This is weird. I should be happy to be needle-free. To be rid of the sweater-knitting monkey on my back (and just be wearing the actual sweater on my back) but I still am in the mood for more. There’s another selfish knitting project brewing. I can feel it. It’s a shame that one can’t knit (or crochet) sweaters with the same speed that one can, say, go to Target and buy a great-fitting tee shirt in every color they have. If you love the sweater you just knit, sure you can make more in different colors, but it’ll cost you an arm and a leg for nice yarn, and it’ll take you about a month to construct each one.
It’s not a recipe for contentment, if you are one of those instant-gratification people. And I am most definitely one of those people.
Still, there’s fun in the daydreaming, and so I thought I would share here some of the sweater projects that are catching my eye lately. It is doubtful that they will all come to fruition, but it’s possible that one will. Maybe more than one. (Maybe my Christmas wish list needs to consist of piles and piles of yarn…)
I’m loving the Portulata Cardigan from Carol Feller’s Craftsy Celtic Cables class. I really, really, want to make this sweater. I love cables, and I think this is a project that will be plenty challenging – no boring miles of stockinette here! I can’t make this in green, though, since I just did one that color. Mustard sounds appealing. Or possibly brown.
I’ve taken a few Craftsy classes before and I highly recommend them. [Full disclosure: the Craftsy links are affiliate links, so I get a little moolah if you’re new to Craftsy and you sign up for a class. That doesn’t affect my recommendation, though. The whole reason I signed up for the affiliate program is because I feel good suggesting their great site to people. The extra little bits of cash are just a nice bonus.]
You really get a lot of bang for your buck with these classes. Celtic Cables, for example, has more than 5 and a half hours of instruction for $40. And you have access to it forever. Pretty cool, I think.
Here’s a crocheted sweater by Linda Permann from a recent issue of Interweave Crochet [also an affiliate link, but for Amazon.com this time because, hey, a girl has to fund her yarn purchases somehow!]. I feel like I can crochet faster than I can knit, so I am under the (probably false) impression that I could whip this cardigan up in no time flat. I’m seeing this one in mustard, too, with accent colors that are not too contrasty to the gold. I don’t want to make it as bold as the sample. Shades of gray might also be an option with this one.
I like the Milady vest by DROPS design, and this version in brown by Raveller Trollivier is really nice. This may be a good use for the yarn I am going to have once I frog the Lion Neck Cardigan. (I’m trying, but it’s proving headachey – see photo below) Or, I may just do it in the Brown Sheep wool Trollivier used. Brown Sheep is not too spendy, and it really looks nice there.
There are more, but these are the the ones fighting for the most space in my brain at the moment. I don’t know if this is a public page on Raverly, but if it is you are welcome to browse through my favorites there.
Ok, knitters and crocheters, what other sweater patterns do I need to know about before I commit?
I love your post and so agree about Craftsy, great place for online classes! The Milady Vest is awesome and for, I can see thus knitted up in handspun – thank you for the link 🙂
Oh, you’re welcome! I am definitely taking the Craftsy class as soon as I can collect enough yarn for it. In the meantime, though, that vest is calling to me…
I chuckled when I saw the sweater you’re frogging is also green! Do you like green, Lisa? HA! Of the ones you’ve shown I think I like the Celtic Cables best. But I’d love it if you did the crochet one just so I could see it. I really like that sweater but am usually not crazy about crocheted sweaters. Don’t know why. But I like that one so… Go figure. I’m certainly not logical about this! Brown Sheep is wonderful yarn. Before I moved south and had trouble with wool, I used to buy Brown Sheep at wholesale. A group of us would go together and buy buy buy. Sadly I think I still have some of that yarn (and this was 20 years ago). Gads.
I hear you on the crocheted sweater thing. I love to crochet, and I like it for shawls, blankets, little do-dads, etc, but where sweaters are concerned, I much prefer the look of a knit garment. Still, something about that sweater calls to me.
Me? Like green? Naaaaah.
I totally understand the need to have something going at just about all the time. Here is a pattern that I will be trying out soon: http://knitty.com/ISSUEss10/PATTemmaline.php
How is your husband’s health coming along? I hope all is well:)
Oh, I like that one. It looks like a fairly quick knit, too.
Neil is doing well, thank you! Things are feeling a lot more normal around here these days. A less fatty, less salty, more exercisey normal, anyway!
I bought the class on craftsy but haven’t watched it yet. I wanted the pattern. I’m almost thru with the gnarled oak cardi & have yarn for a rocky coast next. then I’ve got the pattern for the Mrs. Darcy sweater which I’ve been wanting to make forever and yarn for another gray sweater…pattern tbd. Too many patterns too little time. I’m mgoblue on rav if you want to peruse my hundreds of favs!
Oh, I just love that gnarled oak cardi! I have my eye on it, but I’m not sure I have the patience. I like the Same Same But Different that’s in your favorites, but I think I would lose my mind trying to knit a sweater with fingering weight yarn and size 4 needles. I’m far too impatient. I can’t even get through a pair of socks with lightweight yarn and small needles!
Oh, I love that crocheted sweater. I’ve never done anything but a granny square so I wonder how hard a jump that would be for me.
I started with granny squares, too, and for me the hardest part of anything else I’ve tried has been crocheting into a base chain. I don’t know if this sweater requires that, but I suspect it does. I find it tricky, and hard to keep from twisting the chain, but I am sure it gets easier with practice. I also know that there are people who have gone out of their way to design alternate methods to crocheting into base chains, and so maybe it *doesn’t* get easier, and we should just google one of those alternate methods 😉
I think crochet just works up much faster than knitting, but that’s my personal opinion. I LOVE milady vest in brown. Can’t wait to see what you choose!
I feel like it does, too. I may have to put that to the test…
I just finished frogging that green sweater last night, so I may be choosing a pattern tonight and getting started. Wheeee!
In my opinion, you should take a break from all the knitting and crocheting since you don’t want to buy all that expensive yarn. I’d take a break and use clay or your camera. Then when you’re tired of that go back to the knitting and crocheting.
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You know, BOG, I like that you are dropping by here and commenting lately.
I’m still in a knit/crochet kind of mood, though, and since clay and camera stuff don’t lend themselves well to relaxing in front of the tv at night, I am going to keep working on the knit/crochet things. Don’t worry about the expense, though. I took apart that first sweater I made, and now I have all of the yarn from it that I can use on something new. Yay!
good 4 u
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