Bang Out A Sweater: The Waiting Game

Kay and Ann at Mason-Dixon Knitting are basically my superheroes. My first knitting book was Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitting Without Tears. My second was Mason-Dixon Knitting. And sorry Elizabeth Zimmerman, Mason-Dixon Knitting was infinitely more fun, inspiring, relatable, and knitable for a beginning knitter! 

Elizabeth Zimmerman may have been a knitting genius, and I have all the love and respect for her imaginable. I love her wit, and her ingenuity. But Kay and Ann have a spark that just speaks to this digital native. 
 
It was Kay and Ann who introduced me to Ravelry – way back in the day when you had to wait for an invitation.
 
It was Kay and Ann who introduced me to Alabama Chanin - a genius in sewing, design, and the revitalization of an American industry.
 
It was Kay and Ann who introduced me to some of my favorite knitting blogs.

It was Kay and Ann who introduced me to that wonder of knitted wonders, the ballband dish cloth.
 
Anyways, like I said, superheroes.
 
So when Kay and Ann announced their Bang Out a Sweater knitalong, I was like, “where do I sign up?” Only I wasn’t so sure about the pattern.
 
I’ve been fascinated by yoke designs for a while, so that’s a plus.
 
I’ve also wondered about that dreaded waistboob phenomenon that comes about as a result of smaller yoke designs. Will I fall prey to the waistboob monster? Or does my relatively small chest protect me from the monster’s wrath? In case you’re wondering, this is a negative against the pattern in my mind.
 
The knitalong’s chosen pattern, Stopover, is a pullover, and I don’t really wear pullovers much, especially not ones this thick.

I’m all about the layers that can be added and removed without accidentally taking off my shirt with them or worse – messing up my hair. Basically this means almost all my sweaters are cardigans. Luckily, thanks to Kay and Ann and Elizabeth Zimmerman, I’m not scared of steeking. In my mind, this is a pretty easy modification, so it doesn’t really affect my decision to make the pattern or not.
 
The thing that’s really bugging me, though, is the neckline. I am weird about having things against my neck, which is probably the reason why I own so many cardigans and v-necks. A yoke sweater will lie against my neck, and even if I steek it, those floppy bits will drive me nuts. What to do?
 
In the midst of all my waffling about whether or not to but bang out a sweater with my knitting superheroes, I bought the yarn. Lettlopi, 12 balls, four colors. It just sort of happened. As it does.
 
Now I’m watching everyone else cast on their sweaters on Ravelry and Instagram, and it looks like so much fun. I’m waiting for the mail to bring me my yarn, which will be (hopefully) today. And while I wait, I’m wondering what I will do.

• Will I knit the Stopover pattern, just to get a feeling for a yoke sweater and how one might work on me?
• Will I knit the Stopover pattern in a smaller size, steeking it in hopes that I will have a cardigan that doesn’t flap against my neck?
• Will I knit the Stopover pattern in a smaller size, steeking it and knitting a taller collar in hopes that the collar pulls the sweater out into a v-neck, but still lets me keep my neck warm when I really need it?
• Will I knit the Stopover pattern and change all the colorwork so the colorwork extends deeper into the body?
• Will I modify the pattern so that it has a v-neck and steek it?

 
So many options. But one way or another, I’m going to bang out a sweater. Wanna join?