Inspiration
3 Dreamy Sweaters for Haymarket
Dear Kay,
I find myself weepily nostalgic for the heady days of MDK March Mayhem, back when there were 64 stellar patterns in the running for Champion.
Remember the 274 rounds of voting? The little-known fact that there were actually 65 patterns in the first round because SOMEbody couldn’t count?
I can’t wait until next March. Until then . . .
I still want to make all the patterns. More often than you might think, I return to the Ravelry page where all 64 (OK, 65) patterns live on in glory—where I can easily scheme and dream.
At the moment, with a new yarn in the house, I’m prospecting for ways to pair the dreamy March Mayhem patterns with our new Lorna’s Laces Haymarket. In quick order, I found three matches of pattern and yarn that would be most excellent.
Single-ply yarns like Haymarket are sometimes thought to be good for accessories. But I crave a soft sweater in this yarn—I don’t have a supersoftie, and maybe I should.
Let’s go to the videotape.
Laurel Cardigan by Amy Christoffers
First up is Amy Christoffers being all inventive with Laurel. (It’s turning out to be Amy Christoffers Week on MDK. Not only did she design the Love and Happiness Cowl that I wrote about yesterday, she’s creative director at mighty Berroco, where she’s doing an incredible job of overseeing a lot of beautiful design work—while designing many knockout patterns herself as well.)
I love this thing so much:
- No button band.
- No buttonhole band.
- No slightly stretched band of any kind.
- It’s hardier than a sweater. Cardijacket. Jackicardi. I don’t have one of these. I need one.
- The construction is wicked clever: you make it sideways.
- Sloping cabled waistband: whoa.
The texture pattern and cables would be beautiful in hazy Haymarket. Possible colors:
Art Walk Cardi by Hannah Fettig
Really, really love the tidy vintage silhouette of Hannah Fettig’s Art Walk Cardi. I also love the book in which Hannah’s pattern appears: Texture: Exploring Stitch Patterns in Knitwear.
Things to admire:
- No button band.
- No buttonhole band.
- No slightly stretched band of any kind.
- Top down: score!
- A truly lovely collar.
- The texture pattern would look so pretty in Haymarket’s haloed single-ply yarn.
Possible colors:
Bumble Pullover by Tin Can Knits
Bumble is a two-color slipstitch fest from that color-loving Tin Can Knits pair, Alexa Ludeman and Emily Wessel. Haymarket’s soft colors would make this a breath of freakin’ spring in the dead middle of winter.
Intriguing tidbits:
- Slip stitch texture means no stranded colorwork.
- Seamless construction makes this a pain-free project.
- The pattern comes in NINETEEN sizes. Start with an infant, end with a grandmama. Or grandpa. Just. Keep. Knitting. Bumbles.
I can imagine this in Contentment (gray!) with any other of our Haymarket shades.
Contentment + Bliss would be particularly wearable and subtle.
A parting question: do you wear all your handknits equally? Are some more special, delicate, or rare than others?
Love,
Ann
PS Kay, sending you good luck on your Year of Techniques adorable Alex the Mouse. May he inflate when the time comes. May your DPNs hold up. May the mouse be with you.
Laurel is divine. Going to Ravelry now to check out the details.
Definitely wear some handknits more often than others, which may be why I was discovered a hole in one of my Leighton socks yesterday. A huge hole. My darning game is about to get cranked to a new level. Wish me luck!
Yes, I wear my handknit socks whenever I can (that is, any time they are clean). I’m getting better at darning. And I have a jacket/cardi (jackicardi? cardijacket?) that I wear All The Time (http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MayasMom/quadraphonic-cardigan). In fact, I’m just finishing a second (and definitely my LAST) one for a friend. Life is too short to make the same thing over and over.
Wow, that project page was a rollercoaster ride! I’m so glad you love the finished jacardi!
The hell with buttonholes!
Thank you for the close-ups of the Bumble. Now that pattern is starting to look very intriguing.
My most worn sweater is my black Miriam ( http://ravel.me/Pam/non5f ) though my new Newsom ( http://ravel.me/Pam/whxgl ) may soon give it a run for its money. Both share some of the characteristics of your choices (no button band anyone?) but are in sport weight yarn. I like to knit with worsted weight yarn, but wearing it, that’s a different matter, at least indoors.
Soooo agree with March Madness! Have bought 6 of the patterns that I voted for, and can’t wait for the next one; great fun. It has made me look at and knit designs outside my usual lines, expanded my techniques ( along with AYoT) and bought beautiful yarns I have never seen or used before. How good is that??
Hahaha! May the mouse be with you!!! Hahaha!!!