wool book one | barefoot rooster

Someday I hope to take pictures of this sweater in the wild (and in natural light). But for now, I think I have to accept that these pictures, snapped last night in my ugly hallway (and while the sweater was, to be honest, still a little damp) will have to do, because it is going to be almost 80 degrees outside today. Beautiful, but not Agnes weather. (And I might be pouting a little bit about that.) Blocking has loosened up and evened out everything, of course, and now Agnes is perfectly cozy without being sloppy, if that makes sense. You can still see the spot where I dropped down to increase several times after the fact — on the back of the right shoulder (which is why I took that silly picture)– but it is way less noticeable than it was before blocking. When I make this again (because I could probably use at least two more of these sweaters), I might double up the purl rows at the pockets so that whatever contrast color I choose stands out even more. Also, I think this sweater will be an important part of my dissertation writing process.

On that note, here’s another installment of “fake-it-’til-you-make-it” here at Chez Rooster. On Saturday morning I realized that I needed to put on a button-down shirt to make myself do some writing. And it worked. Never have I been so happy to get 200 words out of my fingers and onto the screen.

And here’s my next project from Wool Book One: Avery. I’m making this cowl in two skeins of Malabrigo in the perfect shade of rusty red-orange. To wear with my Agnes, of course.

It has been quite a week, dear readers. Quite. A. Week. Broken window, injured pup, wasp sting, leaky house, waterlogged mattress, and today’s addition? Expensive car repairs. (The good news? My car is no longer squeaking/groaning in reverse. Which is important, because I’m driving it a lot this fall.)

Here’s my message to the universe: uncle. I give up. You win this week.

I recognize that all of these mishaps/messes/expenses are quite small in the grand scheme of things. I am quite lucky to have what I have, be where I am, and do what I do. I get that, and I don’t mean to just whine self-indulgently here about problems like these. So instead, I’ll tell you about that bowl of ice cream. Oooh, and that swatch.

First, the ice cream. Chocolate ice cream was on sale, so I bought some. Also, randomly, I bought a jar of peanut butter. (It wasn’t on my shopping list.) Last night, I thought to add a few spoonfuls of peanut butter to my dish of ice cream. I think you should try it. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

Now, the swatch. It’s for Agnes, by Melissa LaBarre, and it’s from wool, book one, available at Quince and Co., with designs by Melissa and Cecily Glowik MacDonald. Honestly, I’ve been looking at this collection because of Avery, a gorgeous textured cowl that can be doubled up around your neck. But the more I looked at the pictures, the more I began to need Agnes — a sweet but simple pullover knit in bulky yarn — with pockets! This is a comfort sweater. And with everything that happened this week, last night I decided I needed one. The thing is, I don’t own any bulky yarn. I do have some EcoWool, but I wanted to knit Agnes in something with a little bit more color than the greys and browns I have. And I do have some Peace Fleece, which would probably drape nicely on bigger needles, but I want this to be both sheepy and soft, the kind of sweater I’ll want to pull on when I climb out of bed to make the coffee. Let’s face it: I pretty much knew I wanted to make this out of Beaverslide, and I’ve got plenty in the winter wheat colorway.

So I swatched. And while this stuff is lovely on 9s/10s (I think I thought I was swatching with bamboo and then metal 10s, but the metal needles are actually 9s), it does not want to be knit looser. So I looked at the pattern, and (famous last words from this historian) did some math. And I came up with my own numbers to make my 3.5 st/inch gauge work.

And then I started knitting. And I did some more knitting this morning, breaking my rule about knitting before coffee. (I may have dropped a stitch marker when I picked it up this morning, which meant my raglan decreases were off in one section. So I replaced the marker, and dropped down 8 rows to add increases every other row on either side of the marker. I was able to get three of the four increases in there, and faked the fourth. It is really tight, but I’m hoping when I block it that section will even out. If not, I can live with it. I just needed to keep knitting.) I also knit until dividing for the sleeves while waiting for the expensive repairs on my car this morning. And really, I’m only not knitting right now because I’m blogging.

And here’s what I’ve got so far. I hate things tight around the neck, so I cast on and knit the ribbing loosely. I think when the weight of the sweater is there, it will open up even more, and be just where I want it.