Last month I knit this sweater for Compatto. It’s from the book Knitting for Him by Martin Storey and Wendy Baker. I used Rowan instead of their recommended yarn, and it worked fine. However, I do have some comments regarding the pattern. First off, the style isn’t good for most young people. In other colors (actually the cool grey and chartreuse used in the book does make it look much more fashionable) it can have a different feeling, but the fit is what is of issue for me. I found that it actually ran a little big. Depicted here in a small would probably fit what I may consider a medium, although perhaps on the smaller end of that. Any skinny guy wouldn’t look good in their small size. The proportions felt a little off to me as well. It’s a bit short, so the whole thing is kind of square. Again, fine for a medium, but anyone who is too tall or too thin would need some fine tuning if this pattern was used. Still, it was easy, although I found the ribbing a little mindless.

I did have a fun time with the details. The small red stripe between the brown and tan is a nice touch, and the pockets were fun to make. You got to knit pocket flaps and then insert them into the fabric of the two fronts as you went, then go back and add the contrast band. I also enjoy finishing, so it was fun to sew those down.

I bought my buttons at F & S in west LA, which is an awesome emporium of fabrics and notions. This was the only place that could match the strangely difficult brown color, although the buttons (five of them) ran at two bucks per, which was a wee bit annoying. Still, it’s pretty much a textile wonderland.

Knitpicks Palette Yarns

I received my order from knitpicks.com!! Even though it took longer than I wanted, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I ordered 11 balls of yarn and a set of bamboo dp needles for $29.92, including shipping.

Yarn Profile
KnitPicks Palette yarn
Fingering weight
100% Peruvian highlands wool
231 yds/50 gram balls
7-8 st/inch on size 1-3 needles.
$1.29-2.19

The reason I picked the aptly named Palette yarn out is because it came in a huge variety of colors (57!), and I wanted to do a fair isle pair of gloves. I was very satisfied with the texture- sensitive heads may find it scratchy as a hat, but as a glove it is perfectly comfortable. The colors are rich and interesting, and many are dyed so that they look fantastic together. I thought it was a fantastic value for the price, and I plan on ordering again from them in the future, although perhaps not with such a last minute gift!

Knitpicks.com and Wyoming Yarn shop

I ordered yarn from Knit Picks which was incredibly cheap, but is so far taking for ever to get here. I got an email saying it was sent out 8 days ago, and I ordered it 10 days ago. I know I’m in a small town at the moment, but man oh man, it’s annoying.

The local yarn shop in Cody, WY, The Iron Kettle Emporium, is cute and has a helpful staff, but they didn't have the colors of yarn in the weight I needed. The yarns they carry tend to be in a smaller color selection, many of which are tweedy, self striping, or otherwise non-solid. They do sell some local yarn, and I think I’ll have one of those rare moments where I buy yarn without a project in mind. I still have the yarn from last time I did that, but I probably won’t be able to help myself.