Let’s Celebrate Binding Off!
And immediately cast on for round 2
Thanks to the Olympics, I made quick work of the second sleeve on the stripey pullover. It was bound off on Sunday, blocked on Monday, and worn on Tuesday.
This pullover is exactly what I wanted. It fits me with about 5” of positive ease, like a big comfy sweatshirt. This is not a shy sweater—those colors are bright and cheerful. But it doesn’t feel gaudy, perhaps because the stripes are so narrow.
As a reminder, I knit this sweater with the set of 24 mini skeins of Barstow from Jill Draper Makes Stuff, a fingering weight 100% Dorset wool. Of the 680 grams (24 ounces) of yarn in the set, I have 74 grams (2.6 ounces) left over, enough to make a stripey hat. I added a skein of Palette from Knit Picks in Navy because 1) I wanted the ribbing at the neck, cuffs, and hem all in the same color to pull the piece together, and 2) it was in my stash. I used 14 grams (about half an ounce) of the Palette.
As soon as the last stitch was bound off, I cast on my swatch for the second version of this sweater. This will be a very different garment.
The obvious first difference is the color scheme. Instead of looking like someone spilled the big box of broken crayon ends, this one will be a quiet blend of blue-gray and off-white.
The next difference is the repeating stripe pattern. The first iteration of this design used 2-round stripes of 24 colors arranged more-or-less at random. This one will use a 16-round repeating stripe pattern—10 rounds dark, 2 rounds medium, 2 rounds dark, and 2 rounds light.
The last difference is the yarn. This is Purl Soho Linen Quill, a fingering weight blend of 50% fine highland wool, 35% alpaca, and 15% linen. It has a rustic, heathery look because the long linen fibers tend to squirm out of the twist and they don’t take the dye in the way the animal fibers do. This 2-ply yarn is soft and lightweight. It also happens to be Purl Soho’s top-selling yarn ever. My dark color is Stillwater Blue, the medium color is Gray Denim, and the light color is Oatmeal Gray.
I already own a sweater knit in Linen Quill, so I know it’s a yarn I enjoy wearing. The yarn for this new striped pullover has been patiently hanging out in my stash for a couple of years. By the way, at the time of writing, Linen Quill is on sale for 25% off. If this yarn appeals to you, now is a good time to buy. I don’t know how long the sale will last.
Why am I Knitting the Same Design Again?
Some of my favorite sweater designs are simple, classic, and basic in the best sense of the word. They are blank canvases that invite the knitter to bring their own personality to the project through color and yarn choice. Yet many people find it a challenge to imagine making those sorts of changes to a design. Many knitters will choose a pattern, then buy the same yarn used by the designer to make the sample pictured (often in the same color). Not that there’s anything wrong with that—in fact, yarn companies depend on this reluctance to deviate from the pattern.
By making a second sample using a very different yarn, color palette, and stripe arrangement, I hope to demonstrate the versatility of the design. When this pattern is published (probably late summer), I hope knitters (maybe you?) will feel encouraged to make it their own. As long as you can match the gauge of 24 stitches and 44 rounds = 4” in garter stitch, anything goes as far as fiber content, texture, and color.
Those of you who enjoy character-driven fiction will love Table for Two by Amor Towles.
This book has been sitting in my to-be-read stack for nearly two years. I’m so happy I finally read it. The book contains six short stories set in New York, followed by a 218-page novella set in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The New York stories are perfectly polished gems centered on deceit and desire. In Towles’ New York, no good deed goes unpunished. Shady characters lurk around every corner waiting to pounce on innocence or hubris. There are plenty of morals to these stories, but Towles is too subtle and sophisticated a writer to hit you over the head with them. These stories linger like perfume in a small room.
The diamond of this collection is the novella, “Eve in Hollywood”. Towles has lifted a character from his first novel, Rules of Civility, and imported her to Los Angeles during the filming of Gone With the Wind. The writing has the snap, crackle, and pop of hard-boiled detective stories. Eve Ross, our protagonist, is kind-hearted but nobody’s fool. You’ll cheer for her, but you wouldn’t want her for an enemy.
I’m glad I bought this book in hardback. I like knowing it’s on my shelf, available for me to dip into again anytime I get the urge. Towles is a writer I am always happy to spend time with.
Things that caught my eye…
Architectural Digest noted that some makers have begun incorporating knitted lampshades into their homes. I designed a pattern for pendant lampshades for Twist Collective back in 2011, so I’m not opposed in theory, but the mohair shades depicted in the AD article sort of give me the creeps.
Yellow is a color I struggle with. It’s the lightest, brightest hue, and immediately draws the eye in most contexts (case in point: the yellow stripes in my pullover above). I enjoyed this short piece on the use of yellow in art.
Hard truths for those caring for aging parents. And yes, I’ve sent the link to my son. He is not yet my caregiver and hopefully never will be. But you never know.
As we reach the end of February, I hope you’re noticing the days getting longer. The equinox is only three weeks away! Thanks for your company and support as we turn together toward the light.
Continue the conversation: Do you usually knit with the yarn specified in the pattern, or do you change yarn and coloring to suit your whim (or the contents of your stash)? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
I heard about the yellow Van Gogh exhibit. Thanks for sharing the article. I had a yellow kitchen for 14 years. I loved it. Now my living room is half yellow. I do love its warm vibe especially living up here in the cold north all winter.
Love the new striped sweater.
What is the pattern? I love it.