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Dear Kay and Ann,
Here are two photos of me in my finished “Bang out a Revolution” pullover.

I was lecturing and teaching at the Greater Boston Knitting Guild’s February meeting last Thursday.

Location: Trinity Church in Boston. I don’t know who did the painting.

I think the only pattern change I haven’t mentioned in my previous telegrams are 4 or 5 decreases at  bottom of the cable panel before starting the ribbing, on the same row where there are increases in the stockinette stitch.

My pullover is 10½ inches from the bottom of the armhole to the top of the ribbing, with  2½ inches of ribbing. That’s short, but so am I, being only 5 feet tall.

My sleeves are 9 inches to the top of the ribbing, with 2½ inches of ribbing. I love shorter sleeves. I’m almost always too hot, and I like the proportions on me too.

To recap: for my Bang Out a Sweater project, I used the Elaine’s Capelet cable to knit a shorter version of the Liberty Tree Pullover, in the fourth size. As explained in a previous telegram, I extended the yoke cables down the center front of my pullover. My yarn is Julie Asselin Hektos in Sherwood. It’s a gorgeous green with an undercurrent of rust, and was SUCH a pleasure to knit.

Xox,

Norah

 

Photos by Peg Castle.

 

Come see all the Bang Out a Sweater projects in progress on Instagram at #BangOutASweater. You might win a prize when you post your Bang Out project pix with the hashtag #BangOutA Sweater on Instagram, on Facebook, or in the Lounge at “Bang Out a Sweater.” Lots of wise knitters in there sharing tips ’n’ tricks.

About The Author

A bright star in the knitting firmament for decades, Norah Gaughan has designed for every elite knitting publication.  Her books—Knitting Nature and Norah Gaughan’s Knitted Cable Sourcebook—are blasts of inspiration and technique, and everlasting classics. When Norah teaches, her classes sell out in a hot minute.

2018 marked the publication of Vogue Knitting: Norah Gaughan: 40 Timeless Knits, a greatest hits selection from the astounding 120+ patterns she has contributed to Vogue Knitting magazine.

Norah’s website is a big box of eye candy that will keep you up to date on her current work.

31 Comments

  • It’s gorgeous!

  • Beautiful!

  • It’s so beautiful!! And now I understand how some finish a sweater so fast. An advantage of being short- which I’m not. 17” sleeves, here!!!

    • Here’s my poem about sweater knitting:

      Being short and skinny is better,
      When you’re knitting yourself a sweater.

      I’m neither!

      • Love this! (Me neither.)

  • Lovely! And an inspiration!

  • How lovely you look! Norah ,do you like your sweaters a bit short at the wrist? I’d have to make it a bit longer I think in the sleeves

  • WOW!!! It is so gorgeous!!!

  • Speechless! Wow!!!!!

  • Love the cables all the way down the front!!

  • Team Shorter Sleeves, represent! I love the proportions, too, and they are less in my way.

  • Totally gorgeous!! And now I’ve got another pattern to add to my endless queue. 🙂 I love the column of cables down the front. And yes to the shorter sleeve – I think 3/4 sleeves are perfect. You can match your homemade sweaters to pretty bracelets that will be visible.

  • I, too, like my sleeves shorter. Being under 5’2”! Keeps them dryer every time I wash my hands or a dish.

    I think it’s a reaction to spending my life in clothes that cover up my hands! I hate that!

    Beautiful sweater!

    But I would expect nothing else from Norah!

    • I’m just the opposite. Long arms, and all my life the sleeves on everything have been too short, which is an uncomfortable annoyance. I’m so glad I can add length to sweater sleeves! (And I don’t wear bracelets.)

  • WOW!!! Norah looks gorgeous in the new sweater – and I am newly inspired! For my February project I am banging out a sweater vest for my love – not a Norah, but knitting away all the same.

  • Amazingly beautiful. Your hands and wrists must be in awesome condition to permit you to knit this in such a short amount of time. Wish I could do that but family legacy of arthritis hampers my knitting time.

  • Not sure I understood the decreases in the cable part, while increasing in the plain part.

    • At the bottom of the Liberty Tree Pullover pattern, there is a round of increases spread out evenly all around. It increases the number of stitches by 20 percent.

      The effect of this is to give you more stitches so that the ribbing doesn’t pull in around the bottom of the sweater; it will hang nice and straight.

      (One of my pet peeves about old-school pullover patterns is that the ribbing pulls in around the bottom, which makes for sort of a potato sack effect on me. I was so happy to see Norah did it this way!)

      But because Norah modified the front of the pullover to extend the panel of cables, on the same row–last round before the ribbing—she decreased 4 or 5 stitches within the cable panel. I assume this is to prevent the cable panel from flaring at the bottom.

      • I think you are correct. I also agree with you about those old pullovers that call attention to your hips.

  • My parents were married in that church!

  • Well, that looks really fine, Norah. I love that color.

  • A little diversion here. What is the garment you are wearing under the sweater? Is it a blouse and skirt? One piece, two pieces, three? I need to figure out how to put a whole outfit together once I’ve knit a sweater. Thanks!

  • Absolutely beautiful, Norah! I love this!

  • This is so extra super. The sweater, the smile, the skirt (I see I’m not the only one who wants details on that detail ).

  • So lovely.

  • I love it!

  • I love the sweater! However the most wonderful info I gained from Norah was the measurement from the underarm to the ribbing and then the number of inches of ribbing. I am 4′ 11″ and I always feel I am making my plan for a sweater too short – it ends up what I want, but is a lot shorter than the “big people” measurements on schematics. Having Norah validate the numbers is – to quote a phrase – priceless!

  • Beautiful. I guess we can’t expect less from Norah. I read somewhere years ago that shortening your sleeves tends to make your legs look longer, which is very helpful for shorter people (not to mention keeps your sleeves out of the soup).

  • Love this!!! It looks wonderful on you and I love how the center cable panel flows out of the yoke. It’s like a lovely yarny waterfall.

    I am planning to do the same thing as soon as I finish my Liberty Tree. I will use Hektos as well in “London” (kismet, since London is my favorite city!).

  • Norah, this is beautiful. Love how you made of tailored to you! I’m long arms here, but love the 3/4 sleeves. I would have them myself!

    • keep up with the great work Norah its fantastic what you have made.

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