A sense of accomplishment

Tempting is finished.

I ended up spicing in three rows of the chocolate brown wool. It actually looks quite nice with the chocolate brown/aqua decorative ribbon. Pictures forthcoming.

I've now started on the Ink Sweater by Black Dog Knits. So far, it's a fast, easy knit (I'm on the fourth decrease that forms the slightly flared hem). I made some changes to the pattern; this is the first time I've tried altering someone else's pattern, so I'm a bit nervous.

I ordered 10 balls of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Mist (medium gray). The pattern calls for Noro Cash Iroha (a silk/lambswool/cashmere/nylon blend), so right away you know the fabric is going to behave a bit differently. I started the knitup on a pair of size 9 steel needles-- the size that gives me the gauge called for in the pattern-- but I really, really did not like the fabric I was getting. There was nothing wrong with it per se; in fact, the gauge makes the double seed stitch selvedge look splendid. But the resulting fabric was stiff and had almost no drape.

What I want most from this sweater is something slightly drapey but warm to wear over a tank top this fall. No drape happening on 9s. So I jumped up to 10s (the size the pattern uses to get gauge). Still no dice. Jumped up to 10.5s, and had a winner. A nice, light fabric that drapes just enough to look fluid, but is still dense enough to be warm.

I suspect this will solve my other concern; namely, that a pattern sized for my 43" bust is not going to "skim" my 45.5" hips, even with a flare. Of course, I may have to order more yarn.

Quel horreur.

Quick PSA: I will probably be playing around with new templates, so bear with me. I am undecided as to whether I would prefer to keep the cheerful beaded template that is cute but a little too. . . pink, or to follow in the footsteps of my more favourite blogs and go for a calm neutral. Zen like. Anyway. Stuff might change.