Hello Darling. I did it! Finally, after knitting eight kids versions, I have knit an adult size Flax sweater. I swear by Tin Can Knit patterns. They are my total tried and true, and no pattern more so than Flax. This is the very best beginner pattern for anyone wanting to knit a sweater. I think this pattern was discussed in my “favorite things to knit” post that I wrote a year or two ago. It is just a beautifully simple and easy to follow pattern. I could go on for years about the merits of this pattern. To date, I have knit at least eight kids Flax sweaters. I believe they have ranged from newborn to 7 years old. When I decided that I was going to knit a simple, yet elegant sweater to use some of my Amsterdam yarn, Flax was the one that came to mind. I doubled the Holst Garn Supersoft from Stephen & Penelope’s with the Knitting for Olive mohair that I got in Belgium in very dark charcoal colors. The combination of the yarns is heaven. The Holst Garn is very sturdy, boarding on scratchy. The soft airiness of the Knitting for Olive blended very well with the sturdy, and the resulting fabric is light and lofty. I think it is a very light but warm garment. Unfortunately, it was already too warm by the time it was finished to wear it. I will say that it took me a while to finish because I got caught on sleeve island, which is very rare for me, and I put it in timeout for a bit. I think as I got closer to the end of the month (May) I wanted to have another finished object to post about and that motivated me to get her off the needles. (This blog is really an excellent tool for that. You should be very proud of yourself!) I feel that aside from the brief hiatus that I put her in, everything went right with this sweater. I always omit the garter panel on the sleeve, because it just isn’t my vibe.
Nothing really went wrong with this sweater. My only possible negative may be the mohair. Jenny of the Future Fibers Podcast was talking, recently, about loving the concept of mohair more than the actual wearing of it. I have a sneaking suspicion that I am going to be in the same boat. I haven’t even tried it on yet, so I am completely guessing at this. I do recall thinking that it was a tiny big pokey as I was knitting it, and also that it sheds like what. Time will tell though.
Overall, she is magnificent and was just what I had in mind for a simple, yet beautiful luxury-type sweater. She looks liked quiet elegance and subtly expensive. I really love her. I really hope I love wearing her.
Loves,
M
Mrs. Collins Makes Stuff 