Forecast, finally

I was going to start off with a sarcastic comment about finishing this sweater in time for summer. But with cool days last week and chilly evenings this week, I've actually been able to wear it. Take that, global warming!!


Pattern: Forecast, by Stefanie Japel
Yarn: unnamed, heavy worsted wool from a farmer's market. It's wool of the scratchy, stiff variety.
Needles: 8's for garter stitch portions, 6's for the ribbing and neck
Modifications: oh boy. This deserves a fresh paragraph.

I would say that I followed the spirit rather than the letter of the pattern. I did the garter stitch by knitting every row instead of purling, as is specified in the pattern. I swapped in a horseshoe cable for the bobbled cable. At some point I'll probably slice off this odd collar and add something more subtle. My most significant modification was with the button band: rather than doing buttons all the way up, I did short rows in garter stitch so that I had a minimal edging alongside the cables (top) and a wider, buttoned band alongside the ribbing (bottom).

(click photo to get slightly more detail)
I'd started experimenting with an asymmetric band because the strategy of decreasing dramatically under the bust (changing to smaller needles and ribbing) wasn't suited to my straighter proportions. It yielded a well-fitting top but a too-tight waist, and I didn't much feel like reknitting it. I realized that I was going to wear it half-buttoned most of the time anyways. And I liked the clean look of the cabled border.

I also whipped up a little baby sweater last week. It was an incredibly simple and quick knit, and the organic cotton is such a pleasure to have running through your fingers.

Pattern: on the fly top-down swing cardigan.
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas organic, color-grown cotton in a light green (1.5 balls) and a sand color (a smidgen for edgings)
Needles: 8, bamboo, 16" circ and dp's

I have a bit of life-changing news to close this post. Fear not, it has nothing to do with doing lots of baby knitting this year. No, the big change is that Mountain Man and I will be moving from my beloved Vermont to the Phoenix area next year. I recognize that this is a good move for us in lots of rationally-calculated ways. I am distressed, though, about how this will impact my knitting!! If you have any advice on how to adjust one's knitting to a hot climate, or can point me towards blogs of any Arizona knitters, I'd love to hear!