F.O. Winston Pullover #3 by Jane Richmond

Pattern:    Winston Pullover

Designer:  Jane Richmond

Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick Solids (80% Acrylic, 20% Wool)

Colourway: Wheat and Charcoal

Yarn: Rowan Big Wool (100% Merino)

Colourway:  Pine Needle

Yarn:  Cascade Yarns Ecological Wool (100% Wool)

Colourway:  Beige

Yarn:  Estelle Yarns Gladstone Chunky (50% Merino, 50% Acrylic)

Colourway:  421

Needles: 12mm & 8mm

Size:  38

Ravelry:  see further notes

Added Notes:

1.  Last winter I made two Winston Pullovers, one for me (read about it here), 

and one for my daughter: 

Mine got quite a bit of wear ...it's such a perfect sweater to throw on during those chilly days.  I love it so much that I thought it would be great to knit a cropped version.  I had leftover yarn from the two Winston pullovers taking up space in my stash.  Also, I had picked up three skeins of Rowan Big Wool on sale in my favourite colour green and was ready to get it on the needles.

2.  Modifications:  Using my original Winston Pullover as a guide, I counted the number of rows I would need to knit in order to get my desired length.  The magic number for me was 11 rows for each of the five coloured stripes.  My sweater hits my waist, making it the perfect length to work well with skirts and high waisted pants.  The body measures 12 inches from the underarm.

4.  I needed yarn for the fourth stripe as I didn't have any super bulky yarn in my stash that would work.  After a few false starts I combined two strands of Cascade Yarns Ecological Wool with one strand of Estelle Yarns Gladstone Chunky, in order to equal the thickness of the other yarns I used.  There are flecks of black, green, brown and a bit of blue in the Gladstone Chunky.  I am still wondering if I should have gone with a different colour for that stripe.  However, the feeling of using up deep stash is very satisfying.  Luckily all the yarns in this sweater, although from different companies, played well together and created a consistent gauge.

5.  I am not a fan of acrylic yarns but there is something about the Lion Brand Wool-Ease that I quite like.  It feels warm and cozy to wear and the price is so reasonable.  If you have never tried this yarn before it's worth a look.

6.  I am a huge fan of Jane Richmond and I love every one of her patterns that I have knit.  You would think that a super bulky sweater may not be the most flattering, but Jane seems to know how to design a sweater that looks great on everyone.  I am eagerly waiting the release of a man's sweater that she is currently designing and keeps hinting about on Instagram.

7.  If I haven't convinced you yet to knit this sweater here is my last point.  Super bulky yarn knits up super fast. You could easily knit this sweater in a week.  What are you waiting for?  Look in your stash...you might have exactly what you need and don't be scared to combine yarns.  Just knit a sample swatch and experiment with your yarn.  Happy knitting!

Knitting Disasters

I named this blog "Woolercoaster" because as many knitters know knitting is full of ups and downs. Well, my friends, I am in a bit of a knitting slump.  Two projects I have recently been working on are ready to be frogged although I have not had the heart to do it.  So they are sitting sadly in a bag waiting to be ripped out.

Disaster #1  I bought this yarn (Rowan Creative Focus Worsted) on a March Break trip to London and in my mind I was thinking I would knit some kind of vest with it.  Instead of listening to my gut I picked a lovely knitted sweater pattern by Glenna C. called Dundurn. After knitting a swatch I was all set to go.  I decided to knit both of the sleeves at the same time.  As I was knitting the sleeves a little voice in my head told me that this was going to be a warmer sweater than I first anticipated and/or desired and I should go back to my vest idea.  However, I ignored that voice and kept on knitting until I was about 3/4 done the sleeves.  By this point I finally listened to that voice and put down the needles.

Disaster #2  My next project I decided to do was the Grace Cardigan by Jane Richmond in a lovely fingering yarn called Caper Sock by String Theory.  After reading other knitter's comments on Ravelry I was warned that the lace section at the beginning of the cardigan was challenging for some.  Well it was challenging for me.  Without going into all the details I will just say that after several attempts I could not get the lace to go perfectly.  I usually do not give up on a pattern but I have spent way too many hours accomplishing basically nothing.  It's time to switch to another project.

Here is one project I did finish between Disaster #1 and Disaster #2.  It is the Chevron Hat by Kate Gagnon Osborn found in the knit.wear Spring 2013 magazine.  It was a very quick knit and I was very pleased with how it turned out.  I used a combination of Madelinetosh Chunky in Fathom and Fyberspates Chunky Scrumptious Solid.  You should try it.

Now I have to pick another pattern to work on. What do you do when a pattern is not working out?