I love when I have a finished object to share on Unraveled Wednesday’s! And, I have one today – yes, Deschain is done! And, there were some significant alterations made to the pattern which resulted in a really lovely sweater!
I knit the front and the back longer, doing 6 repeats of the “lacework,” which was one more than the pattern called for. I also did some short rows on the back to balance out sweater a bit. Quite a few people who knit Deschain said they wished the back was a bit longer – and the short rows achieved that perfectly. I ended up knitting the sleeves flat and then seamed them into the sweater. This gives a much neater look and also the seaming prevents the sweater from just being a saggy mess. And, rather than pick up stitches to immediately bind them off – I just did a single crochet edge around the neckline and although that probably took me longer to do than suggested finish – it looks much better.
I think this sweater will get lots of wear (I already wore it yesterday!) and I am formulating some plans to knit a wool version to wear next fall/winter!
Now, on to the reading – first up I read a fantastic article on The Guardian this week which reinforces why I just love librarians!
My finished for the week:
I read another of Louise Erdrich’s books, this time: The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse. Louise is a magnificent story teller – she has a wonderful way of drawing you into the story and then she unleashes her brilliant characters on you. The writing is masterful, and the story is just brilliant – and complicated – and I loved every little bit of it. This book easily gets 5-stars and I highly recommend this story.
I also finished Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility. “It is white people’s responsibility to be less fragile; people of color don’t need to twist themselves into knots trying to navigate us as painlessly as possible.” I don’t think I have ever highlighted so many parts of a book, ever. It is very well written, insightful, and yes – eye opening to my own White Fragility. It gives some great things to think about regarding racism. This book is an excellent reminder to me – keep your mouth shut and listen, listen, listen! I highly recommend this book!
And, I finished a super quick read – Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini. The artwork is precious, as are the words. This book was inspired by the story of the three-year-old Syrian refugee, Alan Kurdi, who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. I have heard it said we are the uninvited. We are the unwelcome. We should take our misfortune elsewhere. But I hear your mother’s voice, over the tide. And she whispers in my ear, “Oh, but if they saw, my darling. Even half of what you have. If they only saw. They would say kinder things, surely.” If you are looking for something to remind you of the humanity of all, Sea Prayer will do just that. 5-stars and I highly recommend!
In the “did I like this book or not” category is Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. The story is fascinating and told in a very curious way. The thing I did not like — the number of narrators for the story and I do not recommend listening to the book for this reason. The book feels like a collection of short stories, but the stories are all intertwined together, and it circles back to finish stories from other perspectives, but not all the stories worked for me. Still, the writing is beautiful – very beautiful and I loved the ending! I gave the book 4-stars.
That is all I have for this week, and as always:
Thank you for your participation!
I love the look of Deschain (it’s been in the “queue-in-my-head” for a very long time), but certain elements always give me pause. Your modifications provide great solutions to potential problems — and your finished sweater looks just great! Nicely done. 🙂
(Let the Great World Spin is one of my favorite books.)
Deschain turned out beautifully! I used to hate seams, but I’m learning to love them now 🙂
What a beautiful sweater. I have a pattern I want to knit and I think short rows need to be added. I will consult you when I get to the casting on part.
Your Deschain looks wonderful and very wearable! I’ll admit the original didn’t much appeal to me, but I really like the wool version!
Thank you, as always, for adding to my TBR list. I’m always happy to hear about good books!
Gorgeous sweater!!! Love your modifications. It looks much more wearable, for someone like me, with your improvements! 🙂
Congrats on your Deschain! That does look like a sweater you will wear a lot.
Deschain is gorgeous (love the color). Congrats on a fabulous finish!
Beautiful job on your sweater Kat! And thanks for bringing the Louise Erdrich book to my attention. I loved LaRose and this book sounds just like something I’d like.
Oooh! Your Deschain is beautiful! The design changes you made definitely work!
Deschains is beautiful and your mods make it practically perfect in every way! Congratulations on a terrific, wearable fo!
In my next life, I’m coming back as Kat the Knitter who Also Reads as She Knits. The sweater is lovely and as always, I’m not only intrigued but also impressed with your reading life!
carry on1
Cheers~
That sweater is really fabulous, I bet it’s very flattering, too. Hooray for librarian love!
Beautiful Finish!
What a pretty sweater for this transitional season. Good thinking on the mods. I need to learn that short row technique for the back of sweaters. Who wants one that rides up over the backside? Not me. White Fragility sounds like a good book to put on my list.
Beautifully knit! Your changes really add to its wearability and beauty. I love The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse. Plague of Doves is also one of my faves and you’ll find some of the same characters in it.
beautiful sweater finish and I do like your modifications. I tend to knit things longer because I am tallish (not very but it seems other people are shorter…). Well done!
Your sweater is stunning. I am not great at shorts rows, they scare me a bit. Glad it all worked out so beautifully for you!
The sweater is lovely- well done!