Pretty in Pink

Some time back, Elann  had some Austermann Bombola on sale and they showed a rather intriguing pattern for a cabled pullover with the yarn.  I was intrigued, but I didn't succumb.  Still, I kept coming back -- a bad sign as well you all know.

Then, just as I had almost forgotten the temptation, Liana posted that she had made that same pullover and also commented on how much she liked the patterns in the Austermann book.  My fate was sealed.  I ordered the yarn and the book, even though I was not fully convinced that it would look as good on me as on Liana.   I can't seem to escape that urge to copy everything that inspires me.

I started the project yesterday.  Well, actually yesterday I recharted the project because I need to lengthen the sweater a bit to accommodate my taller, longer-waisted frame.  It is fortunate that this pattern is knitted on such bulky needles (12 mm) that I only needed to add 4 rows to the pattern, but even that required a little adjustment in the patterns to make sure that all the cables ended up in the proper place with the addition of the new rows.    Now for years I did this by hand, with reams of graph paper, and often, if I made mistake much swearing and cursing.  I would dread regraphing things, not that they were all that difficult, but they were enormous time drains.  But computers make things much easier, and although it took some time to enter the charts into the computer, and alter the cables to accommodate the new rows, I pretty much redid the charts in a couple of available hours on Tuesday.

This morning I got up and instead of doing the various things I usually do early in the morning before my beloved gets up, I curled up in my chair and started knitting.  At 6 1/2 stitches to 4 inches, it goes fast, but not as fast as one might think.  I still find a 12 mm needle much harder to hold in the hand and much more tiring to work with than a finer needle, 4.5 mm or smaller let's say.  Even the tiny sock needles are easier on my fingers than the big bulky ones.

Despite that complaint, my morning knitting and an afternoon knitting break when I returned from a perhaps ill-advised trip to the gym and a pretty intense workout left me exhausted with a return to full-sinus distress, yielded pretty impressive results:

I'm a bit more than half-way through the back of the sweater.  At first, I wasn't sure what I thought, but the more I see, the more I like the sweater.  It will be warm, fuzzy, fast, inexpensive, and very, very pink.  What is there not to love in that combination?  Well, once I would have said I am not a pink kind of girl, but obviously that is not true.  It looks like it will be fun and funky too, the perfect thing for a winter's day and a pair of jeans.

Comments

[Nicki Saunders]

Love your work! I too am an avid knitter and have looked everywhere for this Bombolo sweater pattern. Was wondering if there's any way you could either email it to me or something? Please please please please, I just love this sweater and really don't want to buy the 8 balls of yarns needed to buy it online. Let me know at [email protected], ok?

[Liana Sandin]

I love the color! Can't wait to see it on you. (It will be fun to be "sweater twins".) I doubt we'll be wearing it to the same places anyway. ;)

[Gina]

That sweater is SO you! I happen to think you will look smashing in it. I know what you mean about copying when inspired, but I am trying to stay on track.