Retakes

Published on Saturday August 11th, 2007

I’ve found that it’s particularly easy to soften your husband towards the idea of cafes au lait, brioches, and canelets if he’s spent the early hours of the morning helping you clean the house prior to the arrival of your entire family. He hardly even blinked when I suggested that the camera might accompany us for some retakes of Brigitte. So off we all went to St. Honore, which was hopping. Finally there was a hiccup in the stream of salivating customers, so we took these:

brigitte810_1.jpg

brigitte810_2.jpg

brigitte810_3.jpg

Brigitte, née Bergere de France Pull Ouvert, for the Tour de France Knit-along

Yarn: Bergereine, 50% wool, 50% cotton, 9+ skeins créole and 2 skeins gomme; The Fiber Co. Savannah, merino, cotton, and other natural goodies, 1 skein crimson

Needles: US #4 and #6

8-29 July 2007. . . a new land-speed record for sweater knitting by yours truly.

Modifications: Translated from the French, front cross reverse engineered from the (excellent) pattern photos after the written directions went up in smoke, back shaping altered to accommodate a full collar, new yarn substituted for the originally intended “curry” to make the sweater more wearable outside hunting season.

Impressions: I’m glad I gave this intriguing pattern a shot. It wore me out and my hands were sore for a week after I finished because I logged so many hours trying to make my end-of-Tour deadline. This sweater was a lot of work and probably would have taken me months to complete without the knitalong, but it seems to be pretty wearable. The bulk of the fabric and the torque of the zig-zag pattern made for rather hefty shoulders; I almost feel as if I ought to pad them out, 1940’s style. If I sort of tug and pat them into place, they’re not too bad. As much as the torsades (cables) were a pain with the interlocking yarns, I love the way they look.

brigitte_detail.jpg

I also love the effect of the twisted rib — too bad it’s such tortuous knitting for us throwers. Mr. G’s Fishtrap Aran was also essentially a whole mess of twisted rib. It seems I’m drawn to those snug, natty stitch columns, no matter how long it takes me to work them.

Speaking of tortuous knitting, next time I’ll reveal the big wedding stole plans. I think you’ll be impressed. Heck, I’ll be awfully impressed with myself if I can pull this one off by next May.

36 Comments to “Retakes”

  1. Mandy Comment Says:

    Um. Where do you get your hair cut again? Gorgeous! (And so is the sweater.) I love St. Honore! Have you had their beet salad?

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  3. gleek Comment Says:

    i love it! great photos πŸ™‚ i didn’t realize that twisted rib was torture to throwers. kaitlyn said that she didn’t like the twisted rib on charades and now i know why!

  4. Jenna Comment Says:

    I’m in awe. And in love! That’s a gorgeous, gorgeous sweater. If you ever wish to share your english translation notes (incomplete, error prone is perfectly fine with me, as long as I can see the original too), I’d love to check it out.

  5. Sandra Comment Says:

    oh, wow, gorgeous!!!

    and the sweater look ok, too. πŸ˜‰ hee hee. kidding, naturally. another wonderful display of your mad knitting skillz. πŸ™‚

  6. Lisa Comment Says:

    Amazing, as always. Congrats on setting your very own land-speed record!

  7. minnie Comment Says:

    lovely, lovely, lovely. and you can do the stole! just figure out how many rows per day/week you need to get done, then give yourself some wiggle room, and set a goal. (this from the woman who never did cast on the shawl for her wedding, lol)

    i have faith!

  8. Emma Comment Says:

    It looks amazing. When I first saw the pattern on your blog, I was a little confused by it but you really did wonders with it. It’s great. Congratulations!

  9. emily Comment Says:

    Brigitte is lovely! nice work.

  10. schrodinger Comment Says:

    Brigitte is gorgeous on you!! Congrats on making the deadline. So nice of hubby to be okay taking photos of you and brigitte at the bakery πŸ™‚

  11. tiennie Comment Says:

    It really is beautiful and flattering on you! Love the shots in the bakery!

  12. thursday Comment Says:

    Wow! You’d never know it feels bulky to you – it looks gorgeous on you! And the background is quite appropriate, too – looks like a fun place to go (Yum – I love breads of all kinds).

