FO- Opulent Raglan

As I was searching for a new project to cast on for, I realized that all the sweaters I made were heavy wooly winter affairs that get stashed away as soon as the snow melts.



I had some Elsebeth Laavold Silky Wool in my stash. It's a 45% wool/35% silk/20% nylon blend. It's a little unforgiving when it comes to tension and consistency, but it's a lovely, drapey, lightweight yarn. The yarn isn't a completely homogeneous blend, so you end up with a textured, tweed look.

I really like Wendy Bernard's patterns. She's really conscious of fit and it shows in the finished product. She does a lot of top-down raglans, so it's easy to try the garment on and tweak as you go. This pattern was from the Fall 2008 Knitscene.







I love the ruffly elbow-length sleeves.



I'm quite pleased with it, and it was a fast, easy knit. It's more femme fatale then girly-girl. I loved the details of the asymmetrical cable, the square neckline and the sewn hem. It's a very flattering, wearable sweater with a little bit of sexy oomph.

The specs:

I used 4.5 skeins of the Silky Wool dk weight in Gooseberry for the 36" size- about 864 yards and I used #US. I wanted a fitted sweater with negative ease, so I chose the size an inch smaller than my actual bust size.

Winter Romance

This is the start of my Noro sweater:



I'm aiming for a graceful, form-fitting and flattering silhouette. I've finished the torso and I'm now debating what kind of boob-shaping I need to do. I'm leaning towards bust darts (ahem, my inclination is leaning, not my actual boobs) but I am also considering short row shaping.

So my Noro sweater has a friend (project monogamy is such a bore). I've also cast on for the Opulent Raglan by Wendy Bernard:



It's from the Fall 2008 KnitScene. It's a simple fitted top-down raglan with a pretty cable detail. It's exactly what I love to knit- lots of mindless stockinette stitch with a punchy little pay-attention detail.

I'm using some Elsebeth Laavold Silky Wool that was in my stash in the Gooseberry colorway. It drapes beautifully and has a nice crisp silk definition, and it softens up nicely once washed (ha! I actually washed my swatch and figured this out).



Here's the sweater so far:



I love top-down raglans because you can just string them up on some spare yarn (or really long circ needles) and try it on as you go. It really helps banish the "will-it-fit?" jitters and allows you to tweak as you go to fit your body.

I'm looking forward to this weekend...after which I should have a good amount of new spindles made and posted on the Etsy site, and (weather permitting) well-lit pictures of the pile of FOs I have sitting around in my dark living room.