Up and Running Again

Now that I know the sweater will be comfortably oversized the way it was designed, I'm back to knitting it. You can see what I got done last night because its so much narrower than the blocked part. The cable pattern is not a traditional one - Fionna Ellis designed it after tree bark. Despite the fact that it doesn't do what cables usually do, and the design seems more organic than a traditional Aran, there is a pattern to the crossings and meanderings which, while I still have to refer to the chart, is pretty easy to remember across the row. I'm really inspired to keep working on this sweater, especially since I don't have doubts about sizing anymore. I hope to get quite a bit done over the weekend.

I also started another wee sock yesterday. This one is Seed Stitch, and I'm ready to do the heel turn. I'm using a short row heel rather than a heel flap, since these are just decorations.

Molly of the Comments yesterday asked if I really was allergic to acrylic or was it just an aversion to it? Well, Molly, I really am allergic - as in, I get an itchy rash within 30 minutes of wearing it next to my skin. This was a problem growing up (I was born in the 70's) when my mom would put a hat on me to keep me warm, as soon as she couldn't see me I'd yank it off. I was so miserably itchy with the silly thing, I never even thought about what it was doing to my hair. We didn't realize what was making me itchy until a few years ago when I realized that everything that had acrylic in it made me itch. I could go into a store and try on a sweater and without looking at the tag, tell you if it had acrylic in it. The problem is, with the development of microfibers (these are synthetic fibers that are extruded to a diameter less than one denier - fine silk is 1.25 deniers), the high end yarn companies are using acrylic in their blends. Rowan's Calmer and Debbie Bliss' Cashmerino line are two examples that use acrylic microfibers. Most people find them very soft, but they make me crazy itchy. My biggest pet peeve? Yarn catalogs and websites that list microfiber as one part of the fiber content. Microfiber can be any synthetic fiber - polyester and nylon are also made into microfibers. Tell me what kind of microfiber it is so that I don't have to go Googling around cyberspace to get more information. OK, rant over. Have a great weekend.