Sweaters

I've probably given up on about half the sweaters that I ever started. And, if I finish a sweater, there's a good chance that no one will actually wear it without serious adjustments. Witness my Lopi, my Minimalist Cardigan, and the Mark II among others.  Bit Red seemed to be a success at first, but later I learned that the giftee secretly tried to shrink it and then gave it away. There are other tales. My sweaters have accidentally been tipped into washing machines, adopted as dressing gown liners, and re-purposed as cat beds. 

But I never give up. I keep at it. Sometimes I manage success. The North Sea Jacket worked out well and I wear it often. Sometime in March, I volunteered to test knit Copperline for Eileen Vito. It turned out well and I took it to Iceland where I wore it daily under my winter coat during our whirlwind car trip through the Eastern Fjords. 

Then I volunteered to knit BFL Sweater for Kuduja.  I loved the entire process and the end result as well. I really enjoyed knitting with Anna and the other test knitters. Plus I learned a whole new method of knitting a sweater from top down.

I used Madeline Tosh Merino Light. Not the hardest wearing yarn perhaps, but it turned out well. I have washed it several times and it continues to look good. The sleeves are knit into the armscyes from shoulder to cuff.


I liked this pattern so much that I made a second one in a more alarming shade of blue. Here, the yarn is a true sock yarn, for which the pattern was written. It is Periwinkle Sheep Watercolors II sock yarn which people swear is the same as Tosh sock. I haven't done it yet, but I intend to wash this sweater in the machine.


I have a few other sweaters in the works but I am on shaky ground with them. I have a couple of commitments to get through, before I get back to knitting more sweaters.

Back in the winter, I promised to show you the shawl that I was working on for a friend's wedding. Well, maybe I didn't promise, but I was planning on promising. Here it is, Jane Sowerby's A Curved Shawl with Diamond Edging, from the book, Victorian Knitting Today. 



In other news, the local Morello cherries are ripe and preserves are being made from them. Fingers crossed.







Comments

Mary Lou said…
I have given sweaters away that didn't work right for me. A short neighbor wears the 'too short for me' black cardigan all winter long and adores it. She said she feels so special to have a hand made sweater. At least someone was happy. That shawl is gorgeous. I have promised myself to tackle the birdseye pattern one of these days, as I love the look of it. Is it really fussy?
July 8, 2013 at 7:51 AM
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