- from Elliphantom Knits (free pattern can be found on the sidebar). I have added some braids from Latvian Mittens and am doing them in 4 colors (so far) because I couldn’t decide on two. They look like candy and ice cream.

Out with the old and in with the new:

Read all about the idea and making in past posts.

The Facts:
*Pattern: Made up by looking at the original. It’s just ribbing and a two stitch twisted “cable” done on a very basic raglan cobbled together from measurements and Elizabeth Zimmerman’s seamless recipe.
*Yarn: Peace Fleece in Ukrainian Red (5 skeins) and Antarctica White (2 skeins) and little bits of sport weight wool for neck lining
*Needle: size 6 Addi Turbo and short bamboo circular ETA: I almost forgot! The neck lining was done on a size 3 needle after much experimentation, which was very painful, as the sweater was so!close! to being finished.
*Gauge: 4 sts. per inch, same as original
*Size: 48″ chest, same as the original
*Started: March 12, 2006
*Finished: April 25, 2006

Notes:
He likes it! It even made him dance. The sleeves have been proclaimed long enough and the date inside the collar has been described as “really fucking cool”. My job is done.

I used a much finer yarn in the new sweater, but the gauge is the same. I seriously cannot imagine knitting that original very bulky wool at a gauge of 4 sts. per inch. It must have killed Mr. HelloYarn’s aunt’s hands. As it was, I got mighty sick of twisting those stitches in worsted weight. The old sweater had all the twists going to the right (the easy way), but I made them twist to the left (the carpal tunnel way) on the right side of the sweater, because I’m into symmetry like that. The new sweater weighs a little over 1.5 lbs. and the old over 2 lbs. The new one should be plenty toasty with its mohair content.

The old sweater was knit in pieces while the new sweater was knit in the round, which I was starting to regret as the weather got warmer and the sweater made my lap hotter and hotter, but the knitter who makes things in the round gets the last laugh. No sewing and only a few ends to weave in, as the white was carried from stripe to stripe. Mwuahahah!

About the yarn- Peace Fleece is great stuff. It’s fantastic to try a new yarn and add it to the list of favorites. It was pleasantly crisp to knit with and softened up and developed a nice mohair halo when washed. I bet it wears like iron.

I pretty much followed EZ’s raglan recipe, only the sleeves and neckline in the original were quite wide, which I kept for the new, and I don’t like ribbing to really cinch in, so I just used the same needle throughout.

This is the only sweater I’ve ever been completely satisfied with. To make it two, my project for the evening is to go back and lengthen the sleeves on the skull gansey. Poor Mr. HelloYarn always shows me his cold wrists when he wears it.

The stuff above is a new yarn I tried and loved. It’s superwash Merino in a light fingering weight, which makes it good for socks (8-9 sts. per inch- my favorite!), lace, or dainty baby clothing. It comes in gorgeous super soft 8 oz., 1100 yard skeins.

For handspun we have Ulysses by Hello Yarn, Glint and The Gloaming by Maisy Day Handspun.

For sock yarns, I’ve done up some Merino center pull balls (440 yards- enough for a pair of socks) in Alps, Mediterranean, and Flight. There’s the usual superwash in some less intense colors, like Morphos, Pink Slip, Peacock, and Selva.

For spindle kits (or the fiber alone), it’s Bluefaced Leicester this week, in Endless and Fever. This latest batch of BFL I got is extra soft and silky- a pleasure to spin. I also did some Merino/silk combed top in Fever.

I hope you find something you like!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a finished Replica sweater, if it dries in time to be modeled. Excitement!