The weather has turned to summer here in Minnesota so of course I'm knitting a thick turtleneck sweater. What? Well, I finished my husband's cabled vest and for some reason instead of going back finishing my 2nd fair isle mitten I turned to this WIP I started in December. It's a Baby Cocktails pattern called White Russian, although mine is decidedly brown ;) , by Thea Colman and the most exciting part is I'm using my own handspun yarn. I think what swayed me was working on Hubbie's Shetland Vest which also was knit with handspun. Thus, it will be a balmy 91 degrees Fahrenheit (that's 33 degrees Celsius for you all outside the US) today and I will be knitting a winter sweater. Weird? Yes. But, I have better luck finishing projects if I go where my mood takes me instead of trying to adhere to my "To Knit" list.
The handspun is a lovely mix of Blue Faced Leicester and my favorite Shetland all grown and processed right here in Mora, Minnesota. It turned out so bouncy squishy soft I wish you could feel it through your computers monitors (hmm...maybe in the future.) Anyways, the wool spun to a DK weight making a total of 1327 yards (1213 meters.) This did limit me a bit for finding a sweater in my size being a bit on the busty side. What I really wanted to knit with it was this cardigan sweater but I didn't have enough yardage. The White Russian pattern has been in my Ravelry queue for a long time because I love, love, love turtlenecks and after perusing through it I was surprised to find that I had enough (plus a bit extra) yarn for my size. So, I cast on in December right after spinning the yarn and knit the turtle neck section, it's a top down knit, and promptly put it all away into a project bag for another day. Maybe I'm going to sweep through my WIP's this year. Wouldn't that be cool? Now, I'm simply thankful for air conditioning making this whole winter sweater knitting possible on this decidedly summer day.
Oh, and to update from this post I made the plunge and went to my first Knit Night with a lovely group of ladies who I found on Ravelry. It was wonderful. They didn't look at me blankly when I discussed different bind offs for sock cuffs as my husband frequently does, they talked about stashes and yarn buying freezes and so much wooly fun. It was good.
Joining in with:
Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On
Ginny for Yarn Along
Beth for Whatcha Workin' On? Wednesday
Oh I wish our weather in Vermont would feel like summer. Right now, I appreciate sitting under a lap of wool yarn! It looks like a lovely sweater in progress!
ReplyDeleteFantastic that you went to Knit Night. It really is great to have others to discuss woolly things with. I was so happy the other day when my knitting friend dropped in and I could show her my tea cosy. Hubby just doesn't appreciate it like she did!
ReplyDeleteI would love that sweater about now - we are expecting a freeze overnight. It looks wonderful so far.
I am so looking forward to some summer weather, it is still cold and windy here with the spurt of sun just to confuse us. Glad you managed to find a knit night sounds like great fun.
ReplyDeleteI think you chose a great pattern for your hand spun. I can tell just by how it's knitting up how squooshy that yarn is! It may not be sweater weather but it's not quite bikini weather here in the northeast so I'm still knitting the heavy stuff!
ReplyDeleteIf I want a sweater to wear this winter, I better start now :-) I love the pattern!
ReplyDeleteI love the neckline for your sweater, that's going to be so cosy and warm to wear :)
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