Faroese sweater finished

Faroese sweater, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

First of all, thanks for your kind words about the Faroese sweater I've been working on! It is finished and delivered (a birthday present) and the size was just right. It was a lot of fun to knit too, and the only negative thing about the project was the smell that spread through the rooms when I washed it - it was like living in an old barn. (I grew up in the country, so I'm familiar with the smell.)
Ron asked about the armhole, whether I bind off some stitches at the bottom and then more as I go up. Not quite, but almost: instead of binding them off I put them on a thread. That makes it easy to add them to the stitches I pick up to knit the sleeves - and it's more comfortable too as there's no ridge. On the following rows I did some more decreases, partly for comfort and partly to make it look nice, to avoid amputated repeats, so to speak.

To avoid jogs in the pattern I added narrow side panels: this way all rows start with the same colour, and it is possible to continue the pattern along the sleeve and place the sleeve decreases on each side of it.

Carolina asked if I calculate in detail beforehand to make sure the pattern comes out right. Not really - or not anymore, I should say. Too eager to start knitting I do a rough calculation and then trust a combination of luck and experience!

Jules asked if short-row armscyes would work for an Alice Starmore sweater. I'm sure it would! The tricky thing is doing short rows with two colours, finding the right places for the wraps. There's a risk that light-colour wraps around a dark stitch will show glaringly, so I make sure they're the same colour. It's a pity if the wraps draw attention to themselves instead of being as invisible as possible.

shoulder join and sleeve cap

I've cast on to make a traditional Swedish spedetröja. Traditional in the sense that I use the traditional shape and a common kind of star pattern from the period (late 1800s) but it's not a copy of an existing garment. This sweater is for Anna, who teaches dances from the 1700s. Next lesson is tonight - highlight of the week!

2ply wool from Kampes; 2.25 mm needles (US 1)