Rowhouse!

So not all my knitting is just for Fix It Fridays! I'm sorta bopping between several projects, but believe it or not, the one that seems to have the bulk of my attention is Rowhouse.

Bascially, it's an other Brownstone for Matt. Since I'm knitting them one right after the other, I decided to call it Rowhouse.

This just might be the perfect man's sweater. First, it's an easy knit (tho' I think I've worked more short rows in the last 2 months than I've done over the last 22 years of knitting, but that's also because I seem to be a bit obsessed with shawl collars right now). I wouldn't call it "beginner" friendly (see previous comment about short rows), but definitely an advanced beginner could do it.

Second, this is a very precisely written pattern. I'm not sure if all of Brooklyn Tweed's pattern are this detailed, but kudos to Jared Flood for being so specific (and yes, that even includes what kind of cast on he used. Of course, I didn't actually DO that cast on, but it's nice when a designer tells you what they did). I have issues with designers who think that everyone knits exactly how they do and assume that you'll do it the way they did things (as a complete aside: this is actually why I didn't get far with the TKGA master class: the first question was about casting on, they didn't tell me what cast on to use then asked me to tell the difference between the two sides. I normally use a crochet cast on, project depending, and there is NO difference between the front or back. It looks the same. It's why I use it... well and I don't have that whole pesky "how much tail do I need" for when I do a long tail cast on. So while most people have a "go to" cast on, it's not all the same. Some people like the long tail, some like a cable cast on, some even do a backword loop. Never assume a knitter does it the same way as an other knitter! Okay, rant over... I'm just saying that even tho' I didn't use the same cast on as Mr. Flood, I appreciate his including it in the directions so that if I want to make mine exactly as the pattern, I know what the designer did). He also has number checks thru out (and being math challenged, I always appreciate that!).

I also love the gauge. Aran weight is where the bulk of my stash is (ya, it's an aran/cabley thing). I did stash dive for this... and this is actually sorta special yarn.

I'm using some much beloved Queensland Kathmandu Aran (discontinued. of. course.) in a dark blue-ish gray. I'm calling it midnight navy. I bought the yarn while we were on our 20th wedding anniversary trip ( did you know that there's a yarn store within walking distance to Dogfish Head Brewery?). So I knew that I wanted something that showed off the yarn, plus it's one of Matt's favorite yarns.

So the yarn and the pattern got the thumbs up from Matt (he's been seen very regularly in his Brownstone since Christmas). It's been a fairly quick knit, especially since I've been working on it between Fix It Fridays and 3 or 4 other projects that I've been playing with. There's also been a lot of browsing of new projects and even some (gasp) swatching.