The Summer Sweater KAL is here!

Hello, lovely knitters! Lauren here.

Summer sweaters and I have a problem. As you may remember from last year, I never quite nailed down the perfect summer sweater. I knit a linen tank, but it’s just a touch too long to feel right. As a result, I don’t wear it often. I started and stopped several other sweaters during last year’s KAL, and never managed to make it through with one I like.

That’s going to change this year!

Welcome to the second annual Summer Sweater KAL. I’m resolving to knit a summer sweater I’m truly happy with this year, and I’d like to let you in on my plans.

First of all…

My main goal is to finish (finally!) a sweater that’s been troubling me for a year. This sweater was begun on July 18, 2014, for the last Summer Sweater KAL. Though I finished the back and sleeves in record time, I haven’t been happy with anything I’ve tried with the fronts.

All of the many pieces I've started (only some of which I've finished!).
All of the many pieces I’ve started (only some of which I’ve finished!).

I knit nearly up to the armholes on a cardigan front, then abandoned that because the Effervescent stitch pattern was too ornate for my simple aesthetic. A few months later, I decided I liked Coracle, and worked up about 6″ of the front of the sweater, which is knit in Open Mesh Lace.

… which I promptly abandoned when I remembered that lace and I just don’t get along. I love the look, but I can’t stand knitting it! For this process knitter, that’s a recipe for an unfinished sweater.

I’ve got a plan this time, and it involves minimal thinking and no lace. As Stephanie Pearl-McPhee always says, experienced knitters make bigger mistakes faster. I’ve learned from this one — simple is the way to go.

But there’s more…

Since finishing one-third of a sweater shouldn’t give me too much trouble over two and a half months (knock on wood), I’ll have plenty of time left in the KAL. I fell in love with the yarn used on Spanish Bay:

spanish-bay-final-2

Rowan PureLife Revive feels amazing when knit up, and it drapes beautifully in an open cardigan. I need more cardigans in my life, so I’ve got my eye on a sweater quantity of this gorgeous stuff.

(But I’ve learned my lesson — no lace! So, Spanish Bay itself is out of the running for now.)

We’re sharing our finished Cardipalooza Cardigans in this thread on Ravelry. I’ll pick a winner on Friday, so share before then. If you finished a single thing, you’re better off than I am …

Finally, stay tuned next week for some of Amy’s words of wisdom on summer sweaters and Pescadero. In the meantime, you can follow our Summer Sweater progress on our Instagram — join in by using the hashtag #sskal15!

2 thoughts on “The Summer Sweater KAL is here!

  1. So ambitious. Best of luck with all your projects. I love summer sweaters!

  2. Hi Lauren,

    Have you considered fixing the sweater of last year to make it shorter so you can wear and enjoy it? I recommend Carol Feller’s craftsy course “Sweater Surgery” – it was an eye opener for me and gave me so much confidence in overcoming fear of mistakes.

    Good luck this year!!

    Keren

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