Beryl

Combine a Christmas gift certificate to KPixie.com, and a craving for a new sweater, and what do you get? I'm casting on Bonne Marie Burn's Beryl sweater. The yarn? Peace Fleece worsted (it's really heavier than that) in Samantha Katya Pink.

This will be the second Bonne Marie sweater I've knit. SitCom Chic, which is available free from Knitty, is one of my favorite, wearable sweaters. Some day I'll have to put it on the blog. Chic Knits (Bonne Marie's "brand") sweaters tend to have nice shaping and fit well. In my experience, they're both nice to knit and a wardrobe asset when you're done.

This morning I woke up with a case of buyer's remorse. This yarn knits up into a pretty firm fabric, and the color in person is deeper and less bright than I'd hoped. This project may end up being more like a winter coat. Maybe I should have chosen this color instead? Or another yarn? I chose this yarn because I liked Bonne Marie's tweedy version. I consulted my daughter for advice when ordering. She's usually a good arbiter of taste.

I washed my swatch last night, and this morning the stiff yarn having relaxed, my swatch was softer but also SMALLER than when I measured the unwashed swatch last night. Unfortunately, I tore out my first swatch (on size 7's -- I knit kind of loose, so end up with smaller needles than patterns or ball bands call for), and knit the second swatch on US 6's. The moral of this overly detailed story is that I should have saved and washed the first swatch as well. Now I need to knit it again, then wash and measure it. On the up side, I may end up a fabric that's not as stiff.

Progress continues on Am Kamin and the Counting Pane Afghan. I'm up to the under-arm decreases on the second front piece of Am Kamin, and on the fourth strip (of 10) on the afghan.

Weather like this last week somehow meant a bit more time knitting. It's gone now, but was both fun and a lot of trouble while it lasted. I took this photo on the golf course below our house when I was trespassing skiing last Monday.