I was a little iffy about the whole short-sleeved wool sweater thing, to be honest. But now that I have actually knit a short-sleeved wool sweater and worn it about, I totally get it. It's a seasonal conversion piece, really. And when one works in a library, particularly in special collection and archives where temperatures are always chillly (especially when that "one" is me)--a piece like this is terribly useful.
The road to this sweater was a long and winding one. I bought this yarn at my very first Rhinebeck (Little Mister did not exist yet and Little Sir--the one who will be 6 years old at the end of this week-- was 7 months old); that, my friends, was a long time ago. Anyways, when I bought the yarn, the intention was that it would be my first sweater. It was supposed to be a Cardigan for Arwen, and for a while, it was.
I knit the back and one side...but I blindly followed the pattern, as you do when you are a new knitter and don't know what's what. There were variant gauges , the sleeve was too long and I was also about three sizes larger than I am now when I started it. I put it down because I knew there were some issues. So it sat in a bin somewhere for years. I found the project last year while clearning and finally decided to rip it all out. I usually hate frogging projects, but honestly, it was taking up space. So I ripped it out and was, surprisingly, rather unsentimental about the whole thing.
I have wanted to knit one of Thea's patterns for a while, and hey, green yarn, Irish anything...it seemed like a good match.
I really enjoyed knitting this. It wasn't difficult, nor was it all that time consuming. It was an enjoyable knit. The pattern was extremely well-written and the alternatives for customizing the piece to fit your particular brand of body are a nice touch. I wish the yarn (Wild Apple Hill Farm wool--no website--it's rather Bartlett like) had a little more drape in it, it did soften considerably after a soak and the first block. I suspect that it will soften even more and drape the way I want with another soak.
So that's two down, ten to go.
Two down! I'm so excited for you! I have a couple of UFOs that I need to take a good, hard look at as well. The yarn works perfectly in this knit, and I agree; a layering sweater like this is a very good thing for air conditioning. Well done, Nova!
Posted by: Jacey | March 19, 2012 at 12:25 PM
I am a little skeptical about short-sleeve wool sweaters... but I'll think about it some more. :) You did a lovely job. Being too small for a sweater in progress is one of the best reasons to rip out!
Posted by: June | March 19, 2012 at 01:19 PM
OMG I love that we both just posted FOs using the same kind of yarn!! And I bought mine with you standing nearby at Rhinebeck a few years back :)
Posted by: Minty | March 19, 2012 at 02:05 PM
I love Thea's patterns, and you did a beautiful job with this one! I'm impressed that you were able to "re-purpose" the yarn so nicely.
Posted by: Susan | March 19, 2012 at 04:08 PM
I really like this sweater, though I suspect I'd still go long sleeved. The color is awesome and I can't believe it's been almost 6 years!
Posted by: Kathy | March 19, 2012 at 04:59 PM
it looks great, dude. :)
Posted by: carolyn | March 19, 2012 at 10:05 PM
The sweater looks fantastic (combine your knitting with Thea's designs and I would expect no less!). I actually love short-sleeved sweaters and wear them all winter. I am constantly pushing up sleeves...not because I'm too warm but apparently because I can't function without doing it. Short-sleeve sweaters solve this problem!
Posted by: Rachel | March 22, 2012 at 10:44 AM