Swamp Thing

Hey gang,

So it's time to procrastinate and take a small break from dissertation writing. (Side note: I need to complete this damned thing in the next 10 days or so. Can I complete it in time? Or will I wile my time away on Buzzfeed and Pinterest? Tune in to find out!)

I haven't had much time to get any knitting done, but I do have projects that I completed a while ago that I still need to archive. For example, this beauty:

I'm blending into the background.

Breakwater by Cecily Glowik MacDonald
Needles: 4 and 6
Yarn: Madelinetosh Merino Light, terre verte
Skeins: 2
Size: 35 inch bust

Based on my Raverly notes, it looks like I finished knitting and blocking this thing in March 2012. So it appears it has taken me TWO YEARS to take a somewhat decent picture and write up my notes. Why? I have no earthly idea why I do this to myself. Maybe it's due to an unconscious dislike of having my picture taken? Perhaps it's because I'm never fully satisfied with the end result of my projects? Maybe I'm just lazy? Maybe because REASONS, that's why.

Anyway, I'd have to say this is my favorite sweater I've knit. I've knit a few others (some that I haven't written about), but this is the only sweater I've knit that I wear on a consistent basis. Just look at it:

*sigh* IN LOVE.

Anyway, on to the specifics: the pattern was fantastic and clearly written. Just about all of MacDonald's designs are so simple, clean and modern; I'm a huge fan. I also love the fact that you can get away with knitting a beautiful garment with just two skeins of sock yarn. Great for this budget-conscious (i.e., poor) grad student.

My memory of knitting this item is a little hazy, but I'm pretty sure I made no significant modifications. I think I knit an additional inch to the body of the sweater to make it longer. Also, rather than picking up and knitting a row at the collar (that just seems like a pain in the ass to me), I used a crochet hook (size G, I think?) and picked up and crocheted a single chain to stabilize the neckline. So easy. I didn't alternate between skeins, because I like to live dangerously.

Now the yarn: I distinctly remember being a little concerned about the...hairiness of the yarn. It seemed a little fuzzy and I was concerned about pilling. As I continued knitting, I soon realized that I needn't have worried at all (I had probably tried to knit other things with this end of the yarn and it had started to protest by frizzing out). This yarn is HEAVEN: the softness, the colors, the squishyness, everything. I've bought about three more sweaters' worth of TML since finishing this project.

So there you have it: an awesome pattern, awesome yarn, and super-awesome sweater. I recommend you knit this one. RIGHT NOW. Go on, I'll wait. :)