new year, new sweater

i am so happy to report that the seamless hybrid sweater is *done*!


it's been very humid and warm here so it's been drying for 2 and a half days... agonizing. but today the temperature dropped and the sweater was ready! here's the detail of the back saddle shaping... like julie, i really liked this detail...


and the shaping makes the sweater fit better than any that i've ever knit. i love the way it hangs in the back... very flattering i think! and here's some action shots...



and then the photo shot got to be perhaps a bit much.


all in all, this was declared the "best sweater ever," so i am happy. and yarn & pattern have specified for zimmerman sweater #2, a seamless raglan.

pattern details: elizabeth zimmerman seamless hybrid sweater, from knitting without tears
thank you very much for all of the kind support and encouragement! it's been very inspiring to see the other finished works of this talented group of knitters.
yarn: rowan magpie tweed, 8 skeins. this wonderful stuff became even more wonderful after washing & rinsing in delicious lush conditioner... very soft and it smells good, too.

thoughts on knitting this...
color... it's hard to capture the richness of this gray with my camera, but knitting it was an ongoing delight. it's flecked with blue, red, green, darker gray... blended together they were quite mesmerizing. i have long been a fan of tweedy yarns, and this is one of my favorites... i love the way that they add life and depth to a simple pattern, and that the bits of unexpected brightness invite you to think about the relationships of different tones. luckily mr. d is also a tweed fan and for the next sweater he's requested classic elite's skye tweed in a truly lovely rich green.
knitterly growth... despite my trepidation about the shaping, it did all work out without a hitch... i trusted the pattern and went along, with absolutely no idea what i was doing for about 10 minutes... just hoping and hoping... and then it clicked, and i could read my knitting and knew what to do next, and the hands and eyes took over. i love this moment so much. one of my creative goals for 2007 is do try as much as possible to craft without fear, to try new techniques and materials to expand both my intellectual and intuitive sense of knitting. and to remember elizabeth zimmerman's advice... "knit on, through all crises."


[cross-posted at heavenly days]