Project Report 26.27: Untimely Updates

After another week of monogamous knitting, I have lots of progress to share on my Untimely sweater.

I finished the waist shaping and got all the way down to the beginning of the hem ribbing.

As you can see, Samson has been a big help:

In the past, I've sized up my needles to knit ribbed hems. That usually means that the ribbing relaxes to match the tension of the stockinette body rather than cinching in. However, with the body of this sweater being worked on US 2 / 2.75mm needles, the extra half-millimeter jump to US Size 3 / 3.25mm made a huge difference. Too big a difference, as it turns out. 

After working a few rows on Size 3, I decided the ribbing looked too loose and sloppy for my liking. I ripped back and restarted the ribbing on my original Size 2s. It's looking much better.

One of the annoying things about working with a cotton blend is the shrink factor. Based on my swatches for this project and other cottons I've used in the past, I should expect this sweater to shrink vertically by about 10% when I wash it. Ten percent doesn't sound like a lot, but an 18-inch sleeve, plus 10%, becomes almost 20 inches of sleeve.

Speaking of sleeves, I'm planning to work these ones flat and seam them at the end. That's the method I used for both the Sonate Sweater and my 2319 Sweater. I've found it's more comfortable for me to work sleeves flat rather than continually un-twist an entire sweater WIP every couple of rounds. Plus, seaming ensures absolutely perfect stripe alignment -- something no jogless stripe technique can achieve. 

In garden news, the zinnias have popped!

I also had my first big basil harvest of the season and whipped up a double batch of pesto to keep in the freezer. I've been using Minimalist Baker's Protein Pesto recipe for years, but for a super classic, no-frills version, you can't go wrong with Love and Lemons' Basil Pesto.

In addition to more Untimely updates next week, I should also have some new yarn to show you, so make sure you come back for that!