guilty pleasure

These days I spend most of my knitting energy making stuff up - which is why knitting other people's patterns has become a guilty pleasure. I started this project about 18 months ago. In the meantime, I've gotten quite a lot of knitting done on other projects - while the unfinished back of this sweater has had an epic nap in a basket on a shelf. I picked it up again this weekend as I was re-organizing the shelves in my new studio. I've had a few false starts lately and it's just so nice to have something to work on while I figure out what's next.

Every once in a while I run across a pattern for a garment that I have to have. Hartington is one of those patterns. I discovered it on a trip to the Rowan mothership in Holmfirth, UK in the Fall of 2013. I had just started designing and thought that I could learn a thing or two about design, process, and publishing by taking a workshop there. It was exhilarating to take a trip across the sea by myself, a first, and a very valuable voyage. Best of all, I met one of my heroes, the designer Marie Wallin, and found this pattern, in her book Autumn Knits. I love the silhouette, I'm crazy for the interplay of textures, and when I came home I thought, what better way to commemorate my trip than to knit this gorgeousness?!

Knitting takes time - especially when you are making it up. But when you knit someone else's pattern - you can just let go - occasionally making sure you have the right number of stitches on your needles. I always learn quite a bit from kniting someone else's patterns. There is so much that goes into every pattern - especially by a master like Marie. From the silhouette to the placement of the stitch pattern on the garment, to the construction and the writing of the pattern itself. This must be what it's like to go on a cruise. Just let go - and follow the program. Hmmm. I think I need to save up for a cruise.

For once - I am using the recommended yarn for the pattern - this is my first project knit with Cocoon. Since it is chunky and single ply, it's a little like knitting hair. The combination of wool and mohair is apparent - they lie so neatly together in the skein, but as soon as it's knit up, the wiry goat hairs go their own way. I went for a charcoal gray, rather than the beige pictured. The dark grey colorway is really a gorgeous steely heathered blue/gray. I was worried that the twisted stitch texture wouldn't be as evident in a darker color - but it does show well, and I know I'll wear it often. The yarn relaxed and softened beautifully when blocked. Cocoon is a bit sheddy, there is definitely an earthy quality to the wool, but I love yarn that still bears some relation to the animal from which it came. I have a feeling those wiry goat hairs will keep me very warm indeed.