Sweater Crazy

I'm not sure what's come over me lately - all I want to knit are sweaters. I haven't finished any yet, but they're going quicker than I expected.

Sweaters, for me, are always more of a product knit than a process knit. I soon get bored of long stretches of a single stitch pattern, so for anything larger than a pair of socks, I need to motivate myself with the fact that it will be a really useful finished product.

There are practical considerations too - I don't really need more shawls or fingerless gloves. Even though I like knitting them, I already have more pairs than I will ever wear. A bunch of sweaters are more useful in that regard, plus the fact that since they're slower to knit, they'll pile up less quickly.

So a combination of those reasons, the stashbusting I'm taking on this year plus cleaning out my queue, and a general mood I'm in, has caused me to want to knit sweaters. Lots of sweaters.

Layter is coming along well. I've started the first sleeve, but I needed the tips for another project so it's temporarily on hold.

Katie is a quick, simple pattern with a beautiful colorwork band. It's an ideal way to use up leftover yarn that isn't enough for a whole sweater - the colorblock look is in, but I like how the simple stranding in this pattern softens the transition.
I'm knitting it in Ethical Twist, a sadly discontinued wool-alpaca blend that is beautifully soft, organic, and naturally colored. I got a few skeins each of white and brown - I've already knit a few stripes of my Layter with it, and I'm hoping to make a matching hat for Katie with my leftovers.

I've also cast on my first all-handspun sweater from some bouncy and soft grey wool. It definitely has a rustic feel, but I don't mind. I'm alternating two balls via the helix technique so that inconsistencies between balls are less noticeable.

~Joyuna