Solvi, Another New Sweater in the Works

While I don’t really need another project on my knitting needles, I began a new sweater pattern anyway.

This pretty Shetland yarn, by Harrisville Designs, has been calling to me. The color is Peacock, and is so pretty. The contrast colorwork design will be done with a variety of wool colors I already have.

Here, I am using Tukuwool, J&S and Rauma. My plan is to have a low contrast between the main color and contrast color.

About the Solvi Pattern

The Solvi sweater pattern is from designer Jennifer Steingass. You can see the pattern page at Ravelry here.

Solvi means “sun strength” in Norwegian (info from Jenn’s Ravelry page). The pullover has a colorwork yoke and long sleeves. After the cast-on, choose either a rolled neckline or 1×1 rib. The designer says it is a good pattern for beginners. I assume she means beginner colorwork knitters. If you can follow the chart, you can knit the yoke. Only two colors are used at any one time. One small section of the chart can be omitted to shorten the yoke.

As a beginner knitter, this pattern would have been tough for me. The reason being that I was not a good chart reader at the beginning of my knitting journey. I also had no idea what short rows did for a sweater.

Now, I would only knit sweaters that do include short rows. In the Solvi pattern, short rows are incorporated after the colorwork section. This happens way down by the armpit area, which is odd. Short rows are usually made near the upper back area to lift the back of the neck.

Why I Chose This Pattern

I was hoping to find a pattern that inspired me, and the Fallow sweater was at the top of my list … for a while. Then I discovered Solvi in my knitting folder (an actual folder, not online) which I had purchased a while ago.

The Peacock blue yarn amounts to a little less than 1300 yards, which is not enough for my size. But we’ll see. I’m now knitting the body ribbing and have two full skeins of yarn left. I’m thinking that one for each sleeve should be plenty.

Fall is a hard time of year for me. While everyone is winding down from summer, and viewing the foliage, and breathing fresh autumn air, I am still sweltering in the Florida heat. Sweater season has arrived, and new patterns are showing up all over the place. Everyone (it seems) is digging out their hand knits and wearing them.

For me, it’s the time of year to keep an eye on the tropical storms and hurricanes (Milton hit my area as a Category 1 in October).

I’ve lost interest in knitting over the past few months, and I’m not sure why. Even so, I have not stopped knitting. My projects are many, because when one begins to bore me, I take up another. You may say, “me too” or “that is normal, we all do that!” but the passion is not there. It is just a life slump. They come, and go, so I’ll wait and it will pass.

I am a bit excited to try some new yarn, which will arrive any day now. I may use it to knit Fallow. We’ll see.

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