A wizard always arrives exactly when he means to.

I was reminded the other day, when reading Carly’s great post on styling Oscillate, that I’d never done a proper post about the sweater.

I love all of my sweaters, and I love all of the photoshoots that the great folks at Twist Collective produce with them, but in my heart of hearts I’ll let myself admit some favorites. And Oscillate definitely tops the list.


(Photo credit Jane Heller. Photos used with permission from Twist Collective.)

This photo shoot is so iconic, and so perfectly captures the life and beauty of the yarn, it absolutely makes me squeal. And Oscillate is one of my favorite designs, in that it so perfectly captures my favorite things about hand-knits: I love a fuzzy sweater with a close (but easy) fit. I love simple-but-interesting cables. I love sweaters that scream “Wear me!”.

The Classic Elite Lush I used for the design was wonderful. Soft and fuzzy without being sheddy or limp, it practically screamed to be used in plump, wiggly cables. I’ll definitely be using it for my own version.

You can find all of the nuts and bolts information about the pattern either here or on Twist Collective’s site, where you can also buy the pattern, so in this post I’ll just say: One of the nicest things about waiting so long to do a proper post on Oscillate is that there are already stunning FOs for you to gaze at! Just take a look at the projects page on Ravelry. They have me dreaming about my own version…

Since that version is likely a few months away, I decided to take a plunge and fiddle around with Polyvore instead. And in the spirit of Carly’s post, here are the two ways I plan to wear my own Oscillate as soon as I have the time to make one in my size:

Oscillate

I’ve included two looks here, in a (budget-less) nod to the two very different parts of my life. First, my home/knitting design/running after the boys life: Jeans are hands-down the most often worn bit of my wardrobe. The boys still haven’t mastered the art of napkins/kleenex/anything-other-than-someone’s-shirt, so pretty much anything I wear when I’m around them has to be tolerant of washing machines. I have pretty short, thick legs, so I love a good flare–they take the eye, and the visual balance, away from the rest of my legs and cleverly hide the high heels I’m never without. I love the look of a butter yellow paired with a rich, dark red, so I chose a pretty simple tee to wear under the sweater. Naturally, my favorite boots of all time have to make an appearance. (No kidding. I own them in both colors, and they’re wonderfully stylish, fit my wide calves, and I can sprint in them. For real.) I seem to often forget jewelry, but when I remember I prefer bolder, funkier pieces for my personal life. I might have to get that guitar bracelet, actually, it would go perfectly with some earrings I got recently from someone I found through Thea.

Second, my work life. I definitely need to dress professionally and conservatively at work, and am frequently rubbing elbows with folks a few levels higher on the totem pole than me. I’m excruciatingly demanding of my hand-knits for this reason, and don’t often wear them to work–but Oscillate fits the bill beautifully. I’d pair it with a pair of gray wool trousers (again with the wide leg), and a sedate set of Fluevogs. Boden is the best for plain shirts with a bit of flare, and I’d go with jewelry that doesn’t call as much attention to itself, reflecting the color of the sweater without being too matchy-matchy.

Playing with Polyvore is super fun! How would you style Oscillate?

(And speaking of styling sweaters, stay tuned for the next post, where I take the Charles Collection sweaters over to Caro’s house for a photo shoot with some friends.)

3 thoughts on “A wizard always arrives exactly when he means to.

  1. Such a lovely sweater, and I like the inclusion of suggested wardrobe combinations in this post. You have a good eye. 🙂

  2. You had me at Dansko boots. I ended up ordering a pair after finding them for a great price and I. LOVE. THEM. The fit is great and so far, they’re feeling pretty damn comfortable. Thanks for including them in this post, along with your beautiful sweater.

  3. YUM! I have been looking for something exquisite to knit in Lush. And I didn’t need to see that Etsy site. Rilly.

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