Soldotna Crop in Big Birdie

 

I finished a sweater and I love it!

I've been admiring other knitter's versions of this sweater on Instagram for a while. The original pattern is a bit closer fitting, and knit with finer yarn. It also has some color-work through the body. But several people have been knitting it in intense colors in Dimond Laine's Big Birdie yarn, a fluffy alpaca/silk yarn. 

I'd made a hat a little while ago to try out this yarn. So, I already knew it was light and soft. Honestly, the bright colors (pink!?) didn't feel like me. And yet, I loved these sweaters. (For great color inspiration on Instagram, check out this account.) 

Online, Big Birdie is mostly offered from The Lamb & Kid as a dyed-to-order event. So the next time there was an offering, I ordered yarn. It was a swing. . . . and a miss. I chose the gray (Gray is my Favorite Color) and hot pink (Pop Rocks) that you see above, along with an almost white called Oats and a black (Blackbird).  Which wasn't the juicy combination I was aiming for. Next offering, I added a light coral-y pink called Pout (which is in the finished sweater too.)

Finally, I emailed The Lamb & Kid store, as I'd realized they carry some yarn in stock at the store that isn't offered in their online store. They were really helpful. I chose a color called Vixen, which is the dark red. Still, I was scared of that hot pink, which really was the focus of the colors I'd admired online. I knit this yoke FOUR times. (I'm missing a picture of the time I tried black, white, and hot pink.) This is a nice yarn, but soft fuzzy yarns are NOT easy to rip out, and they sometimes can look the worse for wear with this treatment. I was lucky to get away with this.

In the end, I forced myself to knit the sweater most like the ones I'd been admiring. The colors didn't look good to me till I reached the gray underneath the yoke (knitting top-down). But I'm really happy with my finished sweater.

Soldotna Crop

• Designed by Caitlin Hunter (Boyland Knitworks)
  
• Big Birdie yarn, 79% alpaca, 21% silk, 179 yards in 100 g. Colors are Gray is my Favorite Color, Pop Rocks, Pout, and Vixen. 
• Size 8 and 7 (US) needles
• knit the smallest size for about a 44", flaring to 49" sweater. 
• on Ravelry