The pattern was featured in the Spring 2015 issue of Knitscene. If you can't locate a copy of the magazine, the pattern is also online at http://www.interweavestore.com/lindon-sweater-knitting-pattern?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=cpc&cid=2501&CAPCID=8362138553&CADEVICE=c&CA_6C15C=400009260000414905.
The yarn called for in the pattern is Classic Elite Yarns Silky Alpaca Lace (70% alpaca, 30% silk; 440 yds; 2 skeins required) and Classic Elite Yarns Soft Linen (35% wool, 35% linen, 30% baby alpaca; 137 yds; 1 skein). (I used one ply of alpaca and one ply of angora for the main color, and doubled this yarn for the contrast). Of course, I wasn't going to make it in those colors. Black was the natural choice. It goes with everything. And it was going to be my first dyeing project with professional dyes, rather than the food coloring I had been using.
I don't remember much about the whole project. I should have blogged about it at the time, but I finished this sweater in May, and who wants to read (or write!) about an angora sweater in May? I only got to wear it twice for short periods before it had to be packed away for the summer.
I know I used one ply of alpaca and one ply of angora. I don't even remember which bunny the angora fiber came from. Shameful. It dyed up beautifully. I do remember that.
The pattern was very easy to follow. I think it took me only two or three weeks to make it. I think the sweater photographs horribly on the table.
As you can see in the photograph above of the model wearing the yellow/gold sweater, it is a very open fabric. That is precisely what I wanted for an angora sweater. I wanted to be warm, not overheated. However, that means the sweater needs to have a layer underneath it.
I'm actually wearing this sweater right now as I blog about it and the pattern. Our high today is supposed to be 59 degrees. We've been getting rain and have more in the forecast--yippee skippy (we do live in a desert already and on top of that we have been in a drought for some time now); it's gray and looks cold outside. So that means I should be able to start up the pellet stove, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, the thermostat says it is already 73 degrees in here. I can't justify turning the heat on. (Well, I could, but my children might rat me out to my sweetheart. Were I home alone....) Anyway, the point is, I am deliriously happy in this sweater. It's making me think I should knit up a whole lot more in various colors. Immediately. For instant gratification whenever I need it.
I only used about half the yarn (I had planned this yarn for a different sweater, but changed my mind), so I got to thinking that I could make a similar sweater for Charlotte. Charlotte, of course, was thrilled with the idea.
She wanted a contrasting color, so I got out an angora alpaca blend that I had dyed with Kool-Aid. It's pictured somewhere on the blog, but if you don't want to go look for it (I didn't), it was lime green, lemon yellow, orange, and pinkish-red. Naturally, Charlotte did not want that on her sweater. So for my second dyeing project with the Dharma dyes, I overdyed this yarn with Berry Crush and then knit it doubled stranded for the pattern.
I didn't have quite enough yarn, so her neckband is thinner. But she still liked it just fine. Her sweater looks better photographed on the table. I think the contrast helps. Or it could be that she is 35 lbs lighter than I am. I would photograph her wearing it, but she is upstairs recovering from the stomach bug that afflicted Lydia last week. So that's why I have been doing almost all the blogging lately.
Did I say yet that I absolutely love this sweater?
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