Cumberland
…And just before the deadline for the Brooklyn Knitfolk Hipster KAL, I finished my Cumberland. I love it. The end.
You wish I was that brief. No, I have to post too many photos and lots of “loves” and “reallys”. At least I know myself well. So, lets get on with it.
This pattern was a surprise to me. I found it in my Rav library one morning, a gift from Jennifer, the designer. It’s hard not to indulge immediately in surprises like this, but I held out until my sweater project was finished, like a responsible adult. In the meantime, I considered color combinations as I dug through all of the yarn I have purchased and hoarded. I mention this to flesh out your perspective of me as responsible.
It took about 9 days to knit this. I didn’t have as much time to myself to knit as I would’ve thought I would have. Guys! My son’s senior year is kicking my butt (“We don’t say dis.”) Between soccer mom stuff, new responsibilities in BSF, an upcoming Eagle Ceremony, settling my grandmother’s estate, and working on scholarship fundraising I am spreeeeead thin. I keep chanting November 13th to myself, as that’s the arbitrary day that I’ve decided things will slow down… until Christmas.
Anyway, 9 days is still a pretty quick knit. Quick is something I love. Easy to memorize is also something I love, and this pattern proved to be that. Add to that stripes and garter, and Baby, you got a stew goin’.
Details: I used Gynx Yarns singles in the Lavender Tea and Charcoal colorways. I am drinking Lavender Earl Grey at this moment, which isn’t important but shows how appropriate this color is for me. It feels good to finally find the perfect project for these skeins.
I’m thinking I used a US size 5 needle on this. I cast on and mowed through it so quickly, I never logged the info onto it’s Ravelry page.
Mods: My only mods were to add about 4 lace rows to the last lace section and 4-6 extra rows to the last garter section. I was hoping to compensate for any length lost because I was using a lighter weight yarn. It wasn’t necessary, as you can see.
This type of shawl is probably the best for my climate. It rarely gets cold where I live, but it would be heavy enough on our few cold days. If you sit by the water at that one restaurant we have by the water, it is chilly in the Spring. So this would be really nice around my shoulders.
I didn’t find using fingering weight yarn made the fabric less substantial. The colorways weren’t high contrast, but after blocking, the stripes are lovely and the lace is open without being too airy.
More Appalachian Knits shawls I want to knit are Old Rag and Allegany, which you’ve heard me say before. I bought 4 skeins of Kaycee from Mountain Meadow Wool specifically for Silvermine , but I had the yardage wrong, so I might can use some Valley Yarns or something that will work instead. I look forward to those little bobbles!
(on ravelry, instagram, and flickr)
Appalachian Knits has also released some new sweater patterns that are so wearable. However, I’m still thinking about the Roan cardigan. It will be in my closet one day. Now, this really is the end.
The other post on this shawl is here.
