The right arm is almost finished despite not knitting for a few days while recovering from an awful cold.
I don’t get very many unsolicited comments about items in progress from my husband but yesterday he asked if the arms of this sweater are suppose to be so different. Befuddled and not sure how to respond, I think I answered, “Why does it look odd?” He responded, “One of the sleeves has more orange than the other.”
Unlike the body, I didn’t think much about how the colors combinations on the sleeves would turn out. I just started the left sleeve with yarn from where I left off with the shoulders. Of course his comment started to haunt me and I soon started jotting down possible color combinations with the yarn left after doing the body (assuming I hadn’t started the sleeves).
The follow questions and responses came to mind.
- Can I knit both the sleeves with the same color combos?
Nope, there’s not enough yarn with those colors. - Should I start with new color combos, like purple and yellow?
Maybe, but I don’t think I want to take that route. - Is there a way to either lessen the orange or balance each sleeve with a bit of orange?
This could be possible.
So as I consider my options I’m finishing the right sleeve and will possibly reknitting the left one so that there will be less orange in that one.
Responses to questions
Karen asked about teaching my niece to knit and her reaction to the yarn/toy store.
Teaching her went quite well considering she’s six years old. Her mother and father were amazed to see her sit and concentrate on one thing for a couple of hours. I casted on the stitches, showed her the movements a few times and then gave her the needles. At first I guided her hands but it wasn’t long before she was knitting by herself. I don’t think this was the first time she had done this because she mentioned that her friend has knitted with her before.
I’m not sure whether she’ll keep it up because the next day she didn’t ask about doing it again. I think six might be a little young to start.
I also forgot to mention that we drove to the Frio in a different car so she wasn’t with me when I bought the yarn and needles. That’s probably a good thing. Not sure what would have happened if we took the two children into that shop. Actually it was lunch time and Grandpa was really hungry so it was a very quick stop. The guy ringing up my purchases suggested a great BBQ joint a few blocks down at the junction of highway 46 and 87. It’s a combo meat market, BBQ restaurant and Shell gas station called Riverside Supermarket! We ate our lunch at one of the tables between the produce and meat case and enjoyed watching the locals line up to place orders. The sliced beef sandwich was so excellent taht we stopped by again on the way back to Austin.
Deborah asked, “How would you compare the length of color change in Kauni with, say, Noro Kureyon or Silk Garden?”
Kauni color changes are much longer than Kureyon or Silk Garden. I don’t know how much longer because I haven’t yet attempted to measure one of the colors in my skein. I’d guess at the length but I don’t think I’d be very accurate. Since the colors gradually change from one to the next, it would be hard figure out where one colors begins and ends.
Purlwise 
The sleeves look good….don’t obsess over your husband’s comment! It’s part of the look of using self striping/shading yarns…! Maybe I feel strongly about your sleeves because I have started my Kauni over 3 times! Quoting EZ “Knit on!”…
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Better completely different than to look like you tried to make them the same and failed.
I’d attribute your husband’s comments to the conservative tastes in clothing of most men in the US. Color contrasts are enough of a challenge for many men without throwing in lack of symetry.
You had noted that the abundance of orange bothered you, so I think you’ll be happier if you tone that down. I don’t think you need to rip out entire sleeves. If it didn’t bother you enough to plan matching sleeves from the start, you probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it without his comment.
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For what it’s worth, I don’t think the different sleeves matter at all. I always think it looks rather awful when people match up Noro, for instance, and I think it sort of misses the point of the yarn. After all, if you were facing a building with a natural material like marble or wood, you wouldn’t try to get the grain to match, would you? I think the point of this Kauni yarn is the endless variation of the combinations, and I can’t see any point at all in attempting to limit that. But maybe that’s just me.
It does look wonderful. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to put off buying some Kauni…
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I love that the sleeves are different!!!
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It’s gorgeous. I think it looks cool with the random colors!
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I like the two sleeves being different!
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Ditto on most of the above. I think the colors are jumpin’!
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My first response was “Should they?” The big test is What will it look like on?I am just in awe of the entire project. I simply love the colorway. I was working overtime thinking of people who live in Germany or even Austria, that I could bribe to buy send me some since you said they no longer ship to the USA. Possibly by the time I am brave enough to try something like it, they will be shipping again.
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you are unbelievably fast and it is looks fantastic!
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I absolutely love your color combos, and will emulate them (as much as the yarn permits) when I start mine. My Kauni came last week. I so appreciate you sharing all your trials and tribulations with us. I agree with the other commentators that mis-matched sleeves are very cool, but I also support your idea that too much orange can be just too much. Keep us posted!
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Couldn’t you knit siamese sleeves to have the same sleeves? …not that I think you should or that it’s super important to have the sleeves be the same, but doing so would allow the colors to change at about the same rate as the body, which would avoid having a sleeve that seemed really orange, for example. Beautiful sweater, by the way.
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Six isn’t too young. My aunt taught me to knit when I was 6 years old. Even though I needed several refresher lessons over the early years, I’ve pretty much been knitting ever since (more so since I discovered non-acrylic yarns when I grew up!)
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I love it. Just as it is.
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I taught my daughter at 4 and 1/2 and she has been knitting off and on (mostly off) for the last five years. I keep hoping that one day she will really get into it and then she will know the basics and be able to jump back in really quickly. For now, she has a pot holder, a couple of doll scarves, and a half-completed purse to her name. 🙂
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I forgot to mention in the last post, the sweater is stunning just as it is! Your work is always wonderful.
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I wouldn’t worry about the colours, it’s amazing the way it is.
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I like how they are so different. That is what I so love about this yarn/project. I say keep it as it is but I know you. You will do what you like best, which is how it should be!
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Doubledip. After looking at the sweater a few times over the last few days, I realized that the right sleeve is the same as the shoulder to the bust. If you put the cuff on the shoulder, you will see what I mean. The left one is upside down from the black band to the bustI think my eyes go down the body to the black line then to the left wrist and up that arm. what do I know? I am dyslexic and always finding patterns in things that other people do not see.
On another note, I sent Jojo at Jojoland your site address so she could see your mention of her yarns and the sweater. She was impressed. My green and purple sock yarn arrived from Jojoland today. So many projects, so little time.
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Leave the sