Soldotna Saga Update

I have to admit, I’ve been way too emotionally involved in this little sweater, the Soldotna Crop by Caitlin Hunter. I shopped and shopped the stash for some yarn. I dithered about whether to knit this little charmer in the DK weight that the pattern was written for, or to go rogue and to try it out in fingering weight. Needle size became an issue. I decided to go up a pattern size, because… fingering… even though my gauge was close. Then there were the colors… I was pretty torn about how to handle the four colors as they are displayed in the final sweater. I wanted a speckled or variegated yarn to break up the pattern a little, but that creates its own issues… Finally, finally I arrived at a final decision and got through more than half of the colorwork chart. Here’s the post about all the false starts, tinking and whatnot that went on…

This is the final color order (left to right) that I settled on for my Soldotna Crop.

I’m happy to report that things are now working out! I knitted steadily last week and got past the split between the arms and the body of the sweater last Friday. By late afternoon yesterday I was a couple of inches below the split and becoming a little concerned about how this baby would fit. I took the work off the needles, did some fast steam blocking, and then tried it on for fit.

Houston, we have a sweater!!!

This is a huge, huge relief! I took it outside for some fast pics and this afternoon I’m putting it back onto the needles and will continue on. Yay!

Full view: I’m really liking how the colors are showing in the body; that’s why I wanted to use a variegated yarn so that there would be subtle differences.
Here’s a close-up of the fabric.

I’m really happy with how things are going now. This sweater sure had a rough start, but I’m rocking along now.

Hannah: we’re heading outside to knit now!

Here’s the link to my Ravelry notes.

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Author: Midnight Knitter

I weave, knit and read in Aurora, Colorado where my garden lives. I have 2 sons, a knitting daughter-in-law, a grandson and two exceptionally spoiled kittens. In 2014 I was diagnosed with a serious rare autoimmune disease called systemic sclerosis along with Sjogren's Disease and fibromyalgia.

29 thoughts on “Soldotna Saga Update”

  1. You’re a knitting fool, Marilyn !! 😀
    Just your usual work of art. I can certainly see why this one needed to fit – all that WORK !!

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    1. Yes, you can see the reason for the concern. I always check the gauge, monitor the length, but there is soooo much stress until I actually get it off the needles for the check. 🙂

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      1. I can relate to that: even my simple pullovers and cardis cause the same angst. But in my case, the fitting usually results in great disappointment: my gauge swatches seem always to mislead me. Or else I’m just an unreliable crocheter.

      2. When I was first diagnosed with scleroderma in 2014 I began to compulsively knit endless handwarmers and shawls. I couldn’t even deal with the thought of a sweater. Swatching, gauge, and all the rest were too big a challenge for me. Now I’m better (well, emotionally…) and the whole operation is good for me. Having said that, I am soooo careful about what patterns I knit, and I have previous patterns that fit me well that I can use as guides on yarn, needle size, and fit. Having said that, I realized that humidity makes a huge difference in how tightly I knit, and I have to be very careful about how I hold the yarn. I think that may be even a bigger factor with crochet as it is hard for me to keep the loops exactly the same. What do you think?

      3. I think you are bound to be right, Marilyn: there are indeed many factors that can affect both yarn and the hands wielding it !
        I can’t get over how good you are at the emotional management .. I know it’s largely under the guidance of your academic background and excellent brain; but it’s sooo impressive ! And I derive great pleasure from your tales of learning all about your battery of conditions. You’re a top blogger, you and Colorado both: must be that climate, eh ? 😀

      4. Well, I do try to not blog on bad days so what you see online is perhaps my best. One of my doctors did tell me that he admired my attitude. (Yay!) It was a horrible blow when the pulmonary hypertension diagnosis came in. I watched a video online (the Scleroderma Association has an annual conference and the sessions are videotaped) and it started out “… pulmonary hypertension is a fatal complication of systemic sclerosis…) and I turned it off. Well, crap, I thought. There were a lot of sad days after that. I think that the trick for me is to name the monster, acknowledge that it is happening, and then recognize that worrying about it will do absolutely nothing to help. It’s better to do everything that you can to handle it, and then sleep soundly at night. My mom was my role model in this: she was the best, ever.
        Top blogger?! You really are spreading it on tonight! Thank you so much. I mull over my posts for days and then they just sort of pop out. 🙂

  2. I don’t know squat about knitting but I sure can appreciate color. Even allowing for differences in computer screens, going outside really made a difference. Those colors are beautiful, but the intricacy and complexity give me a headache. Kudos to you for knowing how to do this!

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    1. Thank you for the perfect affirmation! I wanted the colors to sort of meld, and the point of the variegated yarn was to make the pattern fade in and out. It is tricky to pull off… I have another sweater that I want to do that requires the same treatment so I am once again consumed with color angst.

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    1. Thank you! My grandmother used to tell me that it never shows how long it took you to do something, only how well it was done. I kind of chant that to myself as I rip and restart with different colors/strategies.

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