I was cleaning up my desktop and I found a bunch of pictures from the autumn Vogue Knitting. At first I started to drag them to the trash, and then I realized I had only written that post in my head. I don't really know what happened; I started the month with ideas and plans and it is as if they have been sucked right out of me by the great heat-wave. I didn't even buy anything at my LYS when they were having a sale -- a sure sign of a slump if there ever was one.
But back to the fall Vogues:
I adore this long cardigan (pattern #1) by Lutz and Patmos in Tahki's wool yarn Montana. I am a little cautious about the super-bulky yarn because I have several warm bulky cardigans and not enough thinner ones, and because my life is unsettled enough right now and I am feeling a bit cautious. We have talked about moving south and even though we have no plans to move for at least a couple of years, and I am frankly not eager to live in a warmer climate, life is unsettled enough that I inclined to be more cautious about what I actually knit. Of course, all I need is a cold winter to change my mind so there is no telling what relief from the summer heat-wave will do to my knitting mojo and projects. At least this sweater is bulky wool, not alpaca. I am really getting tired of bulky alpaca.
And while I am on the subject of alpaca. The second sweater in this magazine is knit in, you guessed it, Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky, a yarn I actually do like and have used. At least it is cropped and short sleeved, both necessities for personal comfort when wearing bulky alpaca sweaters.
But wait. I already have alpaca boleros, and short cropped alpaca sweaters, all of which I wear. Do I need another? No, but I do really like the pattern. I'm wondering if I can knit it using Karabella Supercashmere even though it is a finer gauge. I am about to unravel a cardigan I knit a couple of years ago which is now huge on me. I will have somewhere in the vicinity of 19 skeins worth of supercashmere, enough to probably knit two sweaters. Of course there are other bulky wools on the market too, so it is not like I am without possibilities.
I am wondering, now that I am thinking about unraveling sweaters (again) how many of those bulky sweaters that were large but not too large last winter, are going to be too large this winter, and if, in fact, I may actually need more sweaters, not fewer.
But on to finer things (gauge-wise at least). Sweater number 16, designed by Fiona Ellis is knit in Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock. Certainly nothing bulky here, and a sweater that could be worn almost anywhere. The fact that it will take me three times as long to knit it is more than justified when I consider that it will also prove to be far more versatile and will probably get more than three times more wear.
The next cardigan, number 17, designed by Renee Lorion is in worsted weight wool. It is a lovely seater and I love the pattern stitch, but I am second-guessing myself already. Sweaters wrapped and tied at the waist don't look that good on me. I could change it for buttons or hooks, or do something else, but I am wondering if it is worth it. Again, I think I have plenty of options in this genre of sweater. Still I will save the pattern just in case the need arises.
And then there are the more frivolous things:
Sweater number 25, which is also the cover sweater, is knit in kidsilk haze, one of the most truly yummy-scrumptious yarns I know. This sweater looks like nothing so much as a bed-jacket to me, but I love it anyway. In fact, I don't see myself wearing it out and rather like the way the editors at Vogue have styled these sweaters as lounge-wear. In fact I love this sweater because of its very bed-jacket associations. The yarn is delicious. I want to wear it in the evening with a nightgown. My daytime style may be more sporty, but in the evening I love nothing more than nightgowns, silk, and lace and this little jacket fits right into that theme.
And so my last choice, number 29, appeals to that same softer, more feminine, private, side of my nature.
