So, thinking ahead….I really like this sweater in the new IK. Actually, technically, it’s a Veronik Avery sweater in the soon-to-come “Color Style” book by Pam Allen and Ann Budd (I love that cover sweater, too), but its pattern is printed in Interweave Knits as a book excerpt.

Anyway, I like it, and I think it would work with some Jo Sharp DK Wool I have in my stash. They’re completely different colors, of course, but the weight of the yarn is the same, and you know I like to pick my own color combinations, anyway. I would need four pairs of colors. Two for the mosaic pattern that makes up the bulk of the sweater, and then three pairs for the color stripes in the yoke … then back to the original pair again for the shoulders. I paired up the colors here–the pairs on each end are the same (a bluish-gray and a deep purple), with the three possible sets of duos in between… It looks like it would work. I think. Mostly.

This doesn’t mean that I have decided to make this, but it’s a possibility. Of course, I’d need to try to get gauge, and you KNOW the problems I have with that! There are some patterns in the Vogue Knitting I like, too–and this yarn would work for a couple of those, too. And then there are one or two (or three) patterns I saw on Ravelry from the new Classic Elite book. Those, of course, aren’t options because I don’t have that book, but I really liked a couple of those sweaters.

The plus side is that I HAVE the pattern and more-or-less appropriate yarn for this sweater already here, in the house. That’s a wonderful thing, don’t you think? Who knew that stashing yarn was going to end up being so economical of me?

In other words, thank heaven the Fall patterns are finally out. Am I the only one who finds summer knitting to be kind of boring? The bad part? There are a whole slew of really great BOOKS coming out and I want every single one of them.

Not only is there the Color Style that I mentioned earlier, but there’s the new Mason-Dixon book, which just has to be good. Nicki Epstein’s Knitting on Top of the World. The Yarn Harlot’s new book, of course, and Franklin’s book of knitting cartoons (with my very favorite one on the cover.) Wendy Johnson has a new book of toe-up sock patterns coming, which you know is going to be great, because the socks on her blog are always fantastic. Then there’s Classic Elite knits, and their patterns are always gorgeous. Wendy Bernard (Knit and Tonic) has her first book coming out, for designing your own top-down sweaters. (Hey, her Not-so-shrunken cardigan was a good pattern, I’m game!) Melissa Leapman has a new Cable book coming, too, and considering how good her first one was, that seems awfully promising. And, oh, the peek at accessories in Boutique Knits looks so, so good.

(Really, considering how dire our financial situation is, I hesitate to tell you how many of these I’ve pre-ordered. I need to come up with a way to make my book habit pay for itself! I’ve barely bought any yarn in over a year, but I can’t quite completely reign in the book habit. But, um, in the meantime, if you’re feeling inclined to buy any of them and were kind enough to do so using my links so that I get a commission from Amazon, I’d be very grateful.)

Anyway, another pattern in the IK that I liked? Eunny’s bias stole. In fact, I liked it so much, I finally wound my skein of Claudia silk lace yarn into balls, with the intent to make it. The color (on my monitor, at least) is fairly close–it’s called “Just Plum” and is a lovely, plummy, shade of rosy purple. Not too pink, but not too blue, it’s really a smashing color.

It’s been a much quieter day, today–cloudy, for one thing, and we had some rain this afternoon. Chappy got his much-needed haircut and, while concentrating so much on not accidentally cutting him, I cut my own finger with the scissors. Silly! It’s okay, though. I would have felt worse if I’d cut him by mistake. We had roast chicken for supper, which Chappy ADORES, and he sat and obsessed about it from the time it came out of the oven until he got some in his food dish … not to mention the opportunity of cleaning off the carving board. (He’s really very helpful that way.)

• Tags: Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Thinking Ahead //