Finished: Beau
The Specs:
-Pattern: Beau, by Kim Hargreaves from Rowan Vintage Knits.
-Yarn: Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran.
-Skeins: a little over 7 skeins in the color Muffin.
-Needles: size 6 for the ribbing, size 7 for the rest.
-Buttons: vintage, from the stash.
-Start to finish: November 4 – December 8.
-For: my brother-in-law Natey for Christmas.
Notes: I knitted the second smallest size and, apart from having to go down a needle size to get gauge (something that rarely happens since I tend to knit tightly), I just followed the pattern as written. Man-sweaters are just big squares, so there isn't much to change.
The Yarn: I really like the way the fabric knitted up. It's an aran weight but it's still nice and light. Also, even though it's not a yarn I'd necessarily classify as soft (it's just plain old wool from what I can tell), it's not itchy. You could knit with this stuff with no pants on, if you were so inclined. To bad they've discontinued it.
The Pattern: Easy-peasy people. The design is interesting without being technically challenging and it's not so fussy that your guy'll refuse to wear it (well, I'm sure there are some exceptions out there but we can't please everybody all the time). I might have to make one of these for Thunky sometime. I do have that RYTA I was going to use for Finn.
Knitterly Confession: I set in both of the sleeves wrong-ways out. But you would never have known if I hadn't told you, right?
Final Verdict: We won't know for sure until Christmas, but I think we can safely call this one a winner. If Natey doesn't like it I'll knit him something else and give this one to Thunk.
We couldn't resist doing our own Rowan hottie shot. Here's the original for comparison. All we're lacking is some ivy, a few days stubble and a French accent.
Comments
The sweater is magnificent - beautiful and so wonderfully finished, and the "Rowan hottie" shot is great. Perfectly executed! Who needs the ivy and stubble and accent?
Posted by: Lori | December 11, 2006 8:53 PM
this is fabulous! :) I like your rowan-copy-cat pose :)
Posted by: Jen da Purse Ho | December 11, 2006 9:04 PM
I love it! My brother mentioned a while back that he might like this... good thing he doesn't read knit blogs.
Posted by: laura b | December 11, 2006 9:19 PM
Very nice. Very nice, indeed.
Posted by: Dave | December 11, 2006 9:21 PM
Natey must love it.. or you can give it to B. hee hee..
Posted by: yaiAnn | December 11, 2006 9:25 PM
Awesome Rowan shoot! Love it--and the sweater. And what a good sport Thunk is!
Posted by: Ashley | December 11, 2006 9:34 PM
Beau looks great and your photos, the setting and the model are fantastic!
Posted by: erin | December 11, 2006 9:37 PM
Lovely (in a very masculine way, of course)! Such masterly modelling too.
Posted by: Rachel | December 11, 2006 9:53 PM
It looks great!
Posted by: nat | December 11, 2006 9:53 PM
I love it, it looks great! I was thinking of making this for my boyfriend and was sad that they discontinued the yarn...
Posted by: Brooke | December 11, 2006 10:25 PM
That's a gorgeous sweater and I'm sure Natey will love it!
Posted by: lyn | December 11, 2006 10:25 PM
It's great - and got a big thumbs up from my bf.
Posted by: Lauren | December 11, 2006 10:27 PM
Wow, it came out awesome. I bet the intended recipient will adore it. I was on the line about purchasing Vintage Style, and your Beau tipped me in its favor.
Posted by: Stef | December 11, 2006 10:32 PM
I love your photoshoot! Great sweater, too.
Posted by: grumperina | December 11, 2006 10:37 PM
Looks like a winner, and I love your pictures.
Posted by: Areli | December 11, 2006 10:40 PM
Gorgeous! Your model did a great job too :)
Posted by: BrownPants | December 11, 2006 11:02 PM
the model is perfect in the role! great sweater too!
Posted by: jacqueline | December 11, 2006 11:04 PM
It's gorgeous!! I love your photos, too.
Posted by: caitlyn | December 11, 2006 11:04 PM
I dare say your model is hotter and it has the bonus of a gratuitous butt shot. Woo!
Posted by: Firefly Kelly | December 11, 2006 11:09 PM
hehe, I love that last picture. I'm sure Beau will be a much loved gift.
Posted by: joy | December 11, 2006 11:23 PM
Fabulous! I love the photo shoot too.
Posted by: Meredith | December 11, 2006 11:31 PM
What a great sweater! Great photos too :)
Posted by: Heather | December 12, 2006 12:01 AM
Beautiful sweater! Nice photos and model.
Posted by: Chery | December 12, 2006 12:02 AM
I don't know which I like better, the sweater or the photo shoot. And your model is great, too. Is "Thunk" short for "The Hunk"? :-)
Posted by: kmkat | December 12, 2006 12:55 AM
I love the pics.
