I didn't buy the yarn or pattern immediately, and then had the pleasure of discovering each element separately (finding the pattern on a visit to Patternworks' store in New Hampshire, and the yarn at the Smiley's Yarn Riot at a super price). But I've never cast on for the sweater. I've had a conversation with the other Raveler that's knit the sweater, and talked about modifications (e.g., a nine inch turtleneck is pretty excessive, as is the cabled pattern on the back). But I never started it.So after I determined that I'm making fantastic progress on my holiday knitting obligations, I thought it was a good time to start swatching something for me, and make myself a lovely sweater that I've been wanting for years. That's when the problems started. The UpCountry yarn is bulky: super-bulky, in fact. The recommended gauge for the pattern is 13 stitches for 4 inches, and when I finally arrived at this gauge, the swatch was about half an inch thick. I hadn't considered exactly how thick this yarn was, and wow: it's big. (I think that Hubby's comment was "It's sturdy!" True, but not helpful.) Sadly, I don't live anywhere that could handle wearing a sweater half an inch thick. I'm not racing in the Iditarod, nor swimming for my life in the Antarctic, nor living the life in Mongolia. I'm pretty much warm all of the time, so unless it's an outdoor jacket, it's not going to work out for me. So now there's 780 yards of yarn that needs a new project. Huge mittens, anyone? Speak up now!
To console myself, I started some Christmukkah socks with this Adirondack Soxie. Red, green, blue and purple: the colors of December.
2 comments:
It IS rather gorgeous though Abby...
Oy. I have to agree with Nora here, it IS gorgeous indeed - but I understand your problem, if you're warm most of the time in winters and don't excess in extreme outdoor activities which would ask for a super thick sweater, then it may not be worth the time spent on it - perhaps you should really wait for some better, not so thick yarn, to come along. But as for ideas on what to do with the super bulky yarn - hmmm, I'm at a loss here... ;(
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