Outside the box

Over the last three months I've thought about what to knit with it.  Ginni did a fabulous Adult Surprise Jacket (ASJ) with hers, but I already have an ASJ.  I've looked off and on at the various summer designs from Jenny Watson's Noro books, but none was just right for me for this yarn.  Then I thought about Jenny's incredibly gorgeous designs she's done for Queensland yarns.  I love the jacket she designed in the Kathmandu Chunky  that we did as a First Friday project.  The model garment was beautiful and everyone who knit one was totally thrilled with the results.  For summer, it will be a terrific toss over whatever you have on as you head into the over-air-conditioned office, grocery store, or movie theater.  With Noro's great colors it will go with everything.

Seems odd, doesn't it, to look at winter designs for summer yarns, but why not?  You can certainly change out the yarn - you learned what to look for in Lynne's Yarn 101 class.  This is a prime example of how a good understanding of yarn really opens your options.  The original yarn for this garment is a chunky tweed that knits at about 3.5 stitches per inch; Furisode is also happy at that gauge.  Equally important as gauge, though, is the texture of the yarn. Both the original and the new yarn need to have about the same amount of bounce or drape, which the tweed and the Furisode do, so they both produce a similar feeling fabric. 

I'm still going to need to swatch just to be sure, but it looks like a go. No shaping, and very little finishing, This will be a fun project for the summer that I'll be able to wear into the fall.