Spud! Part Deux

Hello! A friend, who happens to be an EXCELLENT knitter, recently pointed out to me that I've been slacking on my blog lately.  This message was exactly the kick in the butt I needed to get back blogging.  It was sweet of her to use the word "slacking" because the right word would be neglecting.  And before you ask, no, I didn't forget I had a blog, but simply was neglecting it.  I've even had a lot to write about!  Today I'm going to go back in time to July to talk about knitting Spud from Spud & Chloe at the Farm. 

Now, back in July I did a post about starting to knit Spud.  You can find that post here: Spud!  At that point I had just started Spud and was working on his body.  I've now completed Spud and let me say that I love him!  

The body was actually the slowest part of the knit, especially with doing all those twisted loops to create his wool.  I was pretty motivated to finish his body so that I could be done with those twisted loops.  I might have even said things such as "I don't know if I would knit this again....!"  However, now that some time as passed since I knit him, I can say that I would definitely knit him again. 

In my Ravelry notes I wrote that I cast on for the body on 7/13 and finished the body on 7/24 - that's only 11 days! The rest of the body really flew by - the head, the legs, the ears, the hair, and the tail.  I think I finished knitting all 4 legs in about an hour or so.  Oh! And he has a bow tie & collar! The hair and bow tie really made him, if you ask me.  The only part I left out was the leash.  

For this project I tried out the Knitter's Pride Karbonz double pointed needles.  I've previously knit with the Karbonz straight needles and circulars, both of which I loved.  The double pointed needles did not disappoint.  They might actually be my favorite double pointed needles.  The only problem I had with them is that the tip of the needle is very sharp.  Now, a sharp needle isn't really a problem and normally that's my preference.  It was when I was knitting the body of Spud that I specifically had a problem.  I think that I was knitting on the tighter side and it was a little difficult to knit the decreases - the knit 2 together stitches.  And by a little difficult I mean somewhat painful because the needle is that sharp.  However, I did survive injury free and it wouldn't prevent me from buying another pair of these needles.

This knit along also served as a great lesson in gauge.  In the photo below, three were knit with Spud & Chloe Sweater on size US 4 needles.  The littlest sheep was knit using Spud & Chloe fine.  We all do truly have our own unique tension (gauge) that we knit at :o)

Ravelry Project Page: Spud!
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) double pointed needles (Knitter's Pride Karbonz)
Yarn: Spud & Chloe Sweater in Ice Cream, Toast, & Turquoise
Approx. time frame: 7/13 to 8/20 - Note that it didn't take that long to actually knit; I'd estimate the total knitting time at less than a week if you worked on in throughout the week.