Knockoff a Knockoff

Sweater season is in full swing. Last summer I washed all of my sweaters, scarves, mittens, hats, blankets - anything handknit or hand-wash only - I washed it, and blocked it, photographed it to update my Ravelry page, and carefully folded it and put it away.

As I was doing that, I found quite a few of my sweaters had holes in them. Not from moths, just from wear. As I wasn't particularly interested in repairing them (they were store-bought and of mediocre quality), I donated them to Goodwill.

Of course, now my sweater collection seems a little slim.

I ordered some yarn way back when I finished Ivy, and it turned out to be much finer and in a much different color than I thought. I've written a pattern for it, but nothing seems to be working out quite like I thought it would. Back to the drawing board.

Earlier this summer, I bought gobs and gobs of Plymouth Yarn's Baby Alpaca Grande for some stealth projects and for Switchboard.  Basically it's my new favorite yarn. I'd like to have a bathtub full of it, just to roll around in. Or enough to make a blanket. Or a sweater. Or all three. It's just such a joy - in the skein, to knit with, and in the finished object. The perfect yarn.

So when I saw this sweater, which is based on this sweater, I knew it was the perfect project for the limited amount of baby alpaca I have on hand.

I accidentally used two different colors of yarn for the hem and the sleeves - can you tell? I've since re-knit the sleeves in the right color...and in good light too, I might add. Next up is the embroidery. But before that, I'm considering hacking off part of the collar to make it more of a v-neck shape...