My husband was out of town for a few days visiting family in Florida, so that gave me ample knitting time while he was away. He came home late Saturday but we knew Sunday would be a rainy day spent inside together and I was able to finish my Tecumseh sweater.
Since I made this with a cotton and acrylic blend yarn at the last moment I decided I’d make this a short sleeved sweater instead of long sleeve. I figured when it’s chilly I can always layer it over a long sleeve tee and now I can wear it whenever I want. The fit is slightly oversized but I think I’m going to have fun styling it and throwing it on casually and with work clothes. It’s blocking and I’ve got a billion ends to weave in but hopefully I’ll get pictures wearing it this week.
I do a lot in any given week. I work a full time job and I’m an adjunct professor so when I get some down time I thoroughly enjoy indulging myself in watching TV and knitting. I did take advantage of Saturday’s gorgeous weather and took the dogs on multiple long walks so we could all get some fresh air. It also serves a dual purpose. I wore them out so they’d give me a little time to knit and not demand all the belly rubs.
I think my weekend was a success.
I change my mind on knitting projects all the time…ALL. THE. TIME. In life I’m pretty decisive and I always know what I want but in knitting I want it all and I am constantly wanting to knit something else. I get into one thing and then BAM I see another pattern I have to make. Lately I’ve been excited about brioche and colorwork but the idea of casting on the Sunset Highway as my first real colorwork sweater wasn’t getting me excited. To be honest it makes my palms sweat with a bit of anxiety. Tiny needles, all those stitches…all that work and so many tiny stitches I might have to fix. Mind you I have the yarn and was gifted the pattern but I haven’t built up my confidence enough just yet. And I have plans to knit the Durumi colorwork sweater but it will be short sleeved and we just aren’t there yet weather wise so I’m okay waiting on that one for a bit. So when I saw that Caitlin Hunter who released Sunset Highway came out with a dk weight pullover, Tecumseh, I knew exactly what I was going to make next to finally make myself a stranded knitting sweater.
Tecumseh by Caitlin Hunter via Ravelry
What’s always funny to me is whenever I browse through the project pages on Ravelry there’s always a lot of grey, neutrals and soft color palettes. I get it, it’s timeless and safe and can match so much. But for me and my wardrobe…that’s a no. That’s just not what I want or what I wear. Of course I immediately go for all the color. I was originally thinking of making this in wool with some Miss Babs Yowza in my stash and then I thought, why not make it with a summery blend? And there’s still a ton of Berroco Weekend DK on closeout on a couple of sites (I decided to not use up the yarn I’ve rationed our for my two summer knits and to get a different color palette)…so for about $35, I got enough yarn for a lighter weight sweater that I can wear almost all year round. YAY!
I decided on a green and blue color palette because green is my favorite color and I get so excited to knit with green. The main color (the body) will be the bright green, seedling. The secondary color (the little crosses) will be the bright blue, coast. And the tertiary color (the leaf like shape) will be the Kelly green, forest. I’m going to go ahead and swatch this one with one of the colors in my stash I know I’ll have leftovers from so that once the yarn arrives I can dive right in. I tend to knit a lot of cardigans because I like layers but I’m always wishing I had a cool pullover to throw on with jeans or wear with a skirt. I think this one might fit the bill.
So is anyone else as indecisive with their knitting projects as I am? I don’t want to be the only one with this problem.
It has been freezing here in Maryland/DC even after our big snow and it’s definitely not feeling spring like at all. But I know it’s coming and I’m knitting!
Jellybean would like to switch to her lighter layers soon.
I’ve still got my Tamsyn neutral sweater on my needles but I haven’t made much progress since I finished my Mom’s sweater. I’m working on the body of a Carbeth for my cousin but on my snow day I couldn’t resist starting something else new for myself that was swirling around in my brain. I have a swing coat I love that I bought from Anthropologie almost 2 years ago now but I’ve always known I could make something better. Plus every time I wear it everyone asks if I made it and I knew I could I just needed more confidence in making my own stuff.
So I pulled out this Miss Babs Yowza in Dahlia (the peachy coral shade) and Hedgehog Fibres Merino DK in Bollywood and have been making up my own version of a swing coat with wide sleeves for spring. I’m doing the sleeves, trim and pockets in the variegated Bollywood shade and the body in the bright coral. I already had to frog back a few rows because the box pleat I wanted to do just didn’t work out the way I wanted but I’ve already got other ideas on how to give it the shape I want. I’m super proud of myself for even being able to frog back and just work the two rows over. Before I would’ve panicked and probably started it all over but with time comes more confidence and knowledge. I’m excited about the possibility of what I can create and I’m hoping that if I knit myself a cute spring jacket it will help usher on spring.
