Fair Isle

Pattern: Fair Isle Yoke, A Stitch in Time by Susan Crawford.
Yarn: KnitPicks Palette

I knit something!  And it was hard!

Not really.  I think, in fact, that I wanted the colorwork to be harder than it was, and I kept showing it off to people going, "Look!  Colorwork!  Be damn impressed with me!" when really it wasn't anything to get all worked up over.  It was a little tricky, and ripping back when you made a mistake was not fun at all, but really--it was knitting.  Sometimes I could do it with two hands. 

It's also shockingly comfortable.  I figured Palette was going to be fairly scratchy, but I wasn't willing to shell out for nice yarn in--count them--six different colors, most of which I'd only be knitting a few yards' worth.  Especially when I couldn't be sure whether the finished product would end up anywhere but the trash bin.

But it's not particularly scratchy.  I'm wearing it right there next to my neck, and it's not bothering me at all.  The smallness of the chest I'd been worrying about turns out to be no problem at all--it is narrow at the shoulders, but the sleeves are so roomy it doesn't end up mattering.  I guess this is one of those vintage-y garment shapes everyone keeps talking about. 

I did end up having to set the sleeves twice--the first time around it didn't have that nice pouf, and I had plenty of sleeve left over at the end so clearly something had gone amiss.  Not something I was too happy about on such a tight deadline, but I ended up holing myself away with the two toddlers and watching them yell at each other while I sewed and told myself it was good for them to learn to socialize without parental intervention.

I definitely want to try this again.  I've had my eye on Paper Dolls -- I have the yarn all picked out and everything -- but I wanted to make sure I was capable of this kind of thing before setting forth.