This is the Leyfi Sweater by Romi, published in Interweave Knits a few years ago. I used 9 balls of St. Charles Collozione Tinka and most of 3 balls of Filatura di la crosa Superior (man those yarn names are a mouthful). It fits!
I bought the yarn right after the sweater pattern was released, at 50% off at a yarn shop that was closing. Due to a misprint in the pattern I only bought 2 skeins of the Superior at the time, and by the time I realized I needed 3, they didn't have any more. I got a third ball, but it was a different dye lot and noticeably darker than the other two. I was nervous about whether I would have enough yarn, so I knit the sweater down to the divide and slightly past, and then I went ahead and knit the sleeves. I used the darker ball of Superior on the sleeves and I alternated for a few rows, but I'm honestly not sure that it mattered because of the way the Superior appears only intermittently on the outside of the sweater, which is what gives it the "flecked" look. I had enough to do both sleeves with a fair amount of Superior left over. This left me free to knit the body as long as I wanted or until I ran out of yarn. As it turned out, I decided the length was good right about the time I got to the end of the second lighter ball of the Superior. Did I mention it fits?
While I enjoyed this project, I was seriously jonesing for some lace by the end of it, so no sooner had I finished basking in the glory of my completed sweater, than I had lace in my hands.
I had said that I intended to give away all of the shawls I made in the 7 Small Shawls Year 2: The Muses to women who inspire me. I knit Terpischore (which I still haven't blocked) for my mother, but I wanted to make one for me too, and I was captivated by the idea of knitting it in Iridaceae Colorworks Black Iris. I love theme knitting and it seemed super appropriate, since the fleur de lis is sometimes believed to be an iris rather than a lily. (Remember kids, wikipedia is not an appropriate citation for anything except a blog post discussing artistic justifications for color combinations in your knitting.) Also, despite the fact that after the wedding I thought I would never want to see purple again - I love purple. I finished the sweater on Saturday. By Sunday night I had finished the garter stitch section and I was ready to start the first lace chart.
But I didn't, because I can smell autumn in the air, and I owe a very dear friend who has recently gone to serve as a missionary in a place that is very cold in winter a pair of thrummed mittens. She doesn't know it but as long as I am shipping to Mongolia I plan to include more than just mittens, but that little scent of fall suggested to me that, although it is still very warm, I probably need to get a move on. So, I took the plunge, and thrummed for the first time.
My thrums are not great but hopefully I will improve. A survey of thrum-related articles and blog posts suggests that a shot of the inside is obligatory, so here you go:
I'm using black Cascade eco-wool and the thrums are from fiber that I bought ages ago from Paradise Fibers, and I have no idea any more what it is. I'm hoping I will have enough of the Cascade (which comes in huge skeins of 460 yards or so) to make her a hat as well. I was thinking about doing one of the fold up brim hats I've done in the past, and thrumming the fold up part so it will be extra warm over the ears, but I have not yet thought this plan through, so it might be crazy, I'm not sure. I also plan to knit her some coordinating Maia Mitts that she can wear under the mittens if she chooses, in case she has to take them off while she's out. Or she can just wear them around the apartment, whichever.
I did more yarn shopping than was good for me this weekend, and as it seemed unfair to leave my friend's husband out of the wooly goodness, I got some more eco-wool so I could knit him something warm and manly as well. As you can see, I still got lots of good stuff for me too.
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