The scarf is the Monarch Shawl from Dirt Woman Fiber Arts. I have a love/hate relationship with this shawl. I Love the blues & greens but am not crazy about the solid black stripes, although when I wrap it around my neck, the colors look just fine with my skin tone & most of my clothing. I loved knitting with the yarn & had no problem with it being splity or snagging but once blocked... it snags if you just look at it funny. Also, it didn't block out properly. If I knit it again, I need to read the instructions much more thoroughly. The pattern calls it a triangle but the increases are done in the same manner as my generic heart shaped shawl pattern, or at least I read them to be the same. Which ever, it refused to block into either shape. It refused to be triangular or heart shaped or even rounded. In the end, I just pulled it out as straight & even as I could get it & pinned it down. Even though it's a little oddly shaped, I love it wrapped around my neck. I wore it to work the other night when it was bitter cold and it kept me toasty.
As for the material details of the Monarch, I used almost a full skein of Shappel Crazy Zauberball in color #2085 (blues & greens) and a little over three quarters of a skein of Cascade Yarns' Heritage Silk in color #5672 (black) and my #6 Caspian interchangeable needles.
The sweater is Allegro which finally, after what seemed like weeks on the blocking mats, dried. I'm love/hating this one as well. The pattern was super easy to knit and I love how the detailing on the back draws the waist in just a bit. I also like the actual color of the sweater much better than the color that's showing up in the picture. In reality, it's a much deeper, bluer blue.
I'm not loving the way the fabric has wrinkled after wearing it only an hour or so. I'm also not crazy about how big the sleeves are. They are bell shaped & I prefer tighter sleeves that hug my wrists just enough not to flap around but loose enough to push up my arms when I'm hot or have my hands in dish water or bread dough... Not that I do those tasks frequently, but when I do, I don't like my sleeves getting in the way. I really like the fit of the sweater through the body though & I may knit it again using a different sleeve style. We'll see.
As for Allegro's materials, I once again turned to KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in worsted Solstice Heather. The pattern called for # 7 needles but I tend to knit loosely & had to go down to a #5 nickel plated interchangeable needle to get gauge.
Last but not least, I'd like to say how thankful I am to have had the democratic right to cast my vote yesterday.
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