Sweater Judgement Day

Today, finally, I pulled out three sweaters that have been sitting in time out, considered their potential, and passed judgement.

Sweater #1, the Hedonist Redo Sweater.
Named Hedonist Redo because it is being knit with Hedonist yarn that was frogged from a previous knitting disappointment.



The sweater body was knit in the round. This is the back.

The body is done, the shoulder seams are knit, all that's needed is two sleeves.

I procrastinated knitting the sleeves because it was summertime and sleeves aren't my favorite thing to knit. But knit them I will. This one's a keeper and I'm almost looking forward to finishing it.

Pattern: A basic pullover. The border across the top of the back and front is Pattern #177 from The New Knitting Stitch Library by Leslie Stanfield.

Yarn: Hedonist Sock from Slackford Studio, 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon, 4 Ply Fingering Weight

Color: Cote d'Azur

Needles: US #4, 3.5mm

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 9 rows/inch in stockinette.

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Sweater #2, the Red X Sweater.
Named Red X sweater because the yarn is red, the stitch pattern has an X in it, and I didn't know what the rest of the sweater was going to look like so I named it after what I knew.





When I started this sweater the plan was to knit a gansey with some intricate stitch patterns on the top part. I selected this knit/purl pattern as the background filler pattern, started knitting, and then did several skeins of swatching to find something for the top that looked nice with the knit/purl pattern and the deep red yarn.

I was unable to find anything that stood out as just the right thing. The knit/purl background pattern is a little to busy to play well with others at this gauge.

At nine inches I tossed the sweater aside for lack of a plan to finish, and it's been sitting in a basket for over a year. Good grief.

I like the yarn, I like the knit/purl pattern, I want to finish the sweater. I'm going to draw up a plan and finish the sweater mostly with the knit/purl background stitch. There may be a few accent places knit in a variation of the knit/purl stitch. I'm looking forward to having it done and wearing it.

Pattern: Winging it for now. Unofficially naming it the Red X Sweater.

Yarn: Knitpicks Cotlin. 70% Tanguis Cotton, 30% Linen. DK weight.

Color: Moroccan Red.

Needles: Options #3.

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 8.5 rows/inch in pattern.

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Sweater #3, Vines and Leaves.



Last time I saw this sweater I had knit the sleeves and the sleeves didn't fit in the sweater body. This was my fault, not the pattern. I had modified the arm hole when knitting the body and forgot to alter the sleeves.

As pretty as it is/was, I decided I was never going to enjoy this sweater. I have one other Cotlin sweater with sewn in sleeves, and the seam is very thick and nasty looking. I'm done knitting heavy cotton blend sweaters with set in sleeves.

There are other parts of the pattern that suggest they may not hang nice once the sweater is finished.

The sweater is gone. It has been eliminated from my knitting life with no regrets. Please don't ask what I did with it. Some things I'd rather not confess in writing.

Pattern: Vines and Leaves cardigan from the May issue of Creative Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Cotlin and I'm getting exact stitch gauge and row gauge with US 5 needles.

Color: Planetarium. (Navy)

Needles: Options #5.