FO: Josephine (standard knitter's FO post)

Pattern: Josephine Top, Interweave Knits Summer 2007, size 36"
Yarn: Valley Yarns Longmeadow in Wisteria, 7+ skeins
Mods: zip, which in retrospect was a poor choice

I started this one almost 2 months ago, and finally finished it Saturday night--just in time to wear for the final summer holiday. This is not a quick knit, because there's just so much going on--no plain stockinette in sight (and I was traveling quite a bit this summer--this shirt has already been to the Bahamas, but I didn't waste much time there knitting!). There are no real tricky maneuvers, but it was a bit of a struggle at some points to keep things straight (ex: knitting the texture pattern, doing the neck decreases, and the armhole decreases all at the same time, with 2 balls of yarn attached).

The shirt is knit flat; had I put some thought into it, I might've knit in the round up to the armholes, but I always make the assumption that the designer has a particular reason for not knitting in the round. That's obviously not necessarily true.

My major complaint about Josephine is the final step--after seaming the whole shebang up, you pick up stitches around the bottom, knit 3 rows stockinette and bind off. I am completely incapable of binding off loosely. So the bottom hem is way too tight. Again, perhaps the author had a reason for doing it this way, but it seems like starting off with 3 rows of stockinette would've been a lot easier. Unfortunately you can see in both photos that the tight hem is causing the bottom to balloon out a bit, which isn't particularly flattering, and completely defeats the purpose of the stockinette, which was to have a rolled hem. I could rip out the bind off and try again, but I doubt I'd see much of an improvement, so I probably won't bother.

Only other problem is that it's too big--I knit the smallest size, got gauge, and blocked to the stated measurements, so there were no mistakes made, it's just that the smallest size isn't small enough. The ribbon around the chest makes it easy to tighten up in that area, but the sleeves are clearly too loose--they're supposed to be cap sleeves, and they're, sadly, not.

So, another summer top in the bag just in time for summer to be over. Now, what to knit next . . . ? I gathered all my courage yesterday and ripped back my Windowpane sock (yes, singular), so I'm ready to redo the gusset and try to get the colors lined up this time. I wound my skein of Manos del Uruguay silk blend, which I am thinking of turning into a hat. I was thinking this hat, but it doesn't seem like enough yarn. I need to get back on track with some Christmas knitting, so I may cast on for the Henley Perfected, but I'm also eager to get my Tangled Yoke Cardigan on the needles so I can be wearing it by, well, Christmas, at the rate I knit.

Happy Labor Day all!