I've been knitting. But I have also been dreaming of projects and the newest Rowan Magazine, # 70, has contributed to those knitting dreams.
Admittedly I am distracted by this book at least partially because I want to knit the two cover items, staring with this scarf. The pattern is named Dolomite and it is knitted in the round using wonderfully soft Felted Tweed with DMC Diamant. The question is whether or not I will actually wear it, or perhaps whether I want the scarf as much as I want to be the woman in the suit with the scarf. I do love the pattern, and the idea and I know I will love knitting it. I am pausing over two things primarily: Do I have fall/winter clothes I can wear with this item? Does it fit into my current life? As you might surmise, the questions are related, and both are somewhat up in the air at the moment. First of all because I am once again sussing out what is important to me in my post cancer life, and because I don't really know what winter clothes I own that will fit. But the nice thing about knitting, is that it can wait, and I can knit this anytime, if and when the need arises and there are no fit issues with a scarf, other than how it fits into a life. Sometimes I do think it is the knitting itself that makes the need arise.
I am also quite enamored of this sweater shown on the back cover. The pattern named Sardonyx, and it is knit in Kid Classic and DMC Diamant. Let me just say how interesting and exciting I find Rowan's use of Diamant in their knitting patterns this fall. It is an embroidery thread I have in my embroidery stash, a thread I was playing with at least partially because it looks like a metallic thread but is far easier to use. Alas that all came to a stop with neuropathy, but I do hope that not only will my knitting perk back up, but my embroidery will also. Eventually perhaps I will be able to share a little of both.
But back to the sweater. This is something I know I would wear even though kid classic is a heavier, aran weight yarn. But although it is heavier than Felted Tweed, it is also a yarn I think of as soft and cuddly. The sweater fits more smoothly into my life and perhaps my style than the the idea of a polished and besuited me. I can accept that this sweater may only get a couple of outings a year, rather than heavy wear, at least in the Tennessee climate, but this only means that I will not wear it out quickly after knitting. My main question at the moment is one of sizing as I am currently between two sizes. This, and many of the patterns in this volume are oversized, and although I think this sweater needs to have the positive ease to look good, I am still on the fence. I do not look good if there is too much volume in a dolman-style sleeve and I tend to be narrow between the bust points, which I also think is critical to how this sweater will look. I do tend to think that if I get the shoulders and the center front panel right, the dolman sleeves will be more manageable.
But there is more. This cropped sweater, Chromium by Lisa Richardson, is knit in Alpaca classic and, once again, DMC Diamant. The alpaca is a fiber I struggle with more here in Tennessee, as the winters are often more damp than cold, and alpaca and I are not always friends in that situation. It is also both lighter and warmer than wool, which becomes problematic in heated interiors. But I think I can also layer this over a shirt or a long turtleneck. Or not. This may simply be a dream sweater more than a sweater I actually knit and wear.
However, this cardigan, Lazurite by Martin Story, has "knit me" and "wear me" all over it. It is knit in Kid Classic, the same as my cuddly oversized pink cozy cowl cardigan, which I knit in the winter of 2019/20, but in a more versatile length. This pattern is written with substantial positive ease, more perhaps than I think I want. But sizing down will depend substantially on the resulting hand of my knitted fabric. This may well be worth buying a few extra skeins of yarn first, and knitting a substantial swatch to determine the qualities of the fabric before committing to, and starting the actual sweater. In many ways this illustrated the classic, and ongoing problem of imagination versus reality. There is the sweater I imagine from the picture, and there is the actual sweater, as designed, conceived, and executed by the designer. Of course, I as knitter do not have to create the same sweater, or use the same yarns. Once again, a commitment to some playing with yarn may well be the answer. Very often the very act of swatching and playing with fiber clarifies my thought process, occasionally cures the itch to knit a specific design, or turns my attentions in a very different direction.
No issues with oversized sweaters here. This vest is named Carbon and it is knit in lightweight cuddly Felted Tweed and Diamant. The Diamant could be a problem in all this color work, especially if one is inclined to be a tight knitter, as I suspect, based on my embroidery practice, that it could break.
Luckily I am not a tight knitter, or will not be once my neuropathy wears off. If it wears off. That is one of those wishy washy things about the way cancer treatments are described. Most women on Taxol get some degree of neuropathy (more of them get severe neuropathy than minor neuropathy) and most women recover fully within a few months. The actual statistics are a little more worrisome. 80% (give or take a percentage point here and there) get neuropathy. Of those, 40%, or only a little less than half, are left with some degree of permanent neuropathy. Yes it is true that most of those who get neuropathy recover (60%) but sometimes all this optimistic rosy speak hides some still disturbing news. Anyway, I have done my research, and am doing my best to do everything in my power to manage my treatments and my neuropathy, in the hopes that I will be in the lucky 60%. This sweater is one I would wear, if I can knit it. I haven't really worn fitted vests in a few decades now, but I have tried on a few more fitted sweaters lately in stores, although not purchased them, and this would be a very happy addition to my wardrobe.
As would this vest, named Mica. This vest somehow looks boxy in the photo, but is only designed with a couple of inches of positive ease. Knit in Felted Tweed, I like the drape of the fabric. I also like that the pattern is offset. The actual design is a rectangle. I like the deep neck, although I would add in a little waist shaping, without making the garment exactly fitted. This one is pretty high on my list right now, and it is also probably the most immediately wearable of all the garments in this magazine. It would be an easy knit to boot.
Similarly, this pullover, named Tungsten, is also eminently wearable in my life. Also knit in Felted tweed with an off-center argyle motif, this appeals to me in much the same way the vest above appeals. And I think it would be a sweater I would live in. The design and the softness of the felted tweed, it seems to have that cuddly sweatshirt appeal, at least in my imagination, does call for positive ease, but I am not convinced I would knit this with the 10" of positive ease called for in the pattern. Or perhaps I am just being difficult. Anyway, although I would knit the vest in a neutral, this sweater is crying out to me for color.
Last but far from least is this slightly more polished sweater, also knit in Felted Tweed, called Topaz. Again wearable, and versatile. Although perhaps more versatile if I lived in a colder climate. The soft oversized sweater above looks cozy, and looks like something I could wear. This sweater looks like it would want to be worn as more of a polished indoor outfit. In the past I have found Knoxville overheated in winter time, more so than New York. But I may have changed, and adapted, or not. I love this sweater, and of course, I do not need to knit it in this yarn. Still, this design remains well entrenched in the realm of possibility.
And there you have it, actually far more knitting than I need or will finish in a year, especially given that I have. a large stash of queue waiting in the wings. But it never hurts to dream, nor is there any point in being niggling with one's dreams. Embrace all the possibilities, and then just see how they evolve.
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