Celtic Cable Dress

On the morning of April 6th Sharon and I dressed and headed out to her vehicle on a mission.  With her GPS, this magazine, and our spending money we found our way to St. Cloud, MN to visit "Craft's Direct".

We were told about this store one afternoon while shopping at"Amazing Threads".  Sharon was looking for Lopi yarn she wanted for a sweater.  Crafts Direct did carry the Lopi yarn, but I was disappointed by the limited selection of yarns that they did carry.

I was looking for a yarn to knit a dress that I call the "Celtic Cable Dress, inspired by the sweater pictured on the cover of this magazine.  Selecting the yarn for my project wasn't easy.  I felt the Paton's wool yarn was to expensive at $6.99, when I can buy it at Michael's on sale for $3.99.  Trying to avoid "pink" I liked hues of purples, and blues but finally decided on Cascade 220 Heathers, Lichen.  At $6.99 a skein, this was a better buy than the Paton's and I thought that this color would bring out the color of my eyes.  I purchased ten skeins, and a a 24" cable, size 7, addi TURBO knitting needle.

Sharon and I spent a good part of the day at this huge store.  They carry just about everything and anything any crafter might desire.  We stopped and had lunch at The Coffee Cup Cafe, before making another stop at Becker Furniture World.  The two of us walked around the huge show room for hours.  A sales woman helping us suggested we see the furnished house located in the back corner of the store.  Sharon and I decided to move in.  Sharon could be the Queen and I would be the Princess and our entire family would be jealous.  We figure when we get tired of the furniture already there, we would just exchange it.  We'd have the
perfect residence.

Sharon bought a recliner and brought it home with part of it in the back seat, and part of it in the trunk.  We struggled, but finally got the chair out of the trunk and into her home.  "See Sharon," I said, "women can do anything."

My fingers were aching to begin my project so that evening I casted on stitches to swatch my gauge and figuring 20 stitches and 28 rows to 4 inches I decided to follow the pattern instructions for the large size.  This was inaccurate, however and after sewing the shoulder seems I felt the dress was going to be too snug.

Sharon, a more experienced knitter, suggested that rather than taking it out and beginning again, that I make panels to insert between the side seams.  What a terrific idea.  I knit two cable panels, one for each side, and after sewing them to the dress, the fit was perfect.

I finished knitting this dress on April 26th, twenty days from the beginning.

Sharon holding up the dress for this photo.

Me modeling my dress.