Endless possibilities

Last year, I bought--on sale--9 balls of Kid Classic in this lovely color called Oats. I had something very specific in mind, having seen this project on Ravelry, and just had to have the same, in the same color even. The project was Icicle from Rowan 42.

The longer this yarn sat in my stash, the more doubts crept in about poor Icicle. For one, it's a little eccentric, and the construction exasperatingly cumbersome (gathering and easing in sleeves, for example--what about decreasing somehow? and hemming, i.e., turning up the edges and sewing--can the designer think of no other way?). I'm happy to get on the bandwagon with all that if only I didn't have doubts about the practicality of the garment itself. It's eccentric, but Rowan-y eccentric, which I've always thought more acceptable in something I knit. But should it be? I don't, for example, have a handknitted sweater that I've ever worn out because it was so useful.

Thus, the possibilities. So I made these mosaics to crystallize my thoughts. All of these garments were actually designed in Kid Classic except one. I haven't even looked up patterns in this gauge on Ravelry for fear of what I might find, so for now I'm just looking at things made with Kid Classic.


The top left is Icicle, which I've already talked about. Top right is Emily by Kim Hargreaves from the Heartfelt book. Then two more sweaters by Kim H. from various Rowan magazines. The bottom left takes only 5 balls, so I'd have 4 left to make an entirely different thing.


In the mosaic above, the top left design is from Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop book. It's a unisex pullover with two different sleeve settings, one raglan with the toggle and the other set in. Also eccentric but this oversized sweater appeals to me. Top right is Snowbird by PipiBird on Ravelry. A popular, well-fitting, simple garment. Would likely see a lot of wear. Which reminds me, based on my other sweater, Kid Classic is kind of scratchy, which is why more of these are "top layer" garments vs. close fitting. The bottom two are from Kim H's Heartfelt book once again. I could knit them both with 9 balls (or the pink sweater above and one of these).


I had to delve into my vintage Rowan magazines to find these. The top left is an oversized sweater in reverse stockinette, and the right one is more fitted. The bottom left is actually current, from Winter Blooms by Kim Hargreaves, and the bottom right is Marsha from an old Rowan and would need to be shortened by 1 ball's worth of yarn if I were to make it with 9 balls, but it appears plenty long.

And oops! There's one more possibility, the Bed Jacket from the book Romantic Style by Jennie Atkinson. Utterly romantic and impractical, I still consider it a contender. Wouldn't it be lovely just to own this?

(photo is of dskinla's version)

I get into this mode when I have yarn in my stash that is not specifically assigned a project. I can't stop mulling it over until I come up with the best thing to make. Most everything here is designed by Kim Hargreaves, so how can I run amok, really? But I would love to hear your opinions.