Concepting a Sweater, Take 2

One of my earliest knitting projects was June Oshiro's DNA Scarf. I didn't know much about yarn choice at the time -- the scarf curls like crazy and the yarn that I used is entirely, unblockably, acrylic. (The scarf was a gift for my sister. I don't know if she still has it...and I'm afraid to ask, because I'll cry if she says that it's been lost, and beat her up if she says that she gave it away.) The other newbie yarn mistake that I made was in estimating required yardage. Well, OK, that's a lie, because it implies that I attempted to estimate required yardage. What actually happened is that I, terrified that I would run out of yarn in the correct color, bought every ball of yarn that Michael's had. (Again, a lie. I didn't actually buy all of the yarn that they had...just the 11 or so balls in the right color and dyelot.) Which, more or less, brings us to the present day, and my 6 balls of mocha Microspun. (There might actually be more -- I haven't actually plumbed the recesses of the stash cabinet.)

And that Microspun wanted to be a Duchess Raglan, with some Fair Isle detailing at the cuffs and waist. Main color: mocha. Contrast color: dark green. So I found someone destashing on Ravelry, and bought the green yarn. It arrived yesterday. The yarn on the left is what I imagined (it's my stash, leftover from the Odessa of my dreams), and the yarn on the right is what I received. (The top is the mocha.) I don't blame the seller; I blame my hyperactive imagination and desire to own yarn.

So the Fair Isle is out -- too much work for too little contrast between the colors. I may hold the green Microspun together with some dark green laceweight in my stash, and just do a broad (2" or so) stripe at the neck, cuffs, and hips. (And also, I was in a meeting the other day, and I saw "my" Fair Isle pattern on a sweater worn by an unfashionable biostatistician. And it didn't look out of place on said biostatistician. It's a sign.)