I'm back from vacation! I bet you thought that I had just up and left for good. So sorry about the total lack of contact I've had with the blogosphere over the past few weeks. Vacation mode set in pretty hard there for a while. It was awesome and I'll tell you all about it another day. For today, I'm back home, back to work and I have a long overdue FO to share!
Pattern: Gemini by Jane Richmond.
Yarn: TFA Yellow Label DK Weight yarn in Iris.
Ravelry project page here.
Voila my Modified Gemini. I modified the original short sleeved summer top following Jane's very own mods as detailed on Ravelry. I am thrilled with the results. My version doesn't fit around the neck quite as I had expected. It seems that on most people the neckline is a crisp square, whereas mine fits more like a wide, off the shoulder number. Not what I had in mind, but still lovely and fitting with the design. I find that it adds an element of casual cool to the sweater, and that's totally fine by me!
I am crazy for how the Iris colourway worked up. I love the colourway in the skein, and I have already used it for a pair of awesome socks, but knitting a larger garment in a colourway with a good amount of variegation can be tricky. I alternated skeins every 2 rows, kept a close eye on how the colours were falling, and in the end I think that the sweater is rich and colourful, but not stripy and crazy multicoloured. It still reads as purple, but upon closer inspection it's got little bits of everything. That's what I love.
The only thing I wish I had done differently is pick a different spot to alternate skeins. When I cast on I began alternating skeins at the beginning of the row, which falls right smack dab in the center front of the sweater. Lesson learnt, don't do that. Once I noticed that I was getting this weird line where the switch was occurring I moved the transition point over to a raglan marker where the steps are much less noticeable. I can live with it the way it is now, though I always have to wear the sweater backwards. In the photo above can you see how there is a bit of a line down the top of the center back? It's not so bad on the back, but would look awful if I wore the sweater with the solid portion in the front. I won't make that mistake again.
Overall I'm thrilled with this sweater. Thanks Jane for such a great pattern!