Right after my summer quarter ended we headed out of town for the most wonderful and needed vacation. Part of it was camping up in the San Juan Islands and part of it was hanging around Tofino over on Vancouver Island. Both parts were breathtakingly beautiful and fun but I also knew that the trip would involve a fair amount of driving, ferry rides, and hopefully some leisurely mornings and evenings which, of course, meant that I needed a knitting project to keep me busy.
Now, I should probably point out that the last sweater I made was back in 2013 and I really haven't given much thought to knitting since that time, so I started the whole process by digging through Ravelry patterns to see what piqued my interest. I knew that I wanted top-down construction and something with some interest, but nothing that would be too difficult. In the end I settled on the Maya Swater pattern by Svetlana Volkova and I have to say that it was a great choice. Yes, there was a point that I had to pick back four rows (Grrrr!) but other than that it was smooth knitting.
But even more than the actual knitting, I just love how the sweater came out. The fit is right on (I added some length in the sleeves and body - really easy to do with a top-down sweater) and the yarn is incredibly soft. The yarn is a merino/cashmere blend from Knit Picks and I'm really happy with it. We don't have a yarn store near our house and with finals I didn't have time to go find one, so this was a great option and I'm really happy with the product. O's pretty impressed with it too because as soon as she put it on she exclaimed "it's not even scratchy!"
Also exciting is the fact that the pattern includes adult sizes and about two days after finishing O's sweater, I casted on for one in my size. If it turns out half as nice as hers, I'll be thrilled.
What can I say - knitting may have found its way back into my heart.
I am so impressed! I think knitting is hard! I have had a scarf in progress for a year! I had to rip so much of it! Like 900 stitches, twice! And I'm slow. Maybe when the weather cools off I'll take it up again! This sweater is amazing!
ReplyDeleteHey, I didn't know you could knit! What else have you made? :-) The sweater looks fab!
ReplyDeleteOh, this is a great sweater! It's good to know that the merino/cashmere blend isn't itchy - I sometimes find Knit Picks wools more itchy than others. I haven't knit in forever - the relative instant gratification of sewing has become addictive - but it is handy to have a project on the needles for trips. Sounds like you had a great vacation!
ReplyDeleteThat is so beautiful - knitting like this just blows my mind. What's more, unselfish knitting that also runs the risk of being rejected for whatever kid reason! Winning.
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