Posted by: Zonnah | December 12, 2006 2:14 AM
Great sweater, which I will show my husband to prove to him that I could knit him something nice! He doesn't believe in handknits!
Posted by: Lin | December 12, 2006 2:54 AM
Congratulations on finishing this great looking sweater... excellent photos to.
Posted by: Maryann | December 12, 2006 4:02 AM
Oh, my God, this is not just beautiful, it is magnificent. If the guy doesn’t like it, there must be something completely wrong with him.
Fantastic knit, bravo!
Oh, and the photo shot does disserves some special attention, very nice and artistic!!!
Posted by: Ana | December 12, 2006 5:06 AM
Beautiful sweater - fabulous photos!!
Posted by: Marie | December 12, 2006 5:59 AM
ditto on all! great sweater, great photos!
Posted by: leslie | December 12, 2006 6:54 AM
He makes a great model. I wish my husband would wear sweaters. I so want to make him something. But he has hats and gloves. He won't wear scarves and he doesn't want me to make hime any socks. So that leaves sweaters. But he says that they are too preppy. *He is the cowboy/hunter type. You know a manly man, as he would say.
Posted by: britt | December 12, 2006 7:23 AM
Nice job! Beau turned out really nicely and I'm sure Nate will love it. Great photoshoot, too. Thunk is such a good knitting sidekick!
Posted by: Kelly | December 12, 2006 7:54 AM
gorgeous sweater! but i love the pictures even more!
Posted by: blossom | December 12, 2006 8:17 AM
Elli, that is gorgeous! Both the sweater, and the photos, and the Thunk! :-)
Posted by: terhi | December 12, 2006 8:21 AM
Ze model, he must learn to do ze slouch, too. My husband has that same Indiana Jones hat! 2007 resolution number 1 is to have Beau done by his birthday at the end of March (when the temp will start getting too warm to wear it).
Posted by: Cristina | December 12, 2006 8:21 AM
It's lovely! Your copycat photo is killing me, lady. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with a man who seemingly likes to pose in sweaters.
Posted by: Adrian | December 12, 2006 8:23 AM
That is one handsome sweater!
Posted by: Pat | December 12, 2006 8:32 AM
Great sweater and great photos - especially the train track shots.
Posted by: Delica | December 12, 2006 8:34 AM
That came out great! Simple, but with enough design to keep it interesting!
Posted by: stacey | December 12, 2006 8:50 AM
i laughed so hard with such giddiness over the photos that my coworker demanded to see what i was reading...
she clearly didn't understand.
it looks great, but really the photoshoot makes this one of my all time favorite posts. thanks!
Posted by: j a r e d | December 12, 2006 9:36 AM
What a winner sweater! Your brother-in-law will love it.
Posted by: nona | December 12, 2006 9:47 AM
omg - this came out fabulous! what yarn did you use?!?!?!
Posted by: eca | December 12, 2006 9:56 AM
OOhhh! Love the shot of the back with the tracks twisting off in the distance. And the mock Rowan shot is fabulous! Well done.
Posted by: mandy | December 12, 2006 10:00 AM
Gorgeous sweater! Too bad the yarn color is called muffin :) Great photo shoot, BTW. The hat really makes it!
Posted by: jillian | December 12, 2006 10:13 AM
Awesome awesome awesome! Thunk is working the hell out of that sweater, and that Rowan shot is totally righteous.
If your BIL doesn't like that sweater, he is wrong in de hed. Seriously, have never seen a better sweater.
Posted by: Kim | December 12, 2006 10:16 AM
The sweater looks wonderful! and the Rowan shot is almost exactly like the original.
Posted by: Jessica | December 12, 2006 10:18 AM
Love your photoshoot! Super fun.
Posted by: ellie | December 12, 2006 10:47 AM
Lucky guy! Nice model too!
Posted by: Peg | December 12, 2006 10:48 AM
Thanks for such a lovely visual experience. Fab!
Posted by: JulieFrick | December 12, 2006 10:48 AM
The sweater is just beautiful, and the photoshoot looks like it was so much fun to do. :)
Posted by: Amy | December 12, 2006 11:04 AM
the sweater looks great! and the modeling shots are fabulous!
Posted by: nova | December 12, 2006 11:06 AM
Beautiful sweater and I love the color. And finished with days to go before Christmas-impressive!
Posted by: brooke | December 12, 2006 11:24 AM
So nice! Woohoo! Your photo shoots are the best! What camera do you have? Looks like a good one.
Posted by: Julia | December 12, 2006 11:46 AM
Wow. It looks fantastic! Bravo! And excellent pictures!
Posted by: Allegra | December 12, 2006 11:48 AM
Fabulous! Your photoshoot is wonderful!
Posted by: Steph | December 12, 2006 12:02 PM
Your pics look better than the originals! Beau looks fantastic! Yay!
