Watch where you stick that needle
Upon finishing (and yet not finishing) E.B.’s Owlet, I meant to move on to Z’s fall sweater, a simple rollneck pullover from Knitting Pure and Simple (#9730) using a multicolor stash of Mission Falls 1824 Wool that I scored at a Threadbear summer sale a few years ago.
Yet, even this gorgeousness could not hold my attention. For starters, I was stalled in my attempts to acquire the pattern. But even more damaging perhaps was the failure in correctly sizing E.B.’s sweater. I believe I started thinking that I should wait a month or two (or four) to be more sure of the size. Even if it does put me dangerously close to the siren call of holiday knits.
I spent an evening trying to get started on my Spiral Yoke Pullover (famously immortalized in by Jared Flood; see link) but got stuck on tubular v. hem and never made it past the cast on. I will do that sweater–oh yes, my stash of Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed is promised–but apparently I will not right now.
As I prepared to not knit the Spiral Yoke Pullover, I dug out some old projects to reclaim the needles and was thus reacquainted with my beleaguered Equinox Yoke Pullover.
Now that some YEARS have passed since the beginning and the stalling of this project, I may have gained some knowledge and experience to see my way out of this dark forest. All fired up with visions of myself swathed in fig-colored wool/alpaca, I sat down to solve the problem. I had to do considerable pattern revision (comparative to what I usually do) because I am knitting the body and sleeves (especially the sleeves, with all that colorwork!) in the round. Largely, I have used Elizabeth Zimmermann’s percentage system (EPS) to help me with the math and proportions. I also consulted my Lopi Aftur pullover, which uses the same in the round, bottom up construction. The answer to whether or not my revisions are going to work are not far from being answered since the sleeves and the body are all half-knit. Nonetheless, a fickle desire has briefly turned my eye.
See, my birthday is coming up in a few weeks. Three years ago, I took to the idea of buying myself yarn for a birthday project. Whatever the yarn and project, it tends to be an impulsive decision and it’s something I try to cast on for right away–indulgent indeed. Last week, I casually looked at Elann’s sale flyer and noticed they had a cotton/hemp yarn for sale, by the bag. Hemp fabric is sooooo nice. One thing led to another and I realized the gauge would work for a Chickami, which I got the pattern for last year. Lo, the yarn arrived Saturday (so fast!) and now I’ve knit a gauge swatch! And washed it! And altered the pattern a bit to account for my slightly smaller gauge! And started to cast on!
I hope I can wip this up in the next ten days. No pun intended. (Wip? Get it?)
