Norwegian Sweater Knitalong

Donna Druchunas is leading an Ethnic Knitting:Discovery KAL starting in January. We'll be designing and knitting our own Norwegian colorwork sweater, and there's still time to sign up! Get more information at Donna's blog.

DAL

That stands for Designalong, and Donna Druchunas just announced she's having one after the holidays. It's based on her knew book, Ethnic Knitting Discovery, so get your hands on a copy. We'll be designing our own sweaters using her tips, and she'll be coaching us along. You can sign up at the Ethnic Knits yahoo group for more information, or just stay tuned here and I'll give an update as soon as I know more. I'm in though!

Maybe this sweater with some modifications? I've certainly got enough wool in my stash to work with, and I'm thinking I'll try my art project using a least favorite color, the most favorite, and black. Maybe I can redeem that hideous yellow I found.

Stash monsters

Of all those balls of yarn I recently counted, more than 300 if you recall that post, these are the only ones I could easily unload. I've held on to the orange because the school colors here are orange and black. It's like Halloween year-round, boo hiss. But, any of the kids around here would love a gift knit in those colors. I haven't been able to get over the gag reflex though.

The yellow has a greenish-gray cast and I suppose I could create a design challenge with it. One of my favorite assignments for art students is to pick your favorite color, your least favorite color, and black. Then make a drawing using those three. It's amazing the dynamic results, and I imagine it would be as creatively stimulating with a sweater design, too.

The white stuff is some sort of velour ribbon and I can't for the life of me think of anything to do with it. A cape for a bride? A hammock? I got it in one of those great surprise bargain boxes from WEBS. All the other yarn packs were lush and expensive designer yarns, so it was worth it even if I got this one dud.

Why didn't I think of that?

There's been lots of conversation on the forums and in recent books about the importance of swatching. I confess, right here and now, that I don't mind it. In fact, I look forward to trying out any multi-color or novelty yarn I buy. I almost always swatch sock yarns I acquire on the very same day. But, I admit it bothers me not having imagineered a good use for those little squares of knit-up yarn. I've tried numerous times to develop a clever assemblage of the dang little things, and you know what? The result is invariably cheesey and ugly. I wouldn't foist the end-product on my cats to sleep on, much less use it somewhere I'd actually have to look at it. So when Knitting Daily suggested not only swatching in the round for proper gauge, but just making a swatch-in-the-round sampler, I had a V-8 moment. Of course, a long, striped tube! Finally, a potentially creative solution. I could stuff it and use it as a draft-stopper. Or coil it and make a kitty basket. Based on this recent experiment swatching several yarns discovered in my neverending stash, well, you can see the possibilities just from a design standpoint. It's nice having all those yarns knit up side by side. These are all sock yarns, and I'll knit needle sizes 0-3 on this tube. I'll start another for size 4 needles and up for DKs and worsteds. I'm thinking a few thicker tubes might eventually be pressed into service as very artsy-fartsy arm warmers. Yes, arm warmers for my teen nieces who insist on wearing sleeveless t-shirts in the dead of winter. Magnificently brilliant idea any way you look at it. It's rather handsome so far, don't you think?
What yarns are there? From right to left: Cranberry Dragon yarn, custom-dyed blue Opal from Angel Yarns, gray KnitPicks Essential, old KnitPicks Sock Garden, brown KnitPicks Essential, and the long remaining section is off the ball of Opal Hundertwasser.