Better Late...

I was doing so well updating last week! I'll try again. Wednesday and Friday will be great. :) Here's a late post in the meantime! The promised sweater. I didn't get photos on Thanksgiving day in the beautiful country scenery like I'd wanted. :P

No Cars Go

Pattern: Hayward by Julie Hoover
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in Cocoa (discontinued)
Needles: US 5, 4
Project Page

This is my second Julie Hoover sweater in as many finished object posts (holy cow, a month ago!), but third in all. All three are in my top five favorite sweaters. I dare you to scroll through her designs and not find one or two that you can't live without! They are simple, stylish, and so classic. They might not be impressively complicated, but they are incredibly practical. These are garments so well designed and timeless that your granddaughters will be wearing them ages from now.

Two of my favorite Gap tops have these bat-wing sleeves. The ones on this sweater are much more exaggerated, but I'm totally hooked. There's just something so cozy and chic about bat wings. These sleeves are more like penguin wings and I wasn't quite sure I'd dig them in the long-run, but they are surprisingly functional. And the sweater doesn't ride up much at all when I raise my arms. Win! Oh, and that's not a demonstration of me raising my arms. I can go over my head without showing my gut.

I used some Rowan Felted Tweed I found cheap on eBay. It was a perfect choice. It's soft and drapes beautifully. I had to go down two needle sizes because the Felted Tweed is dk and the pattern calls for fingering. I hit the working and blocked gauges perfectly. Oh yes! Julie Hoover gives you a working gauge! So practical!

In short: love this sweater. I've had it done less than a week and I think I've worn it three days (and a whole night only half-seamed, even!). Now go find a Julie Hoover pattern you love and start making it! I've got my fourth waiting in the wings for a few WIPs to fall off the needles. Oh, and John's is number five.

Which designers do you really appreciate? What is it about them that you love so much? The pattern writing, the photos, the designs, the style, the colors...?

I almost forgot! It's named for The Arcade Fire song. It's kind of edgy and chill, like the song, I think.