I mentioned in my last entry that I might drop everything I was working on and whip up a version of Ysolda's new Liesl pattern. And, as it turns out, that is exactly what I did.
This was by far the quickest garment I have ever made, and the fact that it's an entire sweater - a flattering, well-fitted sweater at that - kind of blows my mind. It took literally forty-eight hours from cast-on to bind-off - and that includes quite a number of minor rippings-out, mostly due to my attempts at convincing the different skeins of hand-dyed yarn to color match as closely as possible.
I'm really pleased. It's a perfect little confection to throw on over one's shoulders at an outdoor dinner party on a summer evening, while sipping a glass of champagne in the midst of fragrant blossoms, sprawling tomato plants, and good friends. Which is lucky, because I plan on doing a lot of that kind of thing this summer. A girl needs to be properly outfitted for the task at hand. What's more, since I don't really wear jewelry, the fantastic color of this yarn is the closest I'll get to fastening a ruby lavalier around my neck.
And speaking of the yarn:
It's Sundara Aran Silky Merino, in the Ruby Port colorway, and it is some of the most scrumptious stuff I've ever touched. From that perspective, it's a little bit sad that the project flew off the needles so quickly, because it meant less knitting time with this delicious yarn. The depth of color is just gorgeous, and this sweater is now vying with my Kidsilk Haze lace sweater for the coveted position of "softest garment in Emily's wardrobe." It's so soft, in fact, that it's in danger of wearing ill in "high-stress" areas (a polite euphemism for "armpits"), but I'm hoping that the loose, drapey fit through the arms will help alleviate that problem. And frankly, any wool sweater will pill if you wear it enough, which I generally end up doing. Best to just knit up beautiful things, buy a little de-pilling gadget, and go merrily along my way, n'est-ce pas? Plus, I finally found a use for these gorgeous green ceramic leaf buttons I've been coveting for ages:
And the gauge is so large that I actually have an entire skein of the Sundara left over - something I never would have believed at the outset. I'll have to think about what to do with the leftovers - perhaps a matching hat, or a bolero gift for some lucky lady (then we could match! I'll have to think who I know who would be willing to put up with that much cutesiness). I have to admit that, despite being tickled pink with the results, I won't be switching to huge-gauge projects with any kind of regularity; my only complaint about this whole project is that knitting, and especially working yarnovers, with such large needles was murder on my shoulders. I'll be returning presently to my size 1's, but in the meantime this was a very pleasant excursion - a sort of knitting equivalent of a romantic weekend getaway.
