Assembling the Glentrekker

There's still time to get in on the Glentrekker KAL on Ravelry. The deadline is still February 1, 2015, so you could make the sweater or one of the hats and still qualify for the prizes.

Come and join us!

Alrighty, let's see where I am on this Glentrekker project.

After testing the written instructions on my first body repeat, and then testing the charts on my second body repeat, I printed out the chart page for my size and with my trusty clicker (row counter) I've chugged all the way up to the point where I join the sleeves. I prefer charts when knitting, as I have an easier time keeping my place that way. 

When I worked my sleeves, I consulted the pattern to check my increase rate, wrote it down, and checked it off as I went along, with the clicker keeping me on the right row. The sleeve cable is so easy I didn't need the chart after a couple of pattern repeats. 

I have also been trying to save paper and ink this time by sending the pattern PDF to my Kindle and using it instead. The sleeves and body of my Glentrekker are ready to be married and joined for life. You may notice that my sleeves are pretty long. I always lengthen my sleeves. I like them long. You will remember that I am using Bare Naked Wools Kent DK for this project, which was so generously donated by Knitspot just because they wanted to see a Kent DK Glentrekker in the world. Aren't they nice? I love this yarn. I am partial to undyed, natural-fiber yarn, and this one is an exquisite example.

Okay, let's get busy. Noting where I am in the cable pattern, I take up a different long circular (the metal Addi on the right), work that pattern across the right front section of the cardigan until I arrive at 16 stitches before the first marker. I am about to slip those next 16 body stitches onto a piece of waste yarn to wait for joining the underarm sections after the body is finished. I place a new marker on the right needle at this point.

Then I take my first sleeve and slip all the stitches from the larger piece of waste yarn onto the left needle (my Clover bamboo with a super-pointy tip). This is why you are instructed to place two sets of stitches on waste yarn when your sleeve is to the correct length and number of stitches. I keep a little jar of smooth, white or cream cotton yarn for just this purpose. It makes the stitches easy to find and easy to slip off onto a needle. After working that set of stitches, I am going to place a new marker where that green one is. You can just leave the one you have in place, but I wanted to change my markers for this section because I keep losing my little green ones and I want them all the same color. I could only find two green ones, and I need four.

After I joined that first sleeve and worked across those stitches in pattern, I worked the back section in pattern to the next marker. Then I placed the next 16 body stitches on waste yarn as I did before, and that sets me up for adding the second sleeve. The pink pen is for editing my pattern. Yes, I keep finding ways to make it better. Also, there was a missing comma. Oh, brother.

After adding the second sleeve and placing my four markers where they belong, and then working the left front section in pattern, I have one big piece ready for the raglan decrease. This is my favorite part. It's fun to watch the raglan line eat up the cables. 

Speaking of eating cables, my next blog post about this project will cover some tricks for making that go more smoothly for you. I will show you how I manage to keep the cables intact as close to that raglan line as I can.  Yummy, yummy cables.

See you soon! Happy Cabling!