Off The Needles And On The Body

It is finished. The seaming turned out to be more of an issue for my back than for my psyche. As any one with two brain cells could have predicted, I should have conserved energy for the weaving in of ends. Too Many Ends on Isolt - which I have lovingly renamed L-isolt in honor of moi. Cast on, cast off, start seam, end seam, crab stitch.

I strongly suggest that if, as a matter of course, you do not already weave in ends as you go, you take up the habit prior to beginning the pattern. This is not intarsia. It is motif work.

And now suggestions:

• Getting row gauge matters here. Pointy spots have a place to be - and that place is exactly next to another pointy spot. One particular motif gave me fits. Thus I am especially pleased that I blocked each piece next to all of its final mates and was able to 'squish down'. But don't tell the knitting police.
• Working front exactly as back fit all of my pointy and lumpy spots.
• When at all possible, work the two motifs at the same time - one for the front and one for the back. It helps with accuracy in final seaming. Well, this and getting the row gauge correct.
  
• Take absolutely no care in binding off the cowl neck. No care what so ever. On the first attempt I worked a beautiful and smooth and consistent bind off on the slippery Seduce. On the second attempt, I worked the most sloppy, uneven, ugly loose and loopy bind off in the history of bad knitting. Works like a charm! The stockinette of the cowl rolls back on itself and no one in public will see the loopy stitches. But it slides silky over and down my swelled head that resulted from actually finishing this beauty.