What a Life!

I’m sitting on the couch, knitting a pair of socks blogging while I wait for the UPS man.

Two years ago, Twist Collective published the pattern for a sweater I immediately fell in love with Hallett’s Ledge. I ordered the yarn the pattern called for – Rowan Felted Tweed Aran, colorway Heather – and got the pattern. I was head over heels over the design, but I didn’t cast on until last March. I quickly finished the back, then the two fronts, and then the sweater got buried by other knitting projects. I had four balls of yarn left.

A couple weeks ago, I got out the sweater again and began knitting the sleeves. When I finished the first sleeve, I had two balls of yarn left. Yes, that’s right, 2 balls. Meaning I’d used up half the remaining yarn and would not have enough yarn to do the ribbing for the buttonband and neckband once the sweater was seamed. After a quick review of other Hallett’s Ledge projects on Ravelry, I saw I was not alone.

So I ordered more yarn. Odds were pretty high that the yarn would be from a different dye lot, but since the ribbing was a different texture and a different angle, I thought that I might be able to get away with it. The yarn was on closeout at Webs so the price was right. {I ordered a couple other things, too.}

In the mean time, I’ve been thinking about this sweater.

I’m pleased with how the sleeve came out. I used a larger needle for the ribbing so it doesn’t pull in so tight, and I used a smaller needle for the garter section between the rib and cables so it wouldn’t ripple. That was mostly why I got hung up on it when I finished the body last spring. I was afraid the ribbing would pull in too much and the garter would never block even because it was too loose. When I began knitting the sleeves, I decided I would frog the body pieces from the garter down and re-knit that portion in the other direction with the change in needle sizes as for the sleeves.

But then I ran out of yarn.

And I began to think that this really isn’t going to be a flattering design on me. The last thing I need is a sweater with a bunch of ribbing that clings to my midsection. Even if I re-knit the garter and rib in the body pieces, they would be shorter than they are now as re-knitting them on larger needles would use more yarn. Being shorter is not necessarily going to mean more flattering.

So I started thinking of what I might do instead. What else might I do with this yarn? I did a search on Ravelry for projects designed with this yarn and I came across this {Ravelry link} – a top down v-neck pullover in simple St st. It starts at the top, so I could knit the yoke, then the sleeves, and then the body until I ran out of yarn. A plan. Yes, a plan.

Then I began hoping that the extra yarn wouldn’t match. The dye lots would be too different and it just wouldn’t work. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about whether Hallett’s Ledge would be flattering on me or not. It simply wouldn’t work. I could frog and re-knit without regret.

And so I sit on the ledge…waiting for the UPS man to bring my yarn. Should I frog or shall I finish?