Snail Spirals

Well, after finishing all ten of the hardanger tops, I was feeling in need of a bit of a change. I was longing for the feel of wool in my fingers. I've done so much fiddly lacy stuff recently, that I wanted a project on a larger scale.

So I thought about what I have in my fiber closet, and remembered the pretty turquoise yarn I spun last March that was slated to become a sweater for Emma. I pulled it out and dutifully swatched:



That's size 4, 5, and 6 needles, bottom to top. Size 5 seemed to be the one to use. The 6's gave a fabric that was a bit floppy, and while the size 4's gave a lovely thick swatch, but I was afraid if I made a whole sweater with them, Emma wouldn't be able to move her arms! Gauge with the 5's is 6 stitches and 7 rows to the inch.

After swatching, it was 9:30 pm, and I had to get up for work in the morning. The logical, responsible, adult thing to do would be to take myself off to bed, happy with the knowledge that I was all ready to cast on the next night and dive into the sweater. And still able to get up in the morning and be coherent enough do things like actually feed my daughter breakfast.



I never said I was logical.

I stayed up until 3:00 am, knitting. Stupid, stupid me. The bright side is that I really like the way the yarn is knitting up, the size is working out the way I planned, and I think I'll have enough yarn to finish the whole thing. That's about 4 1/2" there, and I'm almost ready to start the underarm gussets. This is going to be a gansey-style sweater, with braided cables and ladders up the body, shoulder straps with braided cables that continue down the arms, and a rolled collar. The body is about 28" in circumference, and this will be for Emma next winter. She already has a sweater for this winter.




Channel Island cast-on gives such a pretty edge that it's worth the pain of actually doing it.