Renée's "Swatch"
Ever since I first set eyes on "The Celtic Collection", I knew I wanted to knit Lindisfarne. That was a long time ago and I was scared to death of fair isle knitting. Now, a few years later, I'd rather knit fair isle than anything else. Heck, I'd rather knit fair isle than eat or sleep, it seems.
A couple of years ago Anne and I were casually chatting about Lindisfarne. She told me that the colours were less like those on the cover of the book and more like those in the teensy picture on page 33. She said this almost apologetically but I was excited. Those are more my colours than the shades on the cover.
Before long, I was bringing home a kit for Lindsifarne, complete with Anne's conversions from the original shades to Spindrift. I knew I would eventually knit it but I wasn't sure when. So, when Anne proposed a knitalong - I was IN!
We decided we would swatch on New Year's Day and start knitting on January 2nd. I did the math to figure out what gauge I would need to get the size sweater I wanted (the original is 44" around the chest and I'm not that big a person). When I figured that out, I realized it was the same as the gauge I knit a different sweater at a few years ago, so I dug out the needle I knew that sweater with, skipped swatching and cast on. I know, I'm really asking for a smack down from the knitting gods, aren't I?
I didn't remember Anne saying that she had never swatched with her conversion to see how it looked but I'd trust her with my life so I decided to blindly follow her directions. I'd like to say I followed along without a second thought but I did freak out a little when I saw how dark the Osprey yarn is but I shouldn't have...I think it looks fantastic.
Here's my "swatch":
It's not great photography. It's hard to photograph a circular sweater in natural light (my front porch in the middle of a Canadian winter) on my knee while holding down an edge that is desperate to roll up.
A couple of years ago Anne and I were casually chatting about Lindisfarne. She told me that the colours were less like those on the cover of the book and more like those in the teensy picture on page 33. She said this almost apologetically but I was excited. Those are more my colours than the shades on the cover.
Before long, I was bringing home a kit for Lindsifarne, complete with Anne's conversions from the original shades to Spindrift. I knew I would eventually knit it but I wasn't sure when. So, when Anne proposed a knitalong - I was IN!
We decided we would swatch on New Year's Day and start knitting on January 2nd. I did the math to figure out what gauge I would need to get the size sweater I wanted (the original is 44" around the chest and I'm not that big a person). When I figured that out, I realized it was the same as the gauge I knit a different sweater at a few years ago, so I dug out the needle I knew that sweater with, skipped swatching and cast on. I know, I'm really asking for a smack down from the knitting gods, aren't I?
I didn't remember Anne saying that she had never swatched with her conversion to see how it looked but I'd trust her with my life so I decided to blindly follow her directions. I'd like to say I followed along without a second thought but I did freak out a little when I saw how dark the Osprey yarn is but I shouldn't have...I think it looks fantastic.
Here's my "swatch":
It's not great photography. It's hard to photograph a circular sweater in natural light (my front porch in the middle of a Canadian winter) on my knee while holding down an edge that is desperate to roll up.
Oh pretty!
ReplyDeleteI would follow Anne anywhere. :)