FO: milk stout

For the past couple of weeks I've had some thoughts brewing about actual topics I'd like to write about here, like how my sewing skills have evolved in the last few years and what I think about digital patterns and how I choose my knitting projects and making stuff with my kids and how creativity figures into my daily life. Just the stuff that bloggers like to blog about. 

However, my time limitations are such that when I have down time, I have to choose whether to write a blog post or, you know, knit or sew or whatever it is that I want to write about, and nine times out of ten, knitting wins out. 

Maybe next post I can share some deep thoughts, but today I have a bunch of pictures of another new sweater for you:

This is Milk Stout by Thea Coleman and it is a Winner with a capital W. I saw her post on IG of the shawl collar and cables on the front and I was so smitten that I emailed her to ask if I could test it, even though I was still in the middle of my previous test sweater (Plum Wine).

The pattern calls for Nurtured by Julie Asselin, and I bought some to make this sweater. That's right, I broke my unofficial (and perpetual) resolution not to buy yarn - not that hard for me to do, let's just be honest here - and I don't regret it for a second. Nurtured is delightfully light and airy and just an all-around good wooly wool. Also, yarn choice is crucial for this design because of all the 1x1 and cables, so anything heavy or slippery or drapey, such as superwash wool or blends with silk or alpaca, is likely to droop and sag and disappoint.

Milk Stout is knit in one piece from the bottom up with the sleeves joined at the yoke and saddle shoulders. 

We testers earned our keep with this pattern, I have to tell you. See all that ribbing? Yeah. I'll be ready for some stockinette after finishing this one. Also, we were all getting different row gauge, so Thea had to write the yoke instructions for different gauges. 

I'm channeling my inner IK model here, apparently...

I made only a few very minor modifications, all having to do with structure. I added a bit of shaping to the sweater body, hidden around the cables. Thea does include instructions for this. I need a bit of shaping with nearly every sweater I knit to avoid sag and pooch in the middle because I just don't naturally have the curves to fill it out on my own! The only actual changes I made were to cast off the neckline stitches rather than leaving them live (to add structure to the collar) and to use a smaller needle for the garter stitch band, much as I did on the button band for my Plum Wine, because I really did not want it to be floppy.

Look at the cables! Swoon.

It's gotten unseasonably warm here this weekend so this morning I dragged my family to the park (we did not need hats! Or even coats!) for some pictures. You can see the last bits of snow clinging to the ground. Stuart took photos while the kids played and crushed ice in the creek bed. 

I love this sweater. Love it. It was fun to knit (did I mention how I love those cables?!) and it's fun to wear and really quite warm. The fit is superb. As always, Thea's pattern writing is clear and easy to follow and includes suggestions for ease and adjusting fit to suit a variety of body types. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Pattern: Milk Stout by Thea Coleman

Yarn: Nurtured by Julie Asselin in the color Madras, just under 10 skeins

Needles: size 7 for sleeves and body, size 6 for the garter band/collar

Mods: added structure to the neck and collar by binding off the neck stitches before picking up for the bands; used smaller needles for collar/band