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Update 5-2-09:  Uh-oh.

Houston, we may have a scheduling problem.  Don’t swatch anything just yet…  

OK, OK.  I said we’d start the next sweater knitalong in May, didn’t I?

So, NEXT FRIDAY, May 8th, we will kick off another one.

We’ll start with a gauge swatch, complete a schematic (ahem), and do the math to make your very own sweater.  This time we’ll do a crew neck — again top-down — again with raglan sleeves — but due to popular vote, this one will be a cardigan.  (For knitters who prefer a pullover, it probably won’t be too tricky to make that substitution.)

I’m still on the bubble about whether it will have knit-in front bands, or whether we’ll do front bands added on at the end.  But we have some time before we have to decide that part.

For my starting point, I’m taking inspiration from this cardigan from Nashua Handknits.  As usual, I have a few modifications in mind:  I believe I’m going to move that unfortunate purl ridge and pattern stitch change down a bit, so it’s not right at the bust.  I’m also not planning on making the ribbed cuffs quite as long as what is shown.  And I hope my garment will be longer, although that’s going to depend a lot on when the yarn runs out.

Of course, I’m going to do it in a different color — that mauve would make me look positively ill.  Instead, I’m going to use this combination of yarns from DiCentra Designs, a local dyer whose work I found at Oregon Flock and Fiber.  It is a strand of MOHAIR held together with a strand of wool bouclé.

This is some of the oldest stuff in the stash, BTW:  I think I’ve had the bouclé around for well over 5 years.  I’m pretty sure I bought that on my very first trip to OFFF, which was back when I was still working as an engineer — so that makes it at least pre-2004.  Last year, I bought the matching MOHAIR, figuring if that didn’t get me to knit up the damned bouclé, nothing would!

And as you can see, it is at a pretty hefty gauge — roughly, 10 sts to 4 inches in the stockinette — so I should have no trouble breezing through this one — right?  RIGHT??  Although, thanks to our friend the MOHAIR, the fabric remains pretty lightweight.  And despite the fact that it has a lot of texture, I think the st patterns used still show up reasonably well — you can tell there’s a change in the st pattern, at least!

The cardigan from Nashua looks like it uses somewhere between 450 – 490 yards, at a rather smaller gauge.  I have just about 500 yards available — but since I will be making bigger stitches, my sweater should take less yardage.  Please to keep fingers crossed, though.

If you are interested in participating in this knitalong, please RSVP in the comments.  Class is limited to 8 spunky knitters.  And, start thinking about yarn.  I know it’s spring and everything, but if you choose fingering or sport weight…  well, if you fall behind, I am not responsible!  Do some swatching to get a nice sweater fabric, and we’ll get going on the 8th!