Redhook

Back in August, we took a little vacation with my parents and brother to Door County. For those of you out-of-state, Door County is a peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan; it's that little "thumb" on the eastern side of the map of Wisconsin. Anyway, on our way out, I happened upon an LYS in Sturgeon Bay (little town at the base of the peninsula) called Spin. I have looked for a website, but I don't believe they have one, so no linky. Sorry. Anyway, this was right about the time Jared Flood's new booklet called Made in Brooklyn was published by Classic Elite Yarns. I had seen all the previews online and I wanted, nay, needed, my own copy. So naturally, when I saw that Spin had them in stock, I snapped one up and immediately looked for a project I could start right away. I'm not sure why, but I settled on Redhook. Maybe it's because I knew it would knit up fast, or maybe it's because the shop had the right yarn in a good color, but after a good hour or more of perusing the shop (much to my husband's annoyance, even though there was a coffee place next door) I finally plunked the book, 6 balls of CEY Moorland (and maybe a skein of sock yarn, but really, people, it was Malabrigo, Malabrigo! and you can't get that here, yo? so what if I haven't used it yet) on the counter.

I got a good start on the sweater right off the bat, but got sidetracked by other projects for several months. It's a good pattern, well-written, and the yarn is surprisingly nice. I say "surprisingly" because there is both mohair and alpaca in it, which suggests it would be itchy, but for me, it's not. And my neck is very sensitive to alpaca. Also, there is variegation in the color, not enough to pool or stripe, but it's sort of mottled and heathery, which normally isn't my thing, but again, I really like it.



In fact, I love this sweater. It's light and warm and comfortable, yet fitted enough not to be frumpy. You'll notice I don't have buttons on it. That's because I bought buttons that were too big for the buttonholes. I really wanted to wear it one day, so I made due with a shawl stick thing, and decided I just like it better that way anyhow. I can always add buttons later if I want.

Pattern: Redhook, by Jared Flood
Yarn: Classic Elite Moorland, 5 skeins. The pattern called for 6, but I have one left over, probably because of gauge. I was getting 5spi instead of the 5.5 the pattern called for, so I made the smallest size and it seemed to work out. But that meant I used less yarn. Now I have one ball left and I'm not sure what to do with it...
Made for: me. Yay!

Next up: my favoritest scarf. Ever.