Sweaters

I've got two sweaters in mind that I'm really excited about. One is the February Lady Sweater, which was adapted from an Elizabeth Zimmermann baby sweater pattern. I've liked it for a long time, but I was always concerned about where the garter yoke/lace pattern line would fall on me, and whether it would accentuate my, ahem, voluptuous bosom in an unflattering way. The other night I was thinking about it, and decided to see what it looked like knit in stockinette, rather than garter/lace. Only a few people on Ravelry had done the sweater in stockinette, but I liked what I saw. I decided to do the two-inch garter border at the neck, bottom edge, and cuffs, and do the rest in stockinette. I guess it would be similar-ish to Margot from Knitty, but as a cardigan. On the plus side, no unfortunate line placement, plus more usability (for me at least) as a fall/winter sweater. We shall see.

The other one I'm thinking about is Cecchetti, from Twist Collective Spring 2010. I'm not entirely sure, and I think I want to see it in larger sizes before committing to it. It's fingering weight on 8s, so it'll be a looser fabric, and may not work well for me. If not that, then I'll get more of the yarn I have in mind (KP Stroll Sock in Burgundy, which is redder than on the preview page at knitpicks) and maybe do Harlow, which is a gorgeous design by a fellow LSGer (and all-around excellent person!).

I'm excited about these new projects. Last year's sweater is still a bit of a disappointment, with the sleeves too big for the armholes. I learned a lot in making that sweater, so I'm not upset about it not turning out perfectly. I think it's worth another shot at that pattern, because I do love it, other than the sleeve part. It may even be worth ripping out the sleeves and readjusting to make those fit better. I'd love to have it be something I wear more often instead of something I keep at home for when I'm chilly.

Luckily the FLS is a top-down raglan, so there's no seaming. I hope it works out because I'd love to wear it at Rhinebeck this year.

Reading

Because of the nature of my job, I find myself wanting to do pretty much anything other than reading in my free time. Staring at words all day makes staring at more words less enjoyable for me. But I miss reading. I used to read voraciously, often finishing a long book in little over a day. Now I work on the same novel for weeks, and it's one I've read before. If I were reading something new, I'd have forgotten what the first part of the book was about by now.

I need to pledge to myself to read more frequently, even if it's crap literature or Harry Potter. At least it's something. I have half a shelf of books I want to read but haven't started yet. I was an English Lit major in college for Pete's sake! Where has my love of reading gone? I plan to spend at least a little bit of time every day reading a book. That's my promise to myself, my education, and my sanity. Losing myself in a book is an experience I dearly miss.

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I seem to have gotten some of my knitting mojo back. I never really took a break from it this summer with all the medical crap, but I've stuck mainly to garter stitch blankets for me and my brother, and haven't had the desire to do much else. The other night I got a wild hair and looked into a couple of sweater patterns. I've started one already and I'm waiting on yarn for the other. I've also downloaded or queued a bunch of shawl patterns and I think I'll add at least one lace project to the rotation too. I feel like a fog is lifting; it's so nice to be interested in something again.