Selfishness Rears Is Ugly Head
It seems around this time the past couple of years I have wanted nothing but to cast aside my designer hat and knit for myself. I’m not sure what it is. If it is the buying of things for everyone else, the few hours of natural light or what. Even though I have no end to deadlines in the foreseeable future, it has taken every ounce of self-control to keep from casting on a 2nd annual “Christmas Sweater” (or perhaps vest) for myself this past week. I don’t know if you remember the mad dash to finish my Wisteria in time to leave for Colorado Springs last year, but I finished washing it at 10 pm the night before we left.
This year I’ve far surpassed the number of patterns released in a year than in years past. I have released 20 patterns in 2009! I can’t even believe it was that many. I think that has earned me an opportunity to do some selfish knitting. I wouldn’t mind if it were someone else’s pattern either. There are many things to be learned from knitting someone else’s pattern, plus not having to do all the math (I’m not delusional enough to figure I won’t have to some, there are almost always mods required to accommodate my ample chest and/or my ridiculously short waist). Unless I figure this will be a very long term project that is on the needles to work on when certain projects can’t go out for KIP or when the next design is still being ruminated on I need a semi-quick project (hence the thoughts of a vest).
I’ve been obsessed about a generously cowled vest since seeing both The Big Montana Tunic by Cecily Glowik MacDonald and most especially Amber by Lisa Richardson. I can’t do Big Montana as is because I don’t have that bulky of a yarn in my stash and I don’t think that bulky of a yarn is a good idea, no matter how cold I’ve been lately or how fitted I knit the garment. Amber doesn’t quite go to my size and I know that type of “sleeve” would not be a good thing on me.
I have two possible yarn choices I’d like to use - I just procured some *gorgeous* red Cascade Eco+ at My Sister Knits’ sale this week (30% off all Cascade yarns if you are in the NoCo area this is good through Saturday). I love this red (really unusual for me) and it seems like a great “Christmas” choice if I think I stand a chance of being done by then. It also calls for US10.5 needles which would mean a pretty quick knit so it is possible to be done for Christmas, even if I do work knitting as well between now and then. I also think I pulled what our knitting group sometimes calls an “Ashley” and way over-bought when I picked up 4 skeins (I wanted to certain I could do either a cabled or a cowled sweater if I desired and you hardly ever find Eco Wool marked down so much). If I do a vest rather than a sweater there will be at least 1 skein left over and if I knit it soon I could return any untouched skeins so that has me leaning heavily in that direction.
That said, for over a year now I’ve been wanting to work with some Interlacements Peru yarn that Amanda gave me nearly two years ago now. It is pretty loudly colored (though all the colors present in them are big favs of mine) so I’m still not 100% certain I would wear what I knit from it in public (but I no longer have a kick about the house, extra warm sweater where I don’t care how flattering it is or if it pills or the dog’s paw snags it etc.). It also isn’t as bulky as Eco+ so it would not be as quick a knit. But, the handpaint accent could make it fun to play with some color mixing stitch patterns in a center panel similar in lines to Big Montana but in a more flattering yarn weight for someone my size…
I don’t know where I’ll go with the selfish knitting yet. There are scads of other options too, especially if I decided it doesn’t *need* to be done for Christmas. I have some gorgeous heathered Cascade 220 to make the Back to School Vest by Stephanie Japel. Or the yarn to make the Gathered Pullover by Hana Jason which is mostly stockinette which means it could go quite quickly despite the gauge. I also have some New England Highland from Harrisville I had earmarked by Gerbera from Dale, though I’m not as attached to that pattern any longer so I would entertain other options for that yarn as well. I also have some gorgeous Textiles a Mano Dublin yarn for Mohair Cowl Pullover by Michele Renee Burrows and that is a lot of stockinette stitch on US 11s I believe so it would be a quick knit and with that fit likely wouldn’t even require any mods on my part except perhaps shortening it! I would need needles though I think.
In addition to that I have yarn on hand to make an adult cardigan version of Sundog and some dk weight yarn I hadn’t quite decided on a pattern for, though Turbulence U-Neck Pullover and Phyllo Yoked Pullover by Norah Gaughan as well as Sidelines Top by Lou Schiela are in the running for that. Any of those options would definitely not be a Christmas sweater, but could be a good long term project to have on the needles.
I guess it is a good thing I have ~5 designs currently in production to work on while I make a decision about the selfish knitting, LOL! If you were me, what would you pick to cast on for selfish knitting?
