Spring looks like it’s here, but the weather still isn’t convinced. T-shirts are still relegated to storage and my sweater collection is in full rotation, I’ve even been double layering sweaters outside to do yard work. Cold days also means a cold house where hand washed things take a whole week to air dry (if I’m lucky) so I found myself contemplating a range of cheap polar fleece jackets to wear while I dig up bushes and mix compost into my soon-to-be dye garden in the back yard. I didn’t see anything I liked, but I did see a bag of Brava Worsted in Peacock that looked pretty enticing so I gave in to my knitting needles and decided to cast on the Worsted Crewneck from Worsted Basics pattern collection.

I wanted a sweater that would wear hard and wash beautifully, not to mention one that would hold up in the dryer so Brava felt like the perfect choice. As I mentioned in my post last week, I have one heck of a time with set in sleeves. I just can’t do them and this is the sweater that put an end to all of my sleeve delusions. The Worsted Crewneck is such a simple, lovely shape that any mistakes in the finishing are pretty glaring (no fudging the sleeves this time) so I opted to stop at the arm hole bind off and work raglan decreases up to the neck to finish it off. I just LOVE how it turned out.

I’ve already taken it for a spin in the yard and sent it through the washer and dryer with total success. The fabric came out of the dryer SO SOFT and silky! I originally wanted a larger sweater (I knit the 36″ version) so that I could wear a bunch of layers underneath (in this photo I’m wearing two shirts and another sweater under there and it still looks great!) but I think I’d go down a size next time for a trimmer fit. This is one sweater that will definitely get a second turn on my needles at some point.

In other news, Linus also got a dapper new sweater! His latest haircut was timed rather poorly with a cold snap so he needed a little extra help to stay warm for a few weeks. This is the second sweater I’ve made from Jessika Lane’s Perfect Fit Dog & Cat Sweater  pattern (free on Ravelry!) and I’m just as happy with it the second time around. This one is in Brava Worsted White and Avocado, such a great color combo!