Decisions, decisions

Been in finish mode on a couple things and trying to pick a new big knitting design project, but what? Going through old sketches, making new ones, etc. It’s becoming more and more apparent that no matter how far I bury my head in the sand, a long-sleeved cardigan seems more inevitable with each passing day. Particularly now that the Pacific Northwest only has one and a half seasons.

I love the lightweight knit-fabric-that-is-cut-and-sewn sweaters with not-full-length-sleeves that are so popular nowadays, but am nearly always cold, so they often don’t cut it. (On muggy evenings with all the windows closed when it’s easily 75°+ in the living room, I still have a microfiber/down quilted blanket covering my lap and legs and will be wearing a hoodie with a warm, purring kitty either directly on top of my lap or right next to it.) This was one of the things I found so frustrating about Texas; I had to go sleeveless outside and would positively swelter, then come inside and get a strange desire to hunt woolly mammoths and invent fire. Would a $136 sweater be too precious to wear sitting around on the couch and petting the cat? I don’t know. It’s better than letting the yarn sit in a box for a 4th year (bought it in 2008 with a birthday gift certificate), isn’t it? Yes. It is.

Now to figure out the design. There are 8 skeins of the yarn in question, so 1,312 yards (1,200 m…or 1.200 if I’m feeling super fancy/inclusive), which should be plenty for any sweater I could potentially come up with, knee-length ones excepted.

With all of my designs I try to think of a way to innovate, or include some kind of clever detail—top-down raglans, neck-down triangle shawls, and plain tube cowls are just not for me. What could I do to innovate with this sweater design? Something to chew on indeed. Suggestions are welcome—is there something you’ve always wanted to see in a cardigan design?