Work took up a lot of energy last year, and amongst other things, knitting fell a bit by the wayside. On New Year's day I finally finished a jumper I started over a year ago and had meant to finish variously by the start of December, my birthday, Christmas, and then finally New Year - which was just in time for the cold snap so I suppose it was done at just the right time in the end.
There was no particular pattern for this one, just bits and pieces from other jumpers that I liked. I had an idea of what I wanted which hadn't quite worked out for an earlier version (I made it both too short and a little bit smaller than I really wanted). the yarn is Jamieson and Smth 5 ply which is lovely to knit with and gives quite a heavy, drappy, fabric. I wanted quite a slouchy jumper with space for layers underneath and not too dense a fabric. I got all of that and also something which wasn't quite as see through as my first attempt - colour choice helped a lot with that.
The sleeves have ended up quite close-fitting which I like, but I wouldn't do as close again - they're exactly the right length, but don't really push up, which is fine in winter, but maybe less so in warmer weather. Equally, I wouldn't get a long-sleeved tee to fit comfortably underneath them, which, alas, not great for winter.
Otherwise, it's a nice looking jumper - this is it before it went on the board - that is remarkably warm and that I've already worn a lot.
The new project is a proper Fair Isle slipover - a Mati Ventrilon slipover pattern from the 2025 wool week annual. It's got elements I would normally avoid, the first being quite a deep rib knitted on 2mm needles. Ribbing like this bores me - 20 rows at 336 stitches a row felt like a marathon effort. The sleeve holes will be steeked. I've used steeks before, but again - it wasn't a process I loved, especially at the finishing stage. This will also be the garment where I make myself learn how to graft my knitting together rather than relying on a 3 needle bind off. Plenty of challenges then.
Of course, the first challenge was what colours to use. I have a lot of yarn in my stash, and I need to use some of it, buying specifically for this project was not an option. Unfortunatley it turns out that what I've got a lot of is small amounts which are perfect for hats or gloves, but fall short of enough for this particular slipover. I do also have a few cones and colours in sufficient quantities, but not ao many that would work well together or the intended wearer would like (husband). Eventually, I hit on a combination that I thought would work, but it's knitting up a little more subtly than I had hoped.
Husband likes the effect, so that's fine, and I love the main colour, but it is a bit of an issue when you do most of your yarn shopping on holiday, and it's a lot more expensive to order online from a distance. It's not really feasible to buy big project quantities without a specific big project in mind, but is it sensible to have huge quantities of shades but only in 2 or 3 balls at a time. Also, probably no.
One answer will be to have a big sort out, find all the yarn that's hidden around the flat and arrange it sensibly. Not a job I'm feeling very enthusiastic about given how much of it there is. Wish me luck.
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