The Guernsey

My husband is modeling the guernsey I knitted for our son, Torben. I used wool called "Botanica" from Halcyon in Bath, Maine. This wool has an extremely tight twist. I couldn't break a strand with my hands without doing bodily harm to myself (I know because I tried.) The stitch definition is just fantastic. This sweater doesn't even need blocking!









I used Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' Knitting in the Old Way and Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Gaffer's Gansey" as my guides. I totally forgot that Meg Swansen had an updated version, which I will use on the next guernsey because I do like the neckline. This one seems to hit right at the Adam's apple and beards and men's necks being what they are, it wears the edge down. My son is an inch or two shorter than my husband so I think the sizing is perfect. This was such a joy to knit. I used the crochet steek method for the sleeves which I prefer to getting a sewing machine out and struggling with tension, etc. It worked nicely.







It is rather embarrassing to be so crazy about knitting dishcloths lately when it wasn't that long ago that I was too snobby to knit them. Right now they are so relaxing and I complete one in about an hour with very little effort. I guess Mason-Dixon Knitting was the turning point in my dish cloth career although I haven't knit a ballband dishcloth in a while. Finding so many interesting color combinations in the cotton yarn is also a great deal of fun and I like the pattern stitch swatches.

























You can find my notes on sweaters and all my projects on Ravelry where I am "PrairiePiper".

This is the waffle stitch that I used on revamping my husband's gray saddle shoulder sweater that I wrote about in yesterday's post.



The dishcloth "group photo" was actually taken after several were given away.