. Yep, I did. I had gone through all four balls, and had about 4" left before I was ready to start the bottom band. I triple-checked my gauge, and I was dead on.

Problem was, the store I bought this yarn from closed two weeks after I bought it. So I spent 2 hours emailing yarn shops all over the country Monday night and posting pleas to various forums. No luck.

Yesterday evening, I ventured to the new yarn shop that opened and had purchased the first shop's inventory. I explained my predicament to them, and we went through several boxes of clearance yarn to no avail. I was just about ready to leave when someone came out of the back with 4 BOXES of Binario, one of them in #17, which is my color. And wouldn't you know it, it was even the same dyelot. So I'm saved!!!! I bought 2 more balls.

If anyone wants to do Bad Penny in the yarn the pattern calls for, they do have enough to do several more. From this shade card they have #17 (my color), 26, 28, and I think 12 or 15. It was $8.00/ball. A bit pricey, but it knits up wonderfully. The shop is Kniter's Mercantile and the phone number for the store is on their site--I don't think these yarns are on their website, so you'd have to call.

Also, as an FYI, it looks like I'll need 5 balls for the second smallest size, which calls for 4 according to the pattern. So you may want to have a bit extra no matter what yarn you're using, just in case. Learn from my mistake. :-)

Ready, Set, Knit...

2005-04-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

A big hello to the Bad Penny KAL knitters. Thanks for letting me join in.

I read over the pattern and did a "yarn stash" cleanup to see if there was something within that black hole of yarn that would work for this cute little pullover before joining. ("Black hole" phrase was copped by dh this afternoon when he saw me with ALL of that yarn).

I'm going to use the Nina yarn I picked up at the Knitter's Retreat last November. A good way to use it up and then have something for next November's Show & Tell. The colorways are going to be way different than the original pattern, but this will help stash reduction, which is a good thing, right?

All swatched before dinner and now starting the body, into the seventh row. This will be a great project to take to work with me.

Have a great start to the week. ~ Sherrill

Woot!

2005-04-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody, I'm Ashley and after some technical difficulties, I'm finally an official Bad Penny KAL member! I started day before yesterday, and I'm almost halfway done with the YO increases. Hopefully I'll keep up at this pace, but all this nice weather might cause me to slack off this weekend. I'm using some long-stashed Lion Brand Microspun, in light (body) and dark (trim) purple. I hope to get into it enough to post a photo in the next few days. Have a good weekend!

So, what if I want longer sleeves......

2005-04-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am onto the second skein and started thinking that I want the sleeves a bit longer. So, I was thinking I could just make a longer ribbed section on the sleeves and echo the same at the bottom torso band. But, can I just keep doing the YO increases? Would that yield a longer sleeve or would that just make the sleeves wider? Being a newbie and this is my first sweater, I have to defer to others for help.

How much yarn is too little?

2005-04-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

I just cast on for Bad Penny this weekend, and after a series of mistarts involving my lack of counting ability, and failing to realize the pattern was top down and therefore casting on in the wrong yarn, I'm finally on my way. Here's the thing though--I'm really quite concerned about the amount of yarn I'm using. I'm making the second smallest size, which calls for 4 balls of the yarn in the main body. I'm about 3/4 of the way through the raglan increases, and estimate that I'll finish my second ball by the time I finish those.

Does that sound about right? Should have the yarn be enough for the body? I've never done a top down raglan before, so I realize it could be just that I'm not used to doing the widest part of the sweater first, but I'm getting a bit nervous.

hey!

2005-03-31T13:37:00.000-08:00

just now posting here. *sigh* it's coming along for me but i put it down for a few weeks due to wanting to finish up some other projects and put up a fence and landscaping and such. :) i'm to the bodice and will probably end up seaming the sleeves on the armpit area. i should have put them on scrap yarn instead of stretching the stitches over the holders. oh well, i'll work it out. :) i'll post my photos soon. :)

Hi All--getting ready to start!

2005-03-30T09:47:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to introduce myself and say hi! I'm Amy from WittyKnits. I am currently finishing up Sitcom Chic from knitty, but should have that done soon (hopefully today) and will then cast on for Bad Penny. I've swatched it up and am ready to go. Here's the before shot:

Yep, I found the actual yarn called for in the pattern, and even at 40% off. Unfortunately, my LYS closed a couple of weeks later, so if I need more, I'm out of luck. But I think I'll be ok. I look forward to meeting you all here.

2005-03-27T09:49:00.001-08:00

Here's a close-up of the eyelet border.

2005-03-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

A finished Bad Penny! Just in time for Easter meal with the family! You know I got to wear it.

Welcome to Stefanie :)

2005-03-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

Bad Penny KAL

Just want to extend a "Hello" to Bad Penny designer, Stefanie Japel. I received a great email back from her and she is "really psyched" that we are knitting her pattern.

To seam or not to seam

2005-03-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm finished with the knitting part of the sweater but now I'm trying to decide whether or not to seam the sleeves. The pattern does not say to, but I think my sweater will look more finished if I do. Any thoughts?

Worked out that eyelet issue

2005-03-24T06:36:00.000-08:00

Well, I figured out my eyelet problem. Seems I was overthinking the whole thing. After ripping this section out a few times, I decided to just follow the pattern exactly (HAHAHAA). Funny how that made it turn out. (I feel like a dope.) So when the graph says to K2tog, I did even if the next stitch was a purl stitch, and when the graph said to YO, I YO knitwise, not purlwise. The finished product looks pretty good, I think. After I figured that whole thing out, finishing the ribbing at the bottom and the sleeves was fairly easy. I'm working on the collar now. I'll post pics when I'm done!

Third time is the charm, no?

2005-03-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

Sooooo....yup, frogged it AGAIN last night and immediately cast on because I knew that if I didn't, this project may end up on the back burner and I didn't really want that to happen.

Will I ever learn to NOT knit when I'm tired? Obviously hasn't happened yet. Mom always said I was stubborn....yep, but I prefer tenacious or determined :)

I'm making mine out of Plymouth's Stone Cotton in black which I got at Elann's on a great sale. The trim will be in Tahki's Old "New Tweed" in blue #020. I say old "new Tweed" because Tahki changed the fiber content a bit and will reintroduce the line in the Spring.

Here is a swatch of the sleeve eyelet pattern...

Those gosh darn eyelets!

2005-03-19T06:38:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been smooth knitting up to the eyelets in the bottom ribbing. I'm going to have to rip them out and try again today. The yo's and the K2tog are a bit confusing with the ribbing. the first row of eyelets look ok, but the second one looks awful. Phah!

Welcome to the Bad Penny Knit-along!

2005-03-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

Grab a cup of your favorite stuff, find a comfy place, look out the window and imagine Spring. It's on the way...and we are on the way to making something perfect for the warmer weather.

Come on in and join us!