Amanda: interior
You know a new sweater is a success when you can’t even wait to put the buttons on before you start wearing it. Happily, Amanda is a versatile girl who looks as well elegantly fastened with a pin.
You also know you’ve got a hit when the presumably non-knitting guy about to brew you a delicious latte tells you it’s a great sweater before he even takes your order. Compliments in Amanda’s first five minutes in public? Yes, please. And my husband was standing right beside me, so I think it’s safe to assume it really was the woolen garment he was admiring. Amanda is the flatteringest heavy wool sweater in my collection, though. Thanks to some waist shaping I added to the pattern and the fact that I knit under gauge to aim for a sleeker fit, she’s a svelte little piece.
I love, love, love the Bellwether Wool Co. Wensleydale, which is, on the practical front, toasty and not maddeningly itchy at the neck (I’m not very susceptible to wool-itch anyway) and ought to last a lifetime and, on the aesthetic front, lustrous and gorgeous and perfect for this waffly stitch pattern. I think Lois is out of this natural dark color until the summer, but if you let her know you’re interested I’m sure she’ll contact you when there’s a new batch ready. I’m delighted that I have leftovers enough to do a yoke pattern with them… perhaps Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Aspen Leaf pullover.
Meanwhile, I’m going to be wearing Amanda in heavy rotation while the cool weather lasts. She’s my new favorite sweater. Exterior edition to come when the buttons arrive and I figure out how to make the cufflink fasteners. I’ll be undoing the bind-off row on the solid buttonband, dropping down three stitches and working a buttonhole in seven places to match the other band, and then hooking the stitches back up and redoing the bind-off. Stay tuned…
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
beautiful! I love it! congratulations!
Paty
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Better watch it – I might be tempted to steal this sweater!
You mean cuff links like on your February lady sweater? It’s time for a tutorial, I believe;)
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
That is a simply stunning sweater! No wonder you got compliments!
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Thanks for the pictures! I was wondering if it was worth to knit it but you convinced me 🙂
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Beautiful!! Perhaps I’ll run into you and see it in person–will be down this weekend though the event plan is not confirmed. Are you in town?
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Very nice, Sarah. Cozy, elegant, fits nicely. I’m not surprised it got instant compliments! 🙂
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
you are as beautiful as ever. and the cardi oh the cardi. i am incidentally knitting the aspen leaf, cardiganized with a zipper, and an awful isager pattern….. congratulations on your best cardi ever.
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Sarah, it’s just gorgeous! What a classic knit — the fit looks perfect, and the collar and neckline are very flattering.
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
That’s beautiful!
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
It really is just a perfect sweater! Your knitting looks perfect, too, and I love the long cuffs.
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
What a beautiful sweater! The shawl collar with the pin looks perfect!
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I absolutely love the shaping and the texture of this sweater! I can’t wait to see the buttons, too.
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
That is such a great sweater! It looks fantastic on you!
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
It’s gorgeous! Great color and fit on you. I love it with the pin, and I’m sure it’ll look equally as great with the buttons your dad is making.
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
oh, it is so beautiful. it just right, so flattering, no wonder the public was fawning over it and you. lovely work yet again, o’ knitting guru.
Posted: February 9th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
That really is a beautiful sweater – it’s so flattering and it fits you just perfectly. And random compliments are the best! I think it looks great with the pin, it’s very stylish. Wonderful work!
Posted: February 10th, 2009 at 5:57 am
I love it! I just finished the knitting on mine, so now I’m anxious to see how it looks fully finished, since yours came out so great!
Posted: February 10th, 2009 at 6:36 am
It’s just stunning! Great job.
Posted: February 10th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Wow! What a gorgeous cardi! I love the pattern, the yarn, the whole idea of this FO 🙂
Posted: February 10th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Wow! Beautiful!
Posted: February 10th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Emily is so flattering on you; what a gorgeous sweater! I know you plan to add buttons, but I think it’s even nicer with just the pin.
Posted: February 10th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Wow — that’s one gorgeous toasty sweater!
Posted: February 10th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
That is one terrific sweater! Love the color and texture.
Posted: February 10th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
So cute!!! It’s fabulous on you.
Posted: February 11th, 2009 at 7:17 am
absolutely awesome!
Posted: February 11th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
That is a lovely sweater! Very elegant, *and* knit in one of my two favorite colors. I can’t wait to see the buttoned version : )
Posted: February 11th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
That is one absolutely gorgeous sweater! I love it. It looks incredible on you, too. Your description of the yarn makes me wish I could knit a sweater from it, myself.
Posted: February 11th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Gorgeous! Stunning! Awesome! Love the color. Great job and it looks wonderful on you. I thought you were a professional model. 🙂
Posted: February 11th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
woah! that’s incredible! It’s really stunning.
Posted: February 13th, 2009 at 7:41 am
It took 5 minutes before that sweater got a compliment!! I thought it should have taken 5 SECONDS!! I am IN LOVE with that sweater. IN.LOVE. Too bad I now have to buy the book to get the pattern. Ah well, here is to supporting our fellow crafters and they have you to thank for yet another sale.
Posted: February 13th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Wow. That is a stunning sweater. I just received ‘A Fine Fleece’ for Christmas, I had only looked at the patterns breifly. (Noted that they are a bit more blockish than I currently wear.) But I am definitely going back to that one. Would you mind if I ask how you incorporated the waist shaping? Did you mash two sweater patterns together (my current fall back) or have a specific calculations squared away before you began? Really that is a terrific sweater. 🙂
Posted: February 17th, 2009 at 2:59 am
That is gorgeous! I haven’t made anything from the book yet, and it is in storage. I’ll have to wait until later to start this or something like it. I know you are planning buttons, but it looks great with the pin closure.
Posted: February 18th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
This sweater is stunning! It’s no wonder the barista admired it. 😉
Posted: April 6th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
How did you size the waist on amanda? I want to knit a sweater but don’t want it boxy and yours is the most beautiful! I may even try your yarn recommendation. thanks!
Linda
Posted: March 6th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
[…] make another of these for Ada. I realized as I was knitting it that it’s an awful lot like my Amanda. Matching mother-daughter sweaters? That’s only going to be cute for a couple of years. […]
Posted: January 17th, 2012 at 7:17 pm
[…] a personal level, too, many of my favorite and most-worn projects are of breeds other than merino. Amanda, my warmest and best-looking sweater, is knit from Wensleydale grown here in Oregon. My Blue […]