Yarn Along: Colorwork

(this was me trying to pick out the difference between light gray and off-white, which was surprisingly difficult in our poorly-lit house)

So...this year, I've decided my kids have enough adorable woolens.  They hardly even wear them!  I've spent the past two months freezing my feet off and trying to convince them to wear something other than tiny shorts and bathing suits when I can see my breath inside our uninsulated, igloo-like block house.

This year, I need some knitting.  Desperately.  The last time I knit myself a sweater I could barely read knitting lingo, and I did the shaping wrong.

After much deliberation, I decided to start off with a modified version of the Still Light Tunic.  It is one of the warmest things I have, but I wish I had had the patience to knit long sleeves on it, and I hate the way the pockets hang in the front and make me look like I'm expecting baby #4 unless I have my hands in them (this is probably my fault and not the pattern).  And even though the tiny yarn/tiny needles tends to annoy me, I love the graceful neckline and the fine, warm feel of the tunic.

So I have cast-on for it again, intending to skip the pockets and some of the shaping, and finish the sleeves to be full-length.  And color-work.  I've had it in my mind to try out Fair Isle, even just for the experience.  A friend of mine brought over a beautiful pair of wrist-warmers with a simple-but-beautiful colorwork pattern she created that cemented my decision to try it out.  Last week I sat around with graph paper and pencil in hand, scribbling down different patterns that came into my head and ignoring everyone, much to their annoyance.  (It's been awhile since I've had some knitting to focus on).

A month ago (dirty confession) I bought Rose a gorgeous knitted dress from Hanna Andersson (gasp! I don't usually support the clothing industry like that, but it was on super sale).  The colors are creamy white, cool gray, and berry red, knitted in an elaborate Scandinavian-style pattern.  It, of course, is machine knitted with an interesting double-layered knit stitch that makes the long tails of the pattern not stick out.  Interesting, but unattainable for this sweater.  So I am using my patterns with their color scheme - and I am very happy with how it is turning out.  It's so fun and challenging to add the colorwork aspect to it, and it feels very creative, as I am never sure how it will fit together on the yoke with new stitches being added every second round.