Osborn Fiber Studio

I’ve got it bad.

It’s rainy and miserable outside, and has been for days. I’ve finished the knitting for three (3) of the fifteen (15) Christmas projects still to go (the finishing is another matter entirely), and a couple of those projects are making their way toward the chopping block as time progresses. I have three papers to write this weekend.

And all I can think about is how much I want to cast on a sweater.

My little enclave of Shelter keeps looking at me fetchingly from its new home in the stash, right between the handspun, hand-dyed DK and the neatly-bagged batts of Icelandic. And I keep finding myself on Ravelry, searching through sweater patterns, looking for the cardigan that’s calling my name.

I think I’ve worked out pretty well what I want. My new hairstyle is demanding a re-thinking of my “look,” and I’d like a sweater that fits that. It probably has to be a cardigan, with actual long sleeves, though I don’t care about construction (pieced/one piece/whatever). It has to be fairly structured, not professional per se, but empowered. This really means I don’t want it to be too casual, which favors more jacket-y type things; none of these three-buttons-at-the-top numbers that make me look pregnant and harmless. At the same time, it has to be feminine. I’m also trying to keep in mind that, when I’ve seen Shelter knit up, the stitches tend to blend together into a very light, solid fabric without the strongest stitch definition.

I’ve got it narrowed down to a few front-runners. Tell me what you think.

Victoria, from a fall issue of Knitty last year, is my favorite right now. It’s admittedly big and a bit floppy, almost a boyfriend sweater, but that collar is so sharp that it more than makes up for it. The pattern’s simple unto boring, so I have to decide whether I mind that.

Girl Friday is a more typical answer to what I want, or at least what I say I want. I like the jacket-ness, I lurve the shawl collar, and the deep texture all over it. The pattern’s a bit geometrical for me, but I might get over that.

The Hampton Cardigan doesn’t fit many of my criteria, but I’ve been lusting after it for a while. It’s the main reason I really wanted New England Knits, which my in-laws got for my last birthday. It’s definitely feminine, and I think the low placement of the one button makes it a bit more empowered than the pregnant-harmless silhouette. I keep telling myself it’s not cutesy; I’m counting on  you to tell me if I’m deluded.

Trilo is a wild card. I’m keeping it in the running because it appeals to my base instincts – unexpected, funky construction (you have to click on the link to look at the crazy back), and expectations-defying. It has a similar construction to my Stole Sweater, just going in the opposite direction. It might be a little too casual for what I’m trying to cultivate, though.

What do you think? Any suggestions? It’s all I can do in the meantime to keep my nose to the holiday grindstone and not wind up some Shelter for a swatch. For goodness sake … We haven’t even started the Christmas cards yet.