So Faded Vol II Part III

Two amazing projects for you today!

First, I finished my second So Faded sweater about a week ago.  Why do I love this pattern?  Let me count the ways:
1. It's EASY. seriously, even a noob (my 9 year old's favorite word) can complete it.  The directions tell you exactly how to calculate when and how to change yarns.

2.  An amazing way to use up stash. Whether it's full skeins you want to use, or a bunch of scraps, this sweater will always look amazing.

3.  It's FAST. I don't get to knit everyday-maybe 5 days a week and never more than 2 hours each day.  The two So Faded sweaters I've made have taken me about a month to knit.

4. It's lightweight. Since it's knit with fingering yarn, it's perfect for cool weather or summer evenings in Cali.

For this sweater, I used 3 skeins.  From top to bottom: April Club skein, May Club skein, and Almond Milk-all from Hypnotic Yarn of course!  Crazy enough, I have 60 grams of yarn left over between the 3 skeins.  I knit size small, based on my bust size and the amount of ease I like for my sweaters.  I prefer fitted garments so I try it on as I knit so it's the exact length I want.  I did not for this sweater but I usually decrease a few stitches along the waist-I like to pretend I have an hour glass figure.  lol. 

For the second project, my surprise for yall....... drum roll....

I purchased and started knitting the new and wildly popular WINGSPAN by Kyle Vey.  I'll be honest with yall, $10 for a knitting pattern almost prevented the purchase.  I understand it's an involved pattern, but dang!

The pattern uses 800 yards of fingering weight. I decided to use Seahorse Party-which Cheryl had in the shop a few months ago.  I fell in love and insta-grabbed it from the shop.  She also had the colorway on a sparkle base, but I opted for the non-sparkle. Isn't it so pretty?  Perfect color for wing feathers!

Most of the pattern is knit in short rows with every 3rd-ish row being complete.  It's definitely not an impossible pattern.  (so far-knock on wood).  There is nothing specifically complicated about any of the directions, but you MUST PAY ATTENTION!  It is very easy to loose or gain stitches unless you watch every single stitch.  This is not a pattern I can watch TV or listen to an audiobook while knitting.

Here are the techniques involved:
Cabling: which includes knitting and purling multiple stitches together at the same time.  Instructions on how to do this are included in the stitch abbreviation list.

Decreasing and Increasing: which includes knitting/purling stitches together or SSK and making stitches right and left (knit and purl)

Wrap and Turn: this creates your short rows. There are instructions on how to do this in the abbreviations, however, the instructions leave out how to correct the wrapped stitch later.   If you have not done this technique, I recommend to watch a YouTube video on it, especially for correcting the wrap on the return row.

Rearranging stitches: I have never encountered this before.  The basics of it are you rearrange stitches on your left needle WITHOUT working them.  Again, there are instructions in the abbreviations on how to rearrange.  What is not included in the instructions is that you do not move those stitches to your right needle.  After rearranging the stitches you put them back on the left needle to be worked in the prescribed manner.

Other stitches: Yarn overs, slipped stitches with yarn in front or back of work, and knitting through the back loops

I have noticed some, not all, abbreviations are different than what I'm used to seeing in other knitting patterns.  It is very useful to read those the entire abbreviation page before starting.

There is not a chart for the pattern;  the instructions are written out.  The designer  includes "intuitive" instructions and a mathematical outline table so you can understand the construction of each section of feathers.  Because of this, the PDF is 17 pages long, 15 of which are instructions.  It seems daunting, but I've been focused on row by row and not letting the length of the instructions bog me down.

I am currently knitting the second set feathers at the moment.  They are hard to see right now and will most definitely need blocking for the pattern to show.

I will work on this project all summer, at which point it will hopefully be complete.  *fingers crossed* I'm excited to share this journey with y'all and will keep you abreast of all progress!

What do you think about Wingspan?  I love comments!

Until next time, happy crafting!
-Brianne