The Banff Is Emerging

There's a sweater pattern that I've just been dying to try called the Banff Sweater. However, I didn't want to spend tons on this as I don't know how it will look on me. Some oversized sweaters look great while others just never look right even if they have a reasonable fit. If my result works well, then I'll reknit it in a bulky brown or denim tweed. I do plan to add some length as I prefer a longer sweater. The free pattern is available at www.knitty.com (look in the Archives under Pullovers).

To make this sweater, I bought a bunch of Bernat Boucle in 'Earth Tones' today at Joann's. Earth tones is a combination of several browns and soft black. I really like tweedy looks. It is barely a bulky yarn, but I'll do a swatch with larger needles and see if that doesn't take care of matching gauge. Annoyingly, Bernat does not list yardage on the package, so I had to guess. Checked the web site (it's 255 yards), and 8 skeins is roughly twice the yardage required. Well, good thing I can return extra! I sortof debated over the Bernat and the new Joann's Rainbow Boucle in a denim. I'd like to find a review about how the Rainbow Boucle washes up.

Oh, yes, and I also bought some double pointeds and a couple balls of a variagated blue sock yarn to make Wendy's Toe Up Socks. I've been meaning to do these for some time, so at least now I have the yarn to do so. The socks are in a springy blue color, so if I don't get to them right away, not a problem!
http://www.wendyjohnson.net/blog/sockpattern.htm

I already have yarn and needles for Babba's Bed Socks. This was a pattern recommended by a knitting friend and uses 2 skeins of Woolese. This was going to be a take-a-long project, but my yarn choice was a little dark. I'll be working on these as soon as I finish my Mom's latest towel topper request.
http://www.knitlist.com/98gift/babassocks.htm

Interesting tip from Lilly Chin on Knitty Gritty the other day. For garments, she suggests making a swatch, then hanging it (with some weight) to get the correct gauge when worn. Knitting stretches when you put it on, so this certainly makes sense.