The new project being knit from Rowan Calmer was, as a couple of you guessed, Cromarty.
Back in 2007 I knit Cromarty in Koigu Kersti. At the time, I mused that I thought it would be nice to knit from Rowan Calmer.
On Saturday I grabbed a skein of Calmer in the “Sage” colorway and started in on the back. Here’s what I did:
Note that I referred to this project in the past tense. Note that it is off the needle. This work-in-progress is no more.
While I easily got gauge, I did not like the way it was turning out. There is a lot of cable manipulation in this pattern and there were too many wonky stitches to suit me.
And the cables looked a little too skinny to suit me. In the version I knit in Koigu Kersti, those cables are nicely plump and really pop. In Calmer they look a little sad and anorexic. The knitted fabric seems rather flimsy as well.
I really thought that Calmer would be perfect for this pattern, and have had that idea in my head for years. I got gauge using the recommended needle size, a U.S. 5. I was surprised at how flimsy and wonky the fabric was, since I used a size 7 needle for 2 cabled Calmer sweaters about a year ago with great results. So I started wondering if this batch of Calmer is somehow not up to standards — was it thinner/frailer than usual? It did seem thinner while I was knitting it.
I pulled out a different skein of Calmer to compare.Wonky Calmer on top, good Calmer on the bottom.
Well, that explains why it felt thin and flimsy while I was knitting it.
At some point in the near future I’ll recommence work on Cromarty. Using a different batch of Calmer.
Lucy is strangely unaffected by my yarn woes.