Sweater Progress

The last post was entitled Miscellaneous News because I meant to tell a little about a lot of things.  But then the slippers led to the wedding and I remembered that I had taken all those photos of clever ideas and "miscellaneous" never happened.  Ha ha!  I just had a thought... Most people mean to be specific and then end up losing focus.  I MEANT to be unfocused and ended up being specific.  ;-) 

So today's post will tell you (with a little more focus!) about one of the things that I intended to put in the Miscellaneous News.  I want to give a little update about the sweater progress.  Click here for the initial sweater post.  I am making the swirl jacket/sweater from this book by Sandra McIver.  The version I am making is the short, jacket-style one called Sophie's swirl.  The Seattle Friend is making the longer, more coat-like version called Stratasphere. 

Neither one of us is using the yarn that the pattern calls for, but we gauge swatched and we are making appropriate substitutions.  (For example, you shouldn't substitute a heavy, drapey alpaca yarn for a bouncy 100% wool yarn--at least not without taking the alpaca stretch factor into account).  Her yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage--100% superwash merino in a worsted weight.  If you have never held a skein of this yarn, you need to!  Soft, plump, and squishy woolen goodness! My yarns are both a silk/wool blend. Both are pretty lightly spun so the yarn is already getting fuzzy even as I knit with it.  I hope wearing it gives it a halo rather than a lot of unsightly pills.  Then again, there are worse things than wearing a beloved sweater to death!

Here is the most recent picture of mine. 
It seems simple once it is on, but you should have seen me trying to figure out how to step into it and make it work!  It would have made a very comical video!  (How many degrees do you need to figure out how to wear a circle?!!? )  Without sleeves it is so hard to picture!  To see other photos of mine, click the link up on the right side.  The other link has been fixed so that if you want to see the Seattle sweater you will be able to do that, too.  She fixed it last night while we were on the phone and she has one picture that really shows the beautiful color.  

The "knit along" nature of us both knitting versions of this sweater has been really fun.  The knitting is pretty simple but the construction is kind of mind boggling so I know there will be more phone calls!  I am now at the part where I am knitting flat rather than in the round and I am increasing and casting on stitches to extend the sleeves out. 

I learned a new term from listening to knitting podcasts...."potato chip knitting."  You can't eat just one potato chip, so potato chip knitting refers to the kind of knitting that just keeps you going, wanting to do "just one more row," or "just finish this section," or "just see what this yarn color change is going to do."  I think this sweater (especially with the variegated yarn I have in every other welt) is the ultimate potato chip knitting!