Quiet

Sometimes this just click into place. This summer at our local knit fest, I fell in love with the new handdyed Aara yarn. They had few OOAK skeins and of course I had to fall for one of those colors. We made a deal: I'd design a sweater for the yarn and the dyers would try to figure out the recipe for the color. It was a bit risky but I think we both nailed it!

What: Quiet / Own pattern

How: Circula needles 3.0 and 3.5 mm

From: Aara Lempi, 254 g

Aaran Lempi is a single-ply SW merino yarn base. And the color, just the perfect greyish purple or pink - depending on the light. The colorway was named Kriikuna, Finnish for damson. And the sweater was named Quiet for that little, quiet kind of beauty it has.

The sweater is worked seamlessly top-down, obvs. It has a folded neckline, round yoke and long sleeves. 

The sweater has positive ease but the cropped hem is fitted and ends at the natural waist. I think this fit is my all time favorite - and that's a lot to say for someone who's been knitting non-stop for the past 20 years! When did I get so old? 

The star of the sweater is the hem ribbing. It is a gorgeous combination of lace and twisted stitches. It has these little sleeves that transform into twisted ribbing. 

And don't be scared of seeing the purl side on top! The sweater is worked inside out, so almost all of it is just knitting. The purl side is turned on top only just before the ribbing. You'll only need to work purled stitches on the ribbing and short rows that shape the back.

Not only is the cropped fit super sweet, it also means low yardage. I made my sample sweater with just 2.5 skeins! The pattern comes with 11 sizes, ranging from 35.25-67.75'' finished bust (intended ease is 6''). My test knitter made the largest size with just 4 skeins.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry and there's an introductory discount of 25% with the code AARA until November 20th.

If the design process and yarn dying were successes, photographing this one was a pain. First, I had to block it twice. I left the sweater on our back deck to dry on a sunny morning and when I came home from work it had been pouring for two hours! The amount of water I could squeeze from the sweater was just insane. So I had to block and dry it again - this time inside. 

Once the sweater was finally dry, I went to get my hair done for the pics. Just as we got to the side of the field for the photoshoot the sky broke. We had just about 2 minutes to get the pics taken before my hairdo was gone going gone. When I ran home after the photoshoot I no longer had bangs but a wet rat on my forehead. Needless to say, the sweater needed yet another blocking.