orchard wool sweater
Remember the orchard wool sweater? It's done. In fact, it's been 99% done for about a month now, and today I finally sewed on the last three buttons and hid the ends so I could call it a finished object.
(I really need to learn how to take good self-portraits with a tripod and a timer because I hate asking Stuart to take pictures of me. He doesn't complain about it, but I just feel like a giant dork when I pose for someone else.)
Pattern: Garter Yoke Cardigan from the Fall/Winter 2008 issue of Knit.1 magazine
Yarn: nearly black wool, the natural color of Black Welsh Mountain sheep, raised with care at Door Creek Orchard just outside Madison.
Overall, I'm pleased with how this turned out. I think the fit is flattering, and the pattern is fairly well-written, except for one detail: there are no extra stitches cast on at the underarms, which makes the sides of the sweater pull and pucker in a weird way when I raise my arms. I think that is a design flaw. And the yarn...well, to be honest it's a little scratchy and rough. It's not itchy, exactly, but scratchy, and I think there is a difference: rough wool is scratchy, alpaca and mohair are - for me - itchy. A long soak in wool wash didn't really help, either. I don't regret buying it, or knitting the sweater with it, considering its local origins, and in some ways I'm a rustic kind of gal myself. This is the sort of sweater that I will wear when it is really cold, because the scratch won't bother me then, and besides, this is very warm wool. I don't think I'll wear it much this spring because it is so warm, and the color is so drab and un-springlike. It's perfect for gloomy winter days, though.
(I really need to learn how to take good self-portraits with a tripod and a timer because I hate asking Stuart to take pictures of me. He doesn't complain about it, but I just feel like a giant dork when I pose for someone else.)
Pattern: Garter Yoke Cardigan from the Fall/Winter 2008 issue of Knit.1 magazine
Yarn: nearly black wool, the natural color of Black Welsh Mountain sheep, raised with care at Door Creek Orchard just outside Madison.
Overall, I'm pleased with how this turned out. I think the fit is flattering, and the pattern is fairly well-written, except for one detail: there are no extra stitches cast on at the underarms, which makes the sides of the sweater pull and pucker in a weird way when I raise my arms. I think that is a design flaw. And the yarn...well, to be honest it's a little scratchy and rough. It's not itchy, exactly, but scratchy, and I think there is a difference: rough wool is scratchy, alpaca and mohair are - for me - itchy. A long soak in wool wash didn't really help, either. I don't regret buying it, or knitting the sweater with it, considering its local origins, and in some ways I'm a rustic kind of gal myself. This is the sort of sweater that I will wear when it is really cold, because the scratch won't bother me then, and besides, this is very warm wool. I don't think I'll wear it much this spring because it is so warm, and the color is so drab and un-springlike. It's perfect for gloomy winter days, though.
Comments
Dee Anna
And I, too, hate posing for pictures. I feel like a total idiot!