Trenchwork

–which isn’t mine! But I’m posting it anyway just to prove that I’m not entirely neglecting my needles in favor of the Rose and spindles.

A friend has been working on this sweater for her daughter for a little while now, and said daughter is in danger of outgrowing the sucker before she ever has the chance to wear it. So, we had a bit of a dugnad; she did the body, I did the sleeves and put the thing together. Lo and behold, it’s done. Or, rather, it’s nearly done. If I were really sweet I’d have woven in any loose ends, turned the hems for sleeves, body, and collar, and sewn down the facing in the sleeves, but I’m cheating and sending it back with that bit left to do. The practical reason for not sealing things down is that it needs a last fitting while there’s still a chance—however distant—of being able to rip something out. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. The reality is that I just hate doing those things, and I’m reckoning she’ll forgive me now that it just needs an hour of hemming and steam blocking before it’s wearable.

As a final note, the sweater is knitted with Rauma’s 2-ply fingering-weight wool, and I hate it. Er, not the sweater, but the yarn. It’s slightly coarse, nubby, and decidedly grabby. I’ve discovered that I like smooth, fairly slick yarns for color work, and I don’t like the way this particular yarn seems occasionally fragile. When I ripped back one of the sleeves, the light blue kept breaking. The only positive thing I can say about the stuff is that it felts like a dream—which made spit splicing really easy.