Saturnalia

The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage. -- Mark Russell

Am I the only one who thinks that images of Saturn look completely unreal? I think it's the rings. They are so beautifully flat from far away.

Photo credit: NASA & NSSDC; Voyager 2 took this photo July 21, 1981.

I did not crochet a planet. I did crochet the Saturn sweater from Interweave Crochet Fall 2012. It's size 32 in Gloss DK from KnitPicks.com, a merino/silk blend that was on sale at the beginning of January. January 2013, that is.


Okay, quick aside. I made most of the sweater in early 2013 but never got around to sewing the buttons and button-band ribbon on until two months ago, and it's still waiting for the button-hole ribbon. Didn't stop me from wearing this can-I-call-it-a-cardigan-if-it-doesn't-have-buttons cardi for two winters, usually with a pin at the neckline. I finally got around to taking pictures during a brief sunny moment last weekend. It was bloody cold, but I persevered. And lo, a post two years in the making was blogged.

This yarn is gorgeous. To be fair, I don't have that much experience with yarns, but this stuff is so soft and silky and the colours are really rich. I used admiral for the main colour, blackberry for the button bands, and coast grey and black for the other stripes. I do like the shock of bright colour on the original version, but I thought a more subtle blend of tones would make the sweater more wearable. Unfortunately, the wool pills like crazy. It only took a month before I had giant worm-like things under my arms, and the rest of the sweater quickly followed in the big-bits-of-fluff-and-not-in-a-good-way madness.


Back to the construction. I can't believe how quickly this came together. I wasn't going to start it until I had finished the Sylvia sweater, but the big box of yarn was calling to me while was I lazing around not buying buttons and ribbon and before I knew it I had the body and one sleeve done.

And not long after that, I had the whole thing done. Well, except for the buttons and grosgrain ribbon on the button band. But I was more-or-less finished by the last week of February (2013!), and I was actually kind of happy that it stayed cold for so long that year, because it gave me a chance to wear the heck out of this sweater before packing it away. I even managed to squeeze it into the first week of MMM13.

I am so very happy that this pattern doesn't require seams! And has waist shaping for real! And that I felt confident enough in my crocheting skills to lower the waist and also narrow the sleeves a bit. I also made it a lot shorter than the pattern because I don't like sweaters that stop below the butt. I think I made the sleeves a trifle too short; I have been contemplating adding an additional row of the blackberry to make it just right, but truth be told I probably won't.

I wish I'd had enough confidence to increase the hip size, though. This is another cardigan that will never be buttoned at the bottom. Which is why I didn't bother putting the bottom button-hole in the band.

I also wish I had found the errata before I made it past the armscyes. I didn't want to rip it back, and I sorted it out as I went. I thought it was fine; I've worn it enough to find any problems, believe me. But having finally attached the buttons and looking at these pictures, it seems I have some slight issues with the fit at the neck and around the armscyes.

My follow-up sweater for 2013 was supposed to be the Fall Fields Cardigan from guess where except I wanted a spring cardigan, so I made it up in a linen-cotton blend in cream, taupe, light brown, and far too deep a blue. It's currently sitting in pieces, waiting to be sewn together. It's been waiting for nearly two years. I have to say, I'm not really feeling it anymore. The blue is too dark and gives the whole thing too much of a nordic feel for my tastes. On the other hand, it might make a great casual sweater when it's done, so I'm not ready to frog it yet. What do you think?


So that's in hibernation. I'm already most of the way through my next sweater, the Rosemary sweater. I wanted, for once, to make it in the exact same colour as the original but I couldn't find a nice variegated pumpkin, so I got this lovely variegated wine stuff. It's very nice.


But behold, a planet! And crazy Eritrean murals!