Creative Focus

I bought 5 skeins of Creative Focus Worsted by Nashua Handknits to knit my very own February Lady Sweater.  So many people have knit it since 2008, but I have a similar store-bought sweater that I want to replace due to some unfortunate stains.  I love the light blue version that Rosape posted on her Ravelry page.

I armed myself with a list of possible yarns on a trip to Webs during their New Year sale.  I had the prices, content and available colors all mapped out in my spreadsheet.  (I know I'm such a dork)  There were yarns where the color was perfect, but I didn't like the texture or content and others where the yarn was so soft and lovely but the color was garish.  So hard to decide!

Creative Focus Worsted was a happy compromise with its 75% wool, 25% alpaca content.  The color, carnation, is not my favorite, but something that I would definitely wear.  I can't have my whole wardrobe painted turquoise!

I'm not a yarn expert, but CFW is not twisted tightly, it's like a twisted roving and breaks easily.  I had the most trouble casting on.  With my usual long-tail cast-on, the yarn would start breaking after about 30 stitches.  I tried different cast-ons, but since the cast-on edge as the actual neckline of the sweater, I didn't want anything loose or stretchy.  I VERY CAREFULLY cast on 83 stitches with a long-tail cast-on, switching the tail every 20 or so stitches.

I'm only about half-way done with the garter-stitch yoke, and so far, the fabric is very soft and fuzzy.  It's like knitting a soft bunny.