Category: PL: Nutcracker Sweet

Nutcracker Sweet, Part 9 – the happy ending

OK, here we are, finally.  It’s done!  And, I’m pretty darned happy with it.  Although admittedly, I picked a real lulu for the first set of Playing Lessons! (I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear.  Really, I’m usually more lazy than this.) "Lulu" is the perfect term to describe this project, it turns out, because it…

Nutcracker Sweet, Part 8 – finishing up

Wow, what a difference a couple of weeks makes!  Here’s what’s happened since we last saw our friend, the Nutcracker sweater… Bodice knitting:  finished. FI panel:  about a million ends woven in. Hems & facing:  sewn down.  Stitching down the hem took a while, because it had to be redone a couple of times to get…

Nutcracker Sweet, Part 7 – the Fair Isle panel

Here we are again —  and believe it or not, progress is being made.  We are up to the Fair Isle panel, which is the most complex part of the whole thing.  Keep breathing. There are a couple of things we need to address here.  One is the yarn substitutions I made — i.e. the color…

Nutcracker Sweet, Part 6 – the new bodice

Moving on…  OK, I’ve mostly gotten over the betrayal and the disillusionment (described in full & dramatic detail in part 5). I really did drape that 37" of fabric around me for a few seconds, trying to convince myself I didn’t have to rip it all out.  But even I can’t lie to myself quite THAT much. …

Nutcracker Sweet, Part 5 – the fit of the bodice

Or to put it another way, the Turn of the Screw.  Emphasis squarely on the word "screw". Because get ready, kids — here’s where it all falls apart.  Or at least it gets a whole lot more complicated.  Turns out I picked a real doozy to start off the Playing Lessons with…!  But let’s not get…