Turquoise Rainbow

I finished up Siena Sunday morning before breakfast (which for John and I is around 1:30 pm). This gave me plenty of time to contemplate what would come next. Since it's pretty chilly in Chicago right now, I wanted to knit something warm and comfortable.

At first, I thought I should finish up my Bullseye Pullover... and then I started ripping. And then I started wondering why I had ever decided to make a mohair sweater. And then my frustration level grew high enough that I figured that I had better stop before I completely shredded the yarn. I still haven't finished ripping the front of the darn thing. If I ever manage to finish the ripping and I reknit it, it's just going to be a simple drop shoulder pullover without the Bullseye in the center.

Sitting next to the pieces of the Bullseye in the armoire was a kit I picked up at the Michigan Fiber Festival from Traci Bunkers and her company Bonkers Handmade Originals. I liked the simple cable and lace motifs in the Rainbow Dyed Pullover and found a colorway that was compatable with my skin tones. Bonkers yarn is beautiful, but most of her colorways have strong yellow undertones which don't do very much for me. Turquoise is a lovely color because it complements those of us who look better in the blue range of colors and those of us who look better in the yellow range -- words of wisdom from Maggie Righetti.

To calm my mohair addled nerves, I balled up a skein of the Bonkers yarn with the help of my trusty swift and swatched on the suggested needles. After working with the ribbon, it was kind of nice to get worsted weight wool back in my hands. This yarn is very soft and has thicker and thinner areas that give it a lot of character.

Bonkers Worsted Swatch

Digital cameras, I am told, have difficulty with vibrant colors. In real life, this swatch is much bluer. I think the stitch definition is lovely. I knit to gauge on the recommended needles, and the fabric is quite dense. For a more detailed closeup of the stitches click here.

I blocked the swatch a little and let the swatch sit overnight while I started another quick scarf project. I almost stopped at this point. Why? Because, once again, my love for hand dyed yarn means that I have to knit from two skeins at once and carry a strand up the side. I really wanted something simple that could be ported from place to place. By Monday night, however, my desire for another warm pullover overcame my issues with portability, and I cast on for the back of the sweater.

Rainbow Dyed Ribbing

The color in this picture is much closer to real, but is still not quite on target. This is the not so impressive beginning of the back of the sweater. Three inches of K1P1 ribbing and then the rest stockinette. The back is likely to be nap inducing, but that makes it good to get out of the way first.

I may use my desire to complete and wear this sweater as a means to motivating myself to finish a sweater that has been lingering in my to do list since summer -- the Lo Tech Sweat for my Dad. I'm going to try to alternate between the projects. Finish the back of the RDP, finish the sleeve for the LTS, work a RDP sleeve, finish the other LTS sleeve, etc. Maybe this approach will result in a sweater that my dad can wear this winter...