Cool Winter Sweater

Many of you are probably complaining about the weather--killer temperatures, rampant humidity, eyeball-searing sunshine... But let's consider the positive aspects of the heat and humidity.

• It's no longer necessary for us to bother with cooking vegetables from our garden. We can simply glance outside and watch them being gently steamed in the aftermath of a summer thunderstorm. This natural cooking process has been so successful that we don't bother dragging our healthy groceries into the kitchen anymore. We simply toss them on the back steps, sprinkle them with a little tamari, and sun-roast them. 

• Should you be the proud owner of a moon rat, fairy bluebird, or capybara, you can rejoice in their comfort--after all, tropical rain forest is their native habitat.

• And finally, if the study of molds is your specialty, you won't need any expensive laboratory equipment to pursue your interest.

Alas, it's difficult to get enthused about knitting with wool, but a friend recently had a baby and she requested a warm sweater. The first thing I did was stroll around the Web, looking for superwash wool. I found a veritable mountain of the stuff, all priced at about $10 for 100 yards. A quick calculation revealed that a little sweater for a one-year-old (we're into future growth here) would cost about $50. A bit much for an item of clothing that would be quickly outgrown.

Instead, I ordered a skein of Henry's Attic superwash DK merino for $14, and dyed it myself in the coolest color scheme I could think of: watermelon.

A quick peek at my Knitware program produced a seamless, bottom-up pattern. And a day or two later, my needles produced this:

I used a decorative ribbing on the hem, cuffs, and neckline. This little rib looks wonderful on socks, too.

This pattern is meant for circular knitting. 
Cast on any number of stitches divisible by 4.
 Row 1: k2, p2
Row 2: k1, yo, k1, p2
Row 3: k3, p2
Row 4: k3, p2
Row 5: k3, then pass the first stitch over the other 2 knits and drop it, p2


And finally, I embroidered some seeds on the yoke.

Keep cool, everyone. The next blog post will feature a brand-new fleegle fairy tale, so stay tuned!