Cold sheep? About that....

I have been gleefully knitting these last few weeks. I have 2 new pairs of socks and I'm whizzing through a beautiful new shawl which is so lovely, it has to have a blog post all to itself. Really. I'm in love. 

In the meantime I thought I'd update you on my sweater quest. 

Part of the incentive to go cold sheep this year was to knit through some of the sweater quantities that I have so diligently accumulated. I have a grand total of 4 possible garments now and how many did I knit in 2011?

Well, exactly. 

So cold sheeping got my sweater mojo whirring again and I spent a delightful evening swatching with this lovely yarn. It's Miss Babs, Yowsa! Whatta Skein! in the colourway 'Catherine' that I was given as a gift. I knew instantly that I wanted to make a sweater from it and tracked down a second skein with the help of a friend. 

Since then it's been consulted often and like a yarn whisperer I listened when the yarn said that it might want to be an Idlewood, a beautiful tunic design with a monster cowl from one of my knitting crushes, Cecily Glowik MacDonald. I pictured myself in long sleeve tees and this top, nuzzling into the cowl and feeling happy after weeks of vanilla knitting.

Image credit Cecily Glowik MacDonald

Alas, it was not to be. This skein is a really light worsted and the design works best in an aran weight. There are examples of the Idlewood knit in Malabrigo but as we know, Mal is fluffy and made of clouds and therefore can be used in the absence of a true aran weight yarn. So I am back to day dreaming about this pattern and have a birthday present in mind because gifts don't count in cold sheeping. They don't. Honest.

So I thought about its' twist, its lightness and I listened again as the yarn said 'Something with negative ease please'. I found this pattern and I've admired it since it was published a few months ago.

'Julissa' by Knit Rhapsody (image credits Knit Rhapsody)

So I'm back to swatching and measuring and wondering what size to make. I am slightly concerned about the sizing and I suspect this Sunday's podcast to include tales of hilarity and woe. 

Or omit to mention it at all. This is also a highly likely event if there is a sweater disaster. In which case, let us not speak of sweater knitting ever again hmm?