    I’d be frightened to even try that knit (especially after the warning that twisted ribbing is torture for us throwers…uh oh). Congratulations on finishing so quickly!

  13. Karma Comment Says:

    So beautiful. The colors work well together and the shape looks fantastic on you. I know you think the shoulders look a little “hefty”, but on your slender frame they work very well. Let us know what you think of (knitting with and wearing) 50/50 wool/cotton, please!

  14. Brenda Comment Says:

    Lovely! Well done! Amazing that you were able to knit it so quickly as it is so complicated. Excellent colors.

  15. meg Comment Says:

    Thanks to you and Mr G for going through the trials and tribulations of yet another trip to St Honore so that we may see these gorgeous photos!

  16. Katie Comment Says:

    I’m afraid someone at Knit-Purl let me in on your secret. I promise I won’t tell – just get yourself tons of hand lotion;)

  17. Alana Comment Says:

    Vraiment belle!! I love the colours you ended up using. I hope you get lots of wear out of it as the cooler weather approaches.

  18. stacey Comment Says:

    Beautiful!!!! I too am always drawn to the twisted rib. I too am a thrower. Sigh….

  19. carrie m Comment Says:

    it’s really, truly stunning. i’m blown away. and the photos are a dream. i’d be too shy to take photos in a coffee shop, but it’s totally worth it.

  20. Nonnahs Comment Says:

    So cute! And the boulangerie setting is perfect.

  21. Veronique Comment Says:

    I’m a thrower, not a picker, and I’m confused as to why twisted stitches would be more difficult… To me, they seem as easy as non-twisted stitches! Am I missing something?
    And to add to my confusion: I’ve never heard of a canelet! I had to google it to find that it’s a specialty of Bordeaux, in the south west, and I come from the north east of France.
    But here’s one thing I’m not confused about: Brigitte is lovely! Congrats πŸ™‚

  22. Katie Comment Says:

    Gorgeous!
    and now I want a pastry.

  23. Katherine Comment Says:

    Hurray! What gorgeous pictures. Brigitte looks great on you! The color fits the pattern very well.

  24. Rose Comment Says:

    Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous!

  25. Adam Comment Says:

    Wow, that is a stunning Brigitte! The colors are perfect, and you did a great job! And congrats on the new record, that’s a pretty fast knit! Good thing your arms didn’t fall off, cause then you wouldn’t be able to wear your lovely sweater jacket πŸ™‚

  26. Debby Comment Says:

    It looks even more gorgeous — I can see why you are drawn to it! I love the overlapping cable in the front.

    Please start a support group for knitters drawn to torturous knits. I will join in minute! Can’t wait to see your wedding stole plans…

  27. rebecca Comment Says:

    That is one stunning piece of knitting! Bravo!

  28. Mary-Heather Comment Says:

    Those pictures are cute as punch! Great sweater!

    Looking forward to seeing your wedding stole plans… I’m currently spinning the yarn for a wrap that I plan to design and knit before my wedding next July… I alternate between being really excited and freaked out about it. πŸ˜‰

  29. Jennifer Comment Says:

    Wow, what a beautiful intricate piece! Love the photos too. πŸ™‚

  30. merete Comment Says:

    you are so completely audrey hepburn. the sweater suits you very well and is some pretty knitting.

  31. Andrea (knitting mum) Comment Says:

    Hi,

    love your blog and your knits. I tagged you – just have a look on my website. It is in German, but I think you will easily understand πŸ™‚

    Andrea

  32. craptina Comment Says:

    Wow. Thanks for the extra photos, I love seeing your work. Mr. Garter always makes it look lovely.

  33. lanajoh Comment Says:

    It’s fabulous! It looks amazing, you did a wonderful job.

  34. Sue Comment Says:

    I have to say that is a really beautiful sweater and looks wonderful on you too. Great color and lovely pattern.

  35. jess Comment Says:

    wow! this looks like it was quite the translation project! it definitely paid off – your sweater is lovely and just damned interesting. and will you PLEASE stop posting photos that make everyone want to move to portland? πŸ˜‰

    hope you’re well.

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