Wool Wars - nattrøjer chronicles II

Life is about making choices, and dealing with the consequences.

I'm generally very opinionated. I have strong likes and dislikes. But for once, I'm really torn apart. I have two yarns for the nattrøje, and I like ... both of them.

The Frangipani 5 ply Guernsey wool - mine is in claret - is like nothing else out there. Guernsey wool has been used for fisherman's sweaters for over 150 years and wears like iron. People say that it lasts forever, a big plus for something with a lot of work in it. There really isn't any other yarn like it, which is probably why I'm having so much trouble trying to substitute something.

The Blackberry Ridge fingering weight wool in crimson is almost the opposite. It's soft, and the fabric from it has almost a spongy hand to it. Its definitely not spun as tight as wire, like the 5 ply, and yet... its very soft. It would feel amazing for next to the skin wear. And I love the color.

In order to use the thinner Blackberry Ridge yarn, I had to go up a size in the pattern and down to 8 spi in the gauge. Conversely, for the 5 ply Guernsey yarn, I had to actually use the smallest size but loosen the gauge slightly to get something that would fit me. Assuming here that my gauge is consistent throughout - the idea that it might not be just paralyzes me with fear.

I really did knit swatches. I knit a bunch of them. I just didn't .... wash them. So, I gathered up my swatches and washed them. Inspired by Mary Beth's amazing before and after blocking photos yesterday, and after she basically told me I was an idiot not to wash my swatches before making a decision, I did it. Guess what? Nothing much changed. The stitches look a little more even, but there was no amazing 'aha!' moment.

At this point I have knit one welt from each of the two yarns. Same pattern, but they're very different fabrics. The bright red is a tighter, smaller pattern because of the difference in scale, yet softer. The claret has a lot of definition, but isn't as soft and is a bit thicker as well. The welts are on top; the swatches in all of their washed goodness, are on the bottom.

I now need to make a decision, and live with the consequences. Or continue to knit two sweaters at once. Please don't tell me to just enjoy the process (sorry Margene) - I'm kind of all processed out and just want to knit.

When this is all over, I'll have a sweater (or so I keep telling myself). Maybe I'm just trying for the best I can do, or maybe I'm just trying to keep all of my options open?
And maybe if I didn't spend so much time thinking about all of this, I'd have more knitting done?

Knitting when there's an audience definitely changes the whole focus. It skews the whole process and changes the way you deal with problems, your level of patience in dealing with setbacks, and how much time you're willing to spend working your way through problems.

Its an interesting conundrum, the process vs. the process observed (via blogdom). 

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On an entirely different note, I was prematurely (about 2 weeks early) birthday-gifted on Monday by my friend Adelaide. She makes beautiful bags from decorating and upholstery fabrics. My old one is about worn to shreds and to replace it I got not one but two new bags from her. I'm going to be carrying my knitting around in gorgeous handmade bags from now on. You can see a detail of the silk ribbon embroidery on the smaller bag HERE.
 

 

Comments

[Janet]

The welts are gorgeous! Each yarn has it's own distinct look. I'm still waiting for samples of both. Did you enjoy "the process" of knitting one yarn(gauge) over the other? Also, would using one, and adjusting the pattern for it, give you a different length since there's a large pattern repeat to consider?

[claudia]

So, does knitting in public, so to speak, change those things for the better or the worse for you? Honestly, I find that I am more willing to work through problems, fix mistakes and generallly do better work when all is open to other's eyes.

Owning some Frangipani, I know exactly what sort of fabric one gets from it. IMHO, this yarn produces an "outdoor sweater" or at least one where I would have to wear a turtleneck or something under the sweater to keep all that scratchiness away from my skin. The other yarn sounds to me like it will produce a dressier "indoor" sweater where one wouldn't have to be quite as vigilant about covering up the skin. I don't own this IK, but my memory is that the model is shown wearing it without anything underneath in a dressy sort of outfit. It this were me, I would make the yarn decision on whether I wanted a dressy sweater or an outdoor one.

[Mary Beth]

Darn. The ah-ha didn't happen ....yet. Janet makes a good point. Also, given the style of this, it would be worn against the skin. I suggest you get naked and roll around in all these welts and swatches and see which one feels best...let me know how that turns out.

[Natalie]

If color matters at all, I like the claret a bit more than the crimson. The texture seems to "pop" more in it than the crimson.

[Jody]

I know that my guage tightened up a stitch or so per inch when I switched to the main motif, which is more knits than purls, compared to the welt guage (clearly this could just be a personal phenomenon, but I just thought I'd mention it). Alas, I don't have the sweater with me to measure. The knitting became a lot more interesting and fun for me once I got past the welts.

I enjoy reading about your process, it makes me slow down and reflect more on what I'm knitting instead of just trusting on blind faith that I'll have a wearable sweater when the project is finished.

[erin]

I like the backberry ridge It'll feel better next to your skin. My only concern would be being that it is so soft, will it pill?

[Margene]

Claudia has a good point. An all the time sweater or one for the great outdoors. Does that help you decide. You can always knit one and then find another pattern you like for the other yarn and knit it later (or at the same time). Start knitting on one or the other...get a better feel for the yarn...enjoy THAT process and if it isn't as you thought it would be then change to the other sweater.

[Norma]

Well, now. I don't know how well MB knows you when she goes around willy-nilly making suggestions that you get naked and roll around on your welts. I'm not going to touch that one with a 10-foot pole. (well, I guess I already did...)
Those bags are just absolutely gorgeous. Too bad Adelaide won't make one for a crappy loser. I lose again. ;-(