Posted by: Kara | December 12, 2006 12:30 PM
Thunk is better than Rowan. Your leading shot is awesome - love the railroad tracks. This is a wonderful gift.
Posted by: Julia | December 12, 2006 12:52 PM
*snort*
I love the comparison shot. And the sweater looks fantatsic, too!
P.S. Hi! Nice blog!
Posted by: Specs | December 12, 2006 1:22 PM
Perfect! But why with a French accent?! Because of the name of the seater?
Posted by: laptitelili | December 12, 2006 1:22 PM
this is Dynomite! And your photoshoot is far better than rowan... awesome job!
Posted by: margaux | December 12, 2006 1:29 PM
Oh Elli, it's beau-tiful. I have my tahki donegal tweed all set to make this for my hubby. can't wait to show him these pics. BRAVO!
Posted by: amanda | December 12, 2006 3:52 PM
The sweater looks great! And very well modeled! I like your Rowan shot better than the original. Thunk looks like he has showered recently and the sweater won't need cleaning after every wear.
Posted by: Brenda | December 12, 2006 4:55 PM
Hurrah! Great knitting and wonderful photo shoot.
Posted by: Daphne | December 12, 2006 5:02 PM
Yay! What a beautiful sweater!!! Love the rugged, requisite "twing-in-the-mouth" shot.
Posted by: allison | December 12, 2006 6:43 PM
They should have used your model for the shot instead;D
He wears that sweater well.
Posted by: Nik | December 12, 2006 8:09 PM
LOVE the photo shoot! Everything is great!
Posted by: domesticat | December 12, 2006 8:47 PM
Oh! This looks amazing. What a terrific job. I love the color and your photos are just great! Thanks for all the details.
Posted by: sonja poor | December 12, 2006 9:04 PM
wow!!! Beau turned out super awesome Eli. Those pictures are marvelous.
Posted by: vanessa | December 12, 2006 10:34 PM
I love it! Especially the copycat photo with the wheat in the mouth. Great detail.
Posted by: Cookie | December 12, 2006 11:02 PM
I think your hottie is hotter than Rowan's.
Hmmm.. and the sweater's nice to. ;-)
Posted by: LaurieM | December 12, 2006 11:03 PM
Perfect!!I love all ;>
Posted by: joujouka | December 13, 2006 8:00 AM
okay, i just realized i asked what yarn you used when you had it posted HAHAHHA - but lovely lovely none the less!
Posted by: eca | December 13, 2006 8:44 AM
We like your hottie picture, and guy better, luuuuckeee is all we can say.
Posted by: Renee | December 13, 2006 9:21 AM
Beautiful sweater, and fabulous photography! Love the Rowan-esque pose.
Posted by: Jodi | December 13, 2006 10:34 AM
Gorgeous model, sweater, and photography!
Posted by: Jouf | December 13, 2006 12:55 PM
Absolutely fabulous.
Posted by: Stephanie | December 13, 2006 1:52 PM
thunkie looks funny.
YOU HAVE 76 COMMENTS ON YOUR BLOG. (now 77) THAT IS JUST RIDICULOUS. ARE YOU EVEN READING ALL OF THESE???
crazy.
Posted by: krickie | December 13, 2006 5:12 PM
What a great job and awesome sweater! I've passed on that pattern before (perhaps BECAUSE of the model), but you have really opened my eyes to that as a contender for the hub.
And Thunk's pictures rawk!
Posted by: Nanc | December 14, 2006 12:56 PM
Wow, what can I say? I love your Rowan shot, but you really outdid Rowan themselves with the railroad shot - they could learn something from you!
Great to see the sweater modeled too. I've got the yorkshire tweed yarn ready and my husband will definitely be getting one :)
Thanks for the great photos, they're stuff blog dreams are made of.
Posted by: Stephanie | December 16, 2006 8:36 AM
Yay! I know I'm nearly a month late to the party, but I'm so pleased you did that Rowan shot! The sweater is gorgeous, and the same could certainly be said for your husband :)
Posted by: Philippa | December 30, 2006 12:38 PM
Oh my! I did the same shot last November. And I thought my husband was so unique in being a good sport... Also I told him he couldn't shave for two days before I took it.
Posted by: Emily | January 6, 2007 12:11 AM
The photos are just fabulous! (So is the sweater!)
Posted by: Distant Knitter | January 6, 2007 3:18 PM
That's a wonderful sweater. Beautiful job--you inspire me!
Posted by: Jess | January 14, 2007 6:57 PM
hey i love that sweater.I would love to make one for my brother but cant find the pattern, would it be possible for you to email it to me?
Plese reply tittimireya@yahoo.com.ar
Thanks
Posted by: Brigitte | October 4, 2007 10:16 AM