I am waiting for my extra Colinette yarns which should arrive tomorrow or Friday. I also just finished the increase round of shawl and wasn’t looking forward to doing the plain st st rounds before I hit the yay lacey rounds. Neither was I relishing the phatt needles on the top down. Those size 19’s on the Colinette are murder. Needed something sane. We had another swatch full day at casa d’el~ka. 5 yarns today just to wind and play not to actually knit anything. And then I came accross this old sweater kit. From VK Winter ’96. Yah I stash stuff that long. Now I love this sweater. Its so pretty. The earliest Jo Sharp design I know of. I immediately ordered the yarn. Instead of the gorgeouso pewter gray with cream vines and tan leaves I got green yarn, ‘antique’ aka yellow vines and olive leaves. Yes the color numbers matched. No returns on special orders.

Still loving the sweater, if not the colors, I have swatched this sweater at least twice a year every year, including this one for 9 years. Its a high intensity knit with stranded colorwork [done flat] and intarsia and embroidery embellishment. And the colors just don’t float my boat. But still its a gorgeous design. Anyway today I decide to start with the sleeves, after dutifully swatching *again* cause I can’t just write down what needle size I need, and …. IRK! The corrugated ribbing begins with 2 knits and ends with 2 purls on the sleeve. The body is a different matter entirely. Either way I am supposed to have one knit and one purl st post seaming at seam line? Well I guess its due to the number of sts needed for colorwork part between ribbing and intarsia body so corrugate, corrugate, corrugate flat until I get to colorwork chart. IRK #2! The stranded colorwork is not centered but in fact has two too many sts on one side. Maybe not for size purposes but for centering purposes two too many sts. The same two too many sts from corrugated ribbing. Big drawn out sigh. Now I have read that Jo Sharp didn’t knit when she began designing and this is an early design. Maybe I should read the pattern? For the sleeves that is~ no sense in irking myself over the body when history has shown me I will never actually finish the sweater. IRK #3! The woman doesn’t do math. Here are the instructions for the increase between ribbing and colorwork[ya I peeked at the chart before increasing sue me]: {starting with 56 sts} “…p4, [M1, p6] 8 times, p4~ 64 sts.” Why not “p1{p6, M1}8X, p7? I am supposed to have 4 sts on one side and 10 on the other side of increase portion instead of evenly increasing accross row. I so hate that sorta thing.

Does anybody want some original Jo Sharp merino//border leicester yarn in a pretty forest green[not loverly pewter gray so disappointment], antique and ginger?* I have enough for the largest size of 52.75” and if you have more patience than I and want to mess with the pattern I will even throw in the issue of VK. Seriously its a gorgeous design and the yarn is ab fab but, well, my nerves have been irked for the last time by this batch o’ wool…. 9 years is long enough don’t you think? Shout out OK.

* yes the pattern said forest, antique, and ginger. I just saw gray, cream, and nutmeg