Pattern: Tensile by Emily Greene
Yarn: TFA PureWash Fingering in Harmony (OOAK).
Ravelry Project page here.
Photography credits go to Rowan! Give your 5 year old a camera and a bit of direction and they will shock and amaze you. I edited these photos (taken with my phone) with my phone’s software. Just brightened them up a bit. I didn’t do any cropping - he framed each of the shots. For some reason that I can’t explain his angles remind me so much of how Chris takes photos! They are the same person I swear. Every day Rowan is growing more and more into himself and honestly that self is so much like Chris it’s crazy. In case you didn’t know… Rowan is my 5 year old son. :)
I cast on for this sweater almost immediately after seeing it in Brooklyn Tweed’s Wool People 12 late last spring (or was it early summer?) Ravelry says I cast on June 23rd. It took me months to finish but only because I purposefully let it linger for a bit while I worked on other projects. Sometimes I become slightly obsessive about a particular project and race through it to be able to enjoy the FO as quickly as possible. Other times I just don’t! I can’t really explain the logic behind it. Some projects are just better if you slow down and let them last as long as they like.
On Christmas Eve I wore my Wolf River sweater and my sister commented on how much she liked it and how it fits that perfect spot in a wardrobe for when you want to look nice and put together but still be comfortable. Tensile fits that same niche for me. It’s a cozy and comfy knit, but it’s not a casual sweatshirt style pullover or a slouchy cardigan. It’s drapey and detailed and chic! With a pair of tailored pants or a skirt it’s an outfit. Throw on some earrings and you’re ready to go out. Having sweaters that make me feel warm, comfortable, cozy and still super chic is always a home run for me. Though of course you could style it with cut off shorts and a ponytail for warmer weather and it would still make sense.
I’m still a little nervous when casting on for a sweater with positive ease but I’m getting more and more comfortable with it every time I attempt a new draped garment. This sweater had the added excitement of being super lacy (meaning you really couldn’t get a feel for the finished size until after blocking) and seamed (meaning you couldn’t try it on until it was all done and sewn together). It makes for a nail biting knit! Luckily for me it came out just how I hoped - which isn’t really luck actually, it’s good design by Emily. :) The pattern is perfect and I didn’t make a single modification.
I really love this colourway. It’s called Harmony and unfortunately it’s the type of colourway that really needs to be seen up close and personal to truly be appreciated (aren’t they all!?!) I loved this colour so much and we dyed up a tonne for the shop last spring and it was a hard sell! Maybe it was the photos, maybe people just don’t like grey/purple shades as much as I do, but for whatever reason it lingered in the shop for ages which gave me the chance to pick a few skeins for my own selfish knitting. Interesting side story: all the not-quite-right batches of Harmony that we dyed ended up morphing into our Cloak colourway! Which I also really love - possibly even more than I do Harmony? It’s so hard to say, I love them all… but it’s possible that if Cloak had existed when I was casting on for this project I may have chosen Cloak instead. Though I do really like the softer colour for this airy garment. Honestly, there are no wrong choices when it comes to colour!
So there you have it, my last official FO post of 2018! I have a few other knits from the year to share, but they will have to wait until the new year. I’m also planning a 2018 re-cap post but I’ll be honest, it is really hard to re-cap a year when that year includes the birth of a baby! How do you sum that up!? It’s too much. So I may just stare at my Instagram best nine and remember what an amazing year it was for my family personally and leave it at that.
Can you believe tomorrow is the first day of a new year!? Let’s make it a colourful one OK?
xo - Tanis