Still Like Knitting

I sat down to work on a project I might even finish with just a little stick-to-it-ness. Instead I couldn't resist some new madelinetosh I had sitting on the couch. I have a pattern in mind but this is a different weight yarn so I definitely have to swatch.

Sometime last year I was in Red Purl and Amy showed me a new pattern she just loved, Scarpetta by Kirsten Johnstone.

I caught her enthusiasm and bought the pattern with no immediate plans to make it (something I don't often do). After I got home, I filed it away and didn't really think I would ever make the sweater. It's knit side-to-side (not a feature I'm fond of) and I just didn't have that "must-knit-it" vibe from it, although I loved the neckline and collar.

Months pass and then I see some yarn in Red Purl I really love, two colours of madelinetosh merino light:

I loved them both and thought they looked good together--Amy said she ordered them because they worked so well together--and I started to wonder how they would work for the Scarpetta. But I thought they might contrast a bit too much for the look I would want. But then I had the thought of using them together, alternating between the two skeins every row so they would blend into a third unique colour.

So last night when I could have been finishing other projects, I started a swatch so I could see what it would look like:

Pretty good, I think.

It was a nice evening of almost thoughtless knitting. Next up I block it and see which of the four sizes of needles I used most closely matches the pattern gauge.