Twisted Me!
Several months ago I added a pattern to my queue that caught my eye because of how it was constructed. It was knit in one piece from one sleeve, across the body, all the way to the end of the other sleeve. The only seaming was from back to front and along the sleeves. I was intrigued.
Pattern: Rachel (It is now available at that link for free!)
Wading through my stash, I found some suitable yarn and immediately swatched.
I used Blue Moon Fibers Twisted in Valkyrie. The gauge was bang on.
Yay!
But, there my interested ended, and the pattern, yarn, and swatch languished for months on end.
Saturday a week ago found me moving from one lace project to another with very little enthusiasm. I was tired of using little needles on socks and shawls with only slight signs of progress. I wanted something quick, easy, and, perhaps, somewhat mindless. No offense to the Rachels out there, but the pattern Rachel came to mind.
Well, a week later and I have a finished object!
Double Yay!
I originally had three skeins of Valkyrie, two were dark and one was noticeably lighter. The pattern estimated some 1600 yards of Aran weight. So, I split the lighter skein into two equal balls with the thought of alternating a dark skein with the lighter skein for the first sleeve, moving on to alternating two dark skeins for the body, then finishing the second sleeve with a dark skein and the remaining half of the lighter skein. What happened is that I ended up not needing to use the second dark skein at all, because the sweater used less than 1100 yards in total.
Part of me is kicking myself because it would have looked lovely knitted only in the dark skeins, but the other part of me (the practical, be happy with what you have side), thinks the unintended vertical stripes are sort of subtle and definitely slimming. If you think that is confusing, you should really hear the other conversations in my head.
In any event, I LOVE this new sweater. When I tried it on over a t-shirt yesterday afternoon I thought it may have been a bit snug; however, last night, I put it on without the t-shirt and was delighted with the fit. I am now eyeing the Malabrigo in my stash to make another one...
Finishing a sweater and immediately wanting to cast on for another is a wonderful thing!
Pattern: Rachel (It is now available at that link for free!)
Wading through my stash, I found some suitable yarn and immediately swatched.
I used Blue Moon Fibers Twisted in Valkyrie. The gauge was bang on.
Yay!
But, there my interested ended, and the pattern, yarn, and swatch languished for months on end.
Saturday a week ago found me moving from one lace project to another with very little enthusiasm. I was tired of using little needles on socks and shawls with only slight signs of progress. I wanted something quick, easy, and, perhaps, somewhat mindless. No offense to the Rachels out there, but the pattern Rachel came to mind.
Well, a week later and I have a finished object!
Double Yay!
I originally had three skeins of Valkyrie, two were dark and one was noticeably lighter. The pattern estimated some 1600 yards of Aran weight. So, I split the lighter skein into two equal balls with the thought of alternating a dark skein with the lighter skein for the first sleeve, moving on to alternating two dark skeins for the body, then finishing the second sleeve with a dark skein and the remaining half of the lighter skein. What happened is that I ended up not needing to use the second dark skein at all, because the sweater used less than 1100 yards in total.
Part of me is kicking myself because it would have looked lovely knitted only in the dark skeins, but the other part of me (the practical, be happy with what you have side), thinks the unintended vertical stripes are sort of subtle and definitely slimming. If you think that is confusing, you should really hear the other conversations in my head.
In any event, I LOVE this new sweater. When I tried it on over a t-shirt yesterday afternoon I thought it may have been a bit snug; however, last night, I put it on without the t-shirt and was delighted with the fit. I am now eyeing the Malabrigo in my stash to make another one...
Finishing a sweater and immediately wanting to cast on for another is a wonderful thing!
Comments
; )
There is an ice rink in San Antonio. I have been thinking I may have to learn how to ice skate or play hockey to be able to wear my hand knitted good. Ha!