St Brigid’s got back

jody

St Brigid: back done

I finally cast off the back yesterday.
It took longer than I expected because I had to decide how I wanted to do the hood on the front in order to determine how many stitches to allocate to each shoulder. I think I’ve come up with a great plan — I’m really excited and can’t wait to see how the front hood transition works.
I wanted to block the back before I cast on for the front. I needed to make sure it blocked out to the measurements I expected — and if not, come up with a plan for the front that would take that into account. Fortunately, it blocked out well and I’m good to go without any further mods to the front.
You may be wondering why I didn’t do any neck shaping. This is because the saddle will create that neck shaping. So, all I had to do was slope the shoulders a bit. I’m still a little concerned with how I’m going to attach the saddles to the pieces, but I have a long way to go before I get to try that out.
oops
St Brigid: mistake

I only had 8 rows left on the back when I looked down and realized I missed crossing the center cable about 10 rows down. I knew if I didn’t fix it right away I might end up avoiding it for a while, so I knit to that point and dropped down that section and re-knit it. After a wet block I can’t tell (phew!)
pictures are hard
Getting pics of something as big and textured as the back wasn’t easy.
St Brigid: staging

First, I placed it on my coffee table and propped it up with one of my all-time favorite cookbooks*. I got good lighting but I couldn’t keep the camera steady enough.
Of course, I couldn’t tell that in my viewfinder, so it wasn’t until I saw them on my screen that I realized I needed more pics.
St Brigid: staging

Finally, the one that worked was propping it on the side of the coffee table and resting my camera on the step stool. It’s still not perfect though. You might be wondering why I didn’t just use the tripod. I’m wondering the same thing.
* My favorite cookbook — CookWise by Shirley Corriher. It’s no wonder this book got a James Beard Award for 1998 Cookbook of the Year. She doesn’t just give you good recipes, she explains why things work and don’t. In 1970 she divorced her husband and had to find a way to support her three boys. She’s a biochemist by training and was the cook at the boys’ school she and her husband founded, so she tuned to cooking. After 30 years in the food profession, she wrote Cookwise — teaching you things like how to determine if a recipe is appropriately leavened, and why you need to do things like cream butter and sugar a lot — it’s the bubbles! I love her approach. She gives us the knowledge we need to create great food on our own, and includes recipes for lots of staples like breadbaking, pie crust, cookies and cakes, cooking proteins (meats), and making non-lumpy sauces. And since it was published exactly 10 years ago today, I thought it was a sign that I should give her a little plug.

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34 thoughts on “St Brigid’s got back”

  2. It’s looking really good Jody. I haven’t touched mine due to my mistake. I was tempted just to pop it off the needle and unravel. I really think 4 stitches is too short to cut. My mom did try to duplicate. It looked good but it was the wrong cable. On the right one it was too lumpy. Knit on baby!

  4. It looks great! I’m glad you have a plan in place for your hood already.
    Thanks for the cookbook mention, too. It sounds really interesting!

  9. Your St. Brigid is looking lovely. That pattern is certainly in my to-dos. I’m really looking forward to seeing your adjustments to make it your own.

  10. i just can’t get over how beautiful that color is. i love it!
    are you spit splicing or weaving in as you go?
    can’t wait to see the hood!

  15. Nice job, especially on fixing that cable right away! I totally agree on Cookwise. Though I have to say I haven’t actually cooked many recipes from it, I have learned a lot by reading it. I love to watch Alton Brown’s Good Eats for the same reasons. In fact , he’s had Shirley on. Have you seen it?

  16. The cables are fabulous. And I was just admiring your photography skills… didn’t realize half of your post was going to be about your secrets! :)

  18. It looks wonderful!!
    What’s next? Front or sleeve? I like to knit a sleeve early in the process. It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.

  21. breath-taking cables. wow!
    I have fixed cables that way too and find it works well all though a bit fiddlely. I had to drop 22 stitches twice on the Cardigan for Arwen that I am working on to fix rows of cables I completely messed up. It was worth it.

  24. That has got to be the prettiest sweater back I’ve ever seen. I love the cable patterns and the color. I cannot wait to the the FO.

  25. St. Brigid’s beautiful! Thanks for the cookbook recommendation, that’s why I love Cooks Illustrated, they explain the science behind wha t makes somethings taste better than others.

  29. She’s beautiful! And looks so fantastic all blocked. Can’t wait to hear how you do the hood part.
    Shirley! I’ve seen her on “Good Eats” but never knew she had a book. I’ll have to head over to Barnes & Noble and check it out.

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