Ze sweater, she iz blockeeng.

(Modeled shots coming wery, wery soon.)

Is it weird that I scrubbed my sink more thoroughly for this than I do for things that I eat off of?

When I started this project I figured I could do it in 3 weeks. Instead, I finished the knitting in 2, plus a day for finishing and one for blocking. This was a case of almost pure project monogamy -- the only crafty break I took was to make some lino cuts for The Lady's Earth Day booth.

This kind of almost-singleminded devotion is an increasingly rare thing 'round these parts: last night, for the first time since last summer, I had zero WIPs. In this moment of weakness, I may cave to the power of the chevron scarf.

Yipes.

Sometimes all it takes is a wee little tweak. The hourglass sweater had never particularly caught my eye, until I saw this. The stripes! The cuteness! I was at the yarn store faster than you could say "gauge swatch".

What's that? Why yes, actually, I did. Thanks for asking.


This is not only my first real sweater, but also the first thing I've knitted for myself in... well, sort of ever. There was that swatch a year ago that turned into a scarf, and then there was the picovoli that was intended for me but turned out too tight, but that's it. For once, I'm more excited about wearing something than about knitting it. (Why else would I commit to hours of stockinette?) So anyway, it would defeat the purpose even more than usual if the damned thing didn't even fit.

So. Swatches! Blocked swatches, and two of them. I wasn't even looking to "get gauge" per se, just to see how the fabric compared on 6s and 7s, and use whatever gauge I got to alter the math as necessary... but instead, I hit it on the nose with the 7s, including row gauge. (!) Off I went:


I'm super pleased with these colors. I definitely go through color phases -- for awhile whenever I imagined a new project, it was red or purple. Then brown and gold. Now, if I'd had the money to buy yarn for Forecast at the same time as this stuff, it would be a bright kelly green, just a shade bluer and brighter than the green above. Maybe this is a sign I should join Project Spectrum.