Knitting: Yuletide Yoke finished and Starting Cables for Kids

Day One

I finished the Yuletide Yoke sweater with just a little bit of knitting time.

This is sized quite generously, but my gauge might have been a bit off. I didn't bother to check. (Since it's for charity and someone will be able to fit it, I generally don't obsess about gauge on my charity sweaters.) This is a child's size 6, and I could fit it if the sleeves were longer. That's a good thing, though, because hopefully whoever gets it will be able to wear it for a few years.

So now I'm off to the next sweater project, Cables for Kids from Coats & Clark. It's a free pattern that's written to be seamed, so I'll be converting this one to seamless as well. Here we go ...

Cast on 154 stitches. Work 1x1 ribbing for 2", beginning with a purl stitch and placing a marker after the 77th stitch. (This marker separates the front from the back.) Increase 22 stitches on the last row (about every 7th stitch). Switch to larger needles.

 Since I'm working this seamlessly, I'll work it in the round until 10-1/2" before splitting for the armholes.

I omitted the 4 side stitches this time, so I'm subtracting one stitch from the instructions at each side. And since these instructions are much easier to follow in chart format, I made my own chart:

Not all of these are standard knitting symbols (like the cable symbols), but this is how my brain works, so I wrote them out this way.

It's also helpful to place markers in your knitting where you're supposed to switch from one chart to the next (A,B,C). This way, you don't have to constantly count out the initial 22 stitches in seed stitch, etc. It makes my knitting go much faster.

I got one full 12-row repeat and an additional two more rows finished before bed.

Day Two

After the second repetition of the 12 rows, I realized that I forgot to switch the Chart A directions for circular knitting. It's supposed to look like a ribbed basketweave stitch, but mine is seed stitch. What threw me off was the fact that many similar patterns have sections of seed stitch in them. (That, and the fact that I had to draw up my own charts and convert it to circular, seamless knitting.) We'll just pretend it's supposed to look like this. :)

I got to 10-1/2" and split for the armholes (changing to back-and-forth knitting) on a row 7.

I was able to work a few inches above the armhole on the back section before bed.