A Little Progress

Well despite being very distracted by a couple Very Warm Hats, which you can see here, I managed to make some progress on dear son's Tomten.  I have just started my way up the armholes.

the adventures of super tomten

here is a photo of my progress to date. looks like a superhero mask! (or a raccoon)

i'm maybe halfway done the hood.

Here are some specifics for Amy (and any other interested parties)

my gauge is 3.5 sts/inch. i was planning for a jacket 45 inches around (without a button band- remember, you can always add a little width at the end if you need to by doing a wide button band or other border), so i cast on 160 stitches (came out to 161, but we want a number divisible by 8). i calculated my length (height?) measurements by comparing ratios from EZ's instructions in "Knitting Without Tears", and came up with 50 ridges before the armholes, then 35 more ridges to the top of the armholes (when you join all the stitches back on one needle). Oh yes, i did short rows every 7 or 8 ridges, but i'm not entirely convinced that was crucial- garter stitch is pretty stretchy. it was good practice, anyway.

i haven't finished the hood yet, so i'm not sure how many ridges that will be- i'll just keep trying it on until it seems to cover my head.

i *will* finish this thing- and while it's still cool enough to wear it, too!

i'm getting there....

slowly, but surely!

i had taken a break from the tomten to make some other, smaller projects, and it's now too big to comfortably take along with me, so i am only working on it while at home.

i'm now about halfway through the hood, which i hope to finish tonight or tomorrow night, then on to the sleeves.

i have tried it on (without sleeves, obviously) and it seems as though it will be a good fit (well, by my standards, anyway. i think my mother would tell you i don't know what it means for clothes to fit.) it is heavy, as i feared, but rather pleasantly so. like a favorite blanket or something.

photos soon!

Almost Done!

Here is a picture of the body of the Tomten copleted, and an i-cord edging in progress. I have actually finished the edging, but it is WAY too tight, and I need to rip it out and do it in larger needles. Otherwise, I won't have a hood, just a wierd pocket in the back of the neck!

I've decided to give it a week or two before I rip that part out, to avoid the feeling of frustration/aggravation of ripping out all that work and starting over.

I have tried a couple different methods of sewing up the bottoms of the sleeves, and haven't liked anything so far. Can anyone tell me what they did, and liked?