What to knit now?

Now that I am working on the long slog down the body of St Margaret (doesn’t that sound lascivious?), I find that I need something to knit that is portable, simple enough for group knitting events and something wearable for the upcoming warm weather, which was foreshadowed yesterday when it reached 90 degrees with high humidity around here.


But what to knit? I wanted something cardigany, in summery light yarn, maybe with a kimono collar and swingy and cool. The sweaters I have knit in the past were all somehow inappropriate. I wanted something in a dark color, not especially black, but maybe, kind of like the sheer black summery cardigan Paula was wearing at the last Manhattan Quilter’s meeting.

So, stash-diving I went. It was, after all, late in the day, and I know I have stashed a lot of yarn. Last summer, one of my LYSs ( www.flyingfingers.com ) had Warehouse Wednesdays, in which yarn ( marked down amazingly) went from their warehouse into mine, so I knew I must have something interesting up in the yarn closet.

I can’t believe I have amassed a yarn closet, but sure enough I have. Diligent attendance at sales pays off!

Rummaging around in the bins yields 13 balls of Cosmos in the S.Charles Collezione.

Normally I wouldn’t have purchased this yarn, which is 45% Viscose,40% Polyamide,15% Cotton, preferring more natural fibers, but at $2 a ball ( reg 10.95) who could resist? And it is a blue/purple mix with black and white that looks like grey at 10 paces, so I loved the color. But oddly, the gauge on the ball band is 3/inch on a 10, which seemed strange to me, as it is a rather thin, loosely plied slippery slick yarn. On a 10 it seemed really flimsy to me. So, I swatched it on a 9. Still really loosey goosey. On an 8, the fabric had a nice density and a lot of drape, and hit about 4.25 sts per inch. This just might be nice, and perfect for a summery knit!

But what kind of stitch shall I use? I tried stockinette, which looked like a lovely tweed, but would be boring and tedious to knit, and difficult to keep track of where I am in a pattern. Cables just vanished in the complex patterning. Seed stitch was lovely, but I don’t enjoy lots of that either. Lace would also be lost in the swirl of colors in this yarn. Because of the inelasticity of the yarn, ribbing might be nice and flat, and seemed to work out well, but then it hit me that a garter rib might provide a hint of line and be easy enough to work with all purl WS rows and a bit of KP on the RS. Perfect for knitting in public!

Now, to pattern. I envisioned a K1P1 collar, and a structured, set-in-sleeve kind of jackety thing, so I began in the same style as Ingrid, at the back of the neck with a 20 stitch k1p1 collar, intending to work a top-down, simultaneous set-in sleeve jacket. Here is where I am so far, at Row 19, making it nice and portable, and easy to keep track of. Now I am ready for any knitting environment. St Margaret has to stay home and be tied to the charts, but Cosmos Cardigan can roam free!