Is It Time For The Olympics?

 In  2010 and 2014,  I  chose to participate in the Olympic Knitting Challenge.  You know the one.  You cast on for a project during the opening ceremonies and if finished before the end of the closing ceremonies, Voila! you are a knitting Olympian.

 In 2010, I knit Elizabeth Zimmermann's Green Sweater.  Sport weight yarn and 'different' construction.  I knit and knit and knit.    I finished in  time but I had sore arms, sore wrists, sore shoulders.

In 2014, I wisely chose  a heavier yarn.  I knit a sweater with chunky weight yarn, BUT  with lace work.  It, I finished without as much pain and even with a teeny bit of time to spare.

But neither of the above sweaters could come close to the speedy finish of Glenora.  Started Thursday September 17 and finished Sunday September 27.  Ten days.  A record for me.  Mind you twice as long as it took the designer.  She reports knitting one of her versions in 5 days.  No fair!  I ate and slept.

Glenora too is knit with Chunky weight yarn but it is a very unstructured design.  A no-sew unstructured design.  The end product has a very 'organic' look.  I love it.

Pattern:  Glenora by Elizabeth McCarten. A great design.  A well written  pattern.

Needles:  6.5mm

Yarn:  Sable Soft by Kertzer.  I purchased mine several years ago intending to knit a different design.  I knit the back, two sleeves and one front before abandoning it as something that looked better on paper than knitted up.

Mods:  None.  I knit Glenora exactly as the pattern suggested.  Yikes.  Who am I and what the  heck did I do with Brenda?

Next Time:  The collar of Glenora is knit as one with the sweater.  As such, when it rolls, the underside is what you see.

This could be righted simply by reversing the wrong and right side rows once the collar is started.  But then, would it looks as 'organic' as the designer planned?
Probably not.

Below, you see the sleeves above the shoulders as the cable that is a feature of both sleeves and collar  continues on to form part of the  collar.

 

 Unique and great design.  Thanks, Elizabeth.

What I like about my Glenora:  It has, as Elizabeth states, a nice close fit in the bust and shoulders while at the same time a lovely A-line flare to the bottom.

  

The combination of the close-fitting top  with the bottom looseness, gives Glenora a delightfully modern, stylish flare.  I like it.

 Mine is very light-weight.  This is in part due,  no doubt, to the yarn I chose.  But the slightly larger- than-normal needle helps too.

Glenora is designed for speed knitting.  It is a one-piece, no-sew design with no finishes.  No bottom or cuff ribbing,  no button bands.   No trim of any kind.

Above, you see the bottom, cuff and centre fronts.  All trim-less.

The collar is worked as  simply an extension of the sweater.

 

 Draped over the back of the chesterfield, it is easy to see how the collar simply grows out of the sweater. 

A totally trim-less sweater. The non-finished edges help to give Glenora its very modern look.  And certainly helps with making it a quick knit.

Elizabeth shows Glenora  closing only at the top of the sweater with either  a   shawl pin or  three buttons.  I love that partially  unbuttoned look.  It makes Glenora appear to be and feel like  an 'easy' wear.

  

 I have closed mine here with a shawl pin, but am off this afternoon to buy buttons.  Three gorgeous buttons.

I have been wanting an autumn sweater and Glenora fits the bill perfectly.  It was a fun knit, a quick knit.  Perfect for my next Olympic project.

 

 Because I can sure see more of these in my wardrobe.