Sweater Weather

Lions and tigers and bears... 

Here at Prairie Tide, we've pulled the fuzzy slippers out of the closet, added a thick blanket to the bed, and found those flannel pajamas. Fall is in the air, and all I can say is BRRRR. Thank goodness for a cedar chest full of wool sweaters.

Over the weekend, Randy and I took a hike around the outer edge of Wildlife Prairie Park. This state park features a small zoo of animals native to these parts. There's wolves, lynx, and a couple of man-eating bears. Our hike under the amber leaves was brisk and refreshing--and no sight of hungry bears along the trail.

After a day's hike, I finished up the Lopi Sweater. I considered this this sweater a "practice sweater." I wanted to try my hand a knitting a two-color yoke sweater before tackling "Blue Shimmer", a Bohus-style sweater kit languishing in my yarn stash. As far as the practice sweater goes, my fingers seemed to figure out how to keep the yarn tension the same between the plain stockinette rounds and the two-color rounds. So this makes the whole experience worthwhile, in my mind.


Houston, we have a sweater here. 

Otherwise, I think this sweater is going to find it's way to the bottom of the cedar chest. For one thing, the Nature Spun Worsted yarn is Wooly Mammoth thick. We're talking surface-of-the-sun-warm. On my maiden voyage with the sweater on a walk around the neighborhood, the sweater felt positively nuclear powered. Basically, its a sweater to wear outside while tending a flock of sheep in sub-zero temperatures.


What was I thinking? 

What's more, my improvised color-combination came out a little disappointing--the gold pops out way to bright. When I purchased the yarn, I'd never have guessed that the gold would dominate the other colors so much. Wearing this sweater is like wearing a big neon sign around the neck that says "Look at me! I made this piece of #@$&%!"

Between you and me, I'd prefer my handknits to be a little more subtle.






- posted by Laurie @ 5:39 PM