the siren song begins…
It was almost Springtime last year before the Call of the Lime began for me. Perhaps it is the very balmy temperatures that have me looking for the green – in the grass, in the beds, on the trees. Something should be happening there, but it is JANUARY. The thermometer does not lie but it certainly is confused.
And right around the corner in my very own house is YARN! The beauty of a Stash is such that perhaps one doesn’t have to venture far to fill the need. In 2003 (see Oct. 7th), I made a poncho using triple strands of yarn to make a bulky one. One of these strands was a yarn by Crystal Palace called Merino Frappe, in Pea Green. I also swatched for a cool cable sweater at that time because I had a whole bag of the stuff – but the texture of the fabric was limp and my idea flopped right along with it.
Then I got this last week. I am surely saving my pennies for some of the yarn as shown in the book but in the meantime, this jumped out at me and I was in LOVE!
And I asked the Frappe to dance…
Serendipitously, I found a new yarn store on the far south side (My Sister’s Knits) and picked up a couple of balls of the Frappe in a light sage green. It will become the huge shawl collar on the sweater – so I have bright olive wrapped in a silver olive shot through with the bright. Both the yarns are blended heathers and not totally clear but quite alive with both high and low lights.
The beauty of the pattern is that it is knit at a much tighter gauge than the ball band gauge listed for the yarn – I swatched. It worked. I’m OFF!
The body of the sweater is now a nice firm sort of flannel looking fabric and the shawl collar will be as drapey as the original piece I made a couple of years ago. This time it works in my favor!
Hello! I have been reading your blog for ages, since I bought your bucket hat pattern (which I love). I chose to come out of lurkdom to say, Wow! That sweater is so “you”! I love how you share a new pattern you’ve found, and then show a photo of the body already knit up! You are one amazing knitter!
(I’m addicted to that lime color too)
Love the jacket, it is v. v. nice and v.Eileen Fisher, a look I am v. into these days….BUT…not sure that the yarn is as nice as it looks. I fell in love with the chocolate brown and bought a skein to test it out, for I have a pattern similar to the DB one that I thought I would make. Yarn is v. weird, sort of v. rubbery and unruly. Project has been cancelled, at least in that yarn. So….check out the yarn before you splurge on it!!
I love it!!! You are so talented and I appreciate all your info. I am from Chicago transplanted to Dallas now, so you are like my “link” to “home”. I wanna go to Two Sisters!
Sally Melville says the ball bands are a joke and always say to knit looser than we should. It’s for the new knitter so they don’t get scared away. Your sweater is looking great!
Holy cow, is that green ever nice on the eyes in the middle of winter. Thanks for the breath of spring on a gray day.
Very cute indeed, and a very pleasing green. And I’m glad I’m not the only one who always seems to knit tighter than the gauge on the ball band!
Thanks for posting about My Sister’s Knits. I live on the south east side of Chicago and have to travel very far to find yarn shops. This place is only 15 minutes from my house!!
This is fascinating to me as I have a sweater’s worth of that same yarn stashed away, and have never found something I want to make with it. Looks beautiful so far!
Love the green…the sweater is gonna rock!
My Sister Knits is down the street from where I grew up–funny, how to you it’s the far south side, and where you’re at would be the far north side to me **smile**
But now I really am far north…
So did you knit that on the machine? How long did it take? I’m still in the machine knitting pre-contemplation stage… it sits in my attic mocking me still.
I love Merino Frappe! It’s so soft and comfortable! It is kind of limp though, that’s true, but the heathered colors are beautiful!