November 10, 2004
On The Road Again
I'm leaving for the western part of the United States tomorrow for a short business trip. On the plus side, I should get to see lovely golden Larch trees and snow capped mountains, on the minus side, it's not going to be particularly warm. But as business trips go, it should be a good one, so aside from a lot of airplane time (which will hopefully be productive from a sock-knitting perspective), I'm actually looking forward to it.
But getting ready to go hasn't left a lot of time for me to do much knitting tonight. So instead of displaying what will appear to be infintesimal progress on Clapotis, I will talk about the next project I want to do for me...I know, I was talking about Christmas presents yesterday, and now I'm talking about me. But with only so many cold weather months in which to wear sweaters, a girl has to do a lot of strategic planning to make sure she doesn't miss out on a great wardrobe addition -- or worse, finish a great wardrobe addition just in time for the wrong season to begin.
Have you seen Bonne Marie's wonderful Ribby Cardi? How cool is it that this awesome pattern is the featured design at Elann? I know, this is old news to most of you, but it wasn't until this weekend that I finally got to do a little surfing and see all the great color combinations that people are putting together (Bonne Marrie has put together a page of good ones if you want to check them out).
I spent a long time thinking about whether I wanted a two-toned or solid colored sweater, and in the end I opted for just one color. I think I will get more wear out of the sweater that way. I also opted for a color that I thought I would get a lot of wear out of, even though I kept getting drawn back to those bright purples, greens, blues and reds (I like these colors, but I know that I need to add a bit more subtlety to my wardrobe).
So what did I pick?
This denimy shade grabbed me and just wouldn't let go. I think it will do well at both work and play and go with a lot of my winter wardrobe of turtlenecks. And I'm still blown away by the fact that I'll get a whole sweater for about $30.
Picking yarn for this sweater has also left me with a new favorite pastime -- checking Elann to see which colors are still left. For some reason, I'm finding it fascinating to see which colors people like the best. Wanna place bets on which colors will be the last to go?
P.S. Because of my travel schedule, this is likely to be my last post for the week. But I'll be back on Monday!
Nice colour! I just cast on for a sweater in a very similar shade, it's not normally my colour but I couldn't put it down when I found it!
Looking forward to see how the cardi comes along, it's on my list!
Anna
Never commented before, but I very much enjoy your blog. Thank you for the Ribby link! I had just had the thought that I'd love a two-toned sweater in brown and blue, and here is almost exactly what I had in mind. :)
Keep up with the lovely knitting!
The word "yarnivore" comes to mind.
;-)
Thank you so much for that link! I was just pondering a Rowan zip cardigan, in a dark gray for 'nice', but wishing I could do a more sporty one, too. And what a price! Grand Canyon and Mocha Cream, come, come to the magpie's nest... Now I just have to pin down instructions for front slit pockets, to complete the look.
Of course Lynette and I couldn't resist one of Bonne Marie's fabulous designs. Both of us bought enough for two 2-toned cardis!
I thought it was my own odd data-gathering proclivities that had me checking Elann for other people's color choices! Glad to see I'm not alone.
Me, too! I almost bought that color with a darker blue for the contrast but decided on Charcoal and Oxford heathers. Great pattern and can't wait to knit it....soon! Have a great time in the west. You must be heading to the northern part.
I jumped in with both feet too! Got the celadon with calypso green (which was to the right of it) - Just wondering how hard it is to put a zipper into a knitted garment?? I've never done that. Is it easy?
Funny - I was just looking at that pattern the other day - only on her site - and I saw the Elann yarn combos - I should've guessed that Elann was featuring her design but I didn't put 2 & 2 together. I like the color you chose!
Mid-indigo heather was one of my choices! In the end, I decided to go for violet heather. I can't wait for my yarn to get here!
You are an enabler!!! It's the perfect combo of really cool sweater and yarn at a great price. I just placed my order. I got heathered grey (body) and Admiral blue for the sleeves. I am sure I could have knit it from the yarn in my stash, but what fun would that be?
Has anyone else ordered Celadon? The color is much more muted (greyish) than the photo on the website.. I decided it would really wash me out and will return it. Changed my mind and will make the whole thing in Harvest Heather. I'm surprised since - in the past - I've always been happy with elann's color swatches. Oh, well - its just postage!
I picked Nutmeg Heather and Redwood. It's reassuring to see I wasn't the only one looking at the stock counts to see which colours were being used!
I too have been sucked in by the Ribby Cardi. I can't decide whether to go for a two toned or a solid - so with yarn that price I bought both figuring I can just wait and see what happens when the yarn is on the needles. I went for grape heather and violet heather. But I have to admit it was a tough choice and I am hoping they sell out soon so I won't be drawn back to purchase more!