Tempting the Gods

For a few weeks now, I've been waiting for some yarn to arrive. Consequently, I haven't wanted to start any new projects. I've been working things that can be completed in an afternoon.....in other words...nothing from thrillsville, and definitely not blog worthy. I've also been drawing and swatching, but not a lot. I know how I am. If I come up with something that excites me, I'll be jonesing to do it. I can't be in the middle of something I'm pumped about when the yarn arrives and I have a commitment to fulfil.

And speaking of commitments....yes I know, I promised a 4-patch how-to in the MD approach. Sorry I haven't posted it. To be frank, I haven't been in the best of health these past few weeks, and when I'm in that state, it's not the ideal time to be writing how-to/patterns. I KNOW it would be riddled with errors and too taxing on me physically. It will come, I promise, I'm much better now, but still playing catch up with other things that have also been neglected.

So how is it then that I am tempting the god??? I've been basically a slug of late, with "nothing" on needles or hooks, and the sketchbooks have for all practical purposes been dormant.

Here's how......



Yeah, I started a sweater today........I expect the yarn I've been waiting for to arrive later today! You guys know EXACTLY how the knitting gods behave. They can have the same sense of humor as the impish deities that make the phone/doorbell ring when you are stepping into the shower, and the gods that make the sink back up or the dishwasher flood the kitchen when you're having a dinner party. Yep, I'm ready to bet my bottom dollar that the yarn will come today or tomorrow.

The sweater that I'm making is one that I've been wanting to try. It's made in a k2p2 rib throughout with a funnel neck. I'm not following a pattern per se. A while ago (years) I purchased a Gap sweater made like this. I LOVE the way it fits me, so I decided to reverse engineer it and make another.

The one from the Gap is 100% cotton, this is...well...I'm not sure. The yarn is from an estate sale. This stuff was in the bottom of a huge box of wool. I really do like the color, but the fiber....um.....not exactly sure, but pretty sure, it's Orlon. It's definitely NOT a cotton, wool, mohair, or silk, and it doesn't burn the same as today's acrylics. So a vintage Orlon is what I think it is. It's actually working up really well and feels OK. I can't wait to see the finished product and how it washes and dries.

You might be asking yourself, why for the love of pete, am I using THIS yarn to make a sweater??? My decision is based in my deeply rooted somewhat bizarre practise of making prototype garments. I always make a new design out of some "throw away" yarn first. I respect the "good stuff" too much to put it through the rigors of drafting a garment on the needles. Especially the way I do it. LOL I'm thinking some Debbie Bliss cotton/merino is going to be used for the REAL garment.

The original sweater was made in pieces, this one is eliminating one of the side seams. I WAS going to work it in the around, but I knit in a sort of combined method. Purling in the round with the stitches backwards isn't impossible, but I just figured out how to do it, (I know, I'm a slow learner) so I'm not very fast yet. I might as well be knitting "normal" continental and purling so my stitches don't twist. But considering this is a prototype, speed is what I'm after here. After the bugs are worked out on this sweater, then I'll turn to the Bliss, work it in the round, and lose myself in knitting bliss!