the first full official day of fall has not impressed. hot, cloudy, and humid? maybe fall has an identity crisis or summer is trying to trick us. either way, I broke down and turned the a/c back on after a few glorious days of living with opened windows. wool yarn? not touching it for another day or so. in the meantime, in attempts to cleanup my sidebar (and clear up my conscience) , I thought I'd finally blog about a sweater I finished eons ago.

pattern: my own "chocolate scoop"
yarn: laines du nord cashsilk
needles: 4mm
date started: 03.08
date finished: 04.08

it's shameful how long it's taken me to post about this sweater. the lack of blogging doesn't relate to how much I love this sweater. because I loooove it. life just somehow kept getting in the way. I finished it sometime in april but then I went away almost all summer to take care of my parents. I love the sweater, but I'm not crazy enough to wear it in the middle of a miami summer. I tried taking photos when I got back, but didn't like any enough to post. so I moved on and knit a bunch of sweaters. I didn't try again until this spring, but , again, I didn't like any of the pictures. I'm finally sucking it up though and posting the ones I took. you'll forgive me right?

enough about my photo issues. the sweater couldn't be simpler. it's just stockinette stitch knit in the round from the bottom up with turned hems, slight waist shaping, and a basic scoop neck. the set-in sleeves are also knit in the round with some bubble shaping. I wanted an easy layering piece to go over long sleeve tees, but for some reason didn't wear one in the pics. doh! the balloon sleeves allow me to wear long sleeves under them without it getting bulky, while the ribbon keeps the hem in place.

the yarn makes this one such a winner. I've used it before for the turbulence pullover and it looks just as amazing in plain jersey as it does in cables. the shine from the silk just makes the stitches pop. of course, the combination of merino, cashmere and silk doesn't hurt. so soft and warm with no real pilling yet. I just see a soft, even halo from the cashmere. not bad for a year and half old sweater.

Posted by bitter purl at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

with fall (officially) only a day away and constantly giving us hints of its arrival the last few days I've been getting the urge to get back to my crafting. I've been kind of here and there with it the last month or so. you can say that about my life in general. I went away on a couple of trips, took care of dobby for a few weeks after some surgery (he's doing better than ever now!), and have basically ignored all the cut fabric and skeins of yarns thrown around the apartment.

let's face it though, it's going to be cold soon and I need some new sweaters and scarves. my closet is looking pretty empty so I would like some shirts and maybe some pretty dresses. dobby isn't magically making me things at night, a la cinderella (or almost any other disney movie), so I better get to it. luckily I have a head start thanks to a lovely friend.

it all started with a little joke after my millionth try at the purl beret pattern. I begged someone to knit me one after I couldn't get the ribbing tight enough or the body to have the right amount of slouch. leave it to kathy to get it perfect. after her troubles with koigu and sock patterns, my plea was apparently perfectly timed. I had no idea she really took me up on it, until this little beret arrived a couple of weeks ago. oh I wish random hadnknitted gifts would show up at my door more often!

Posted by bitter purl at 4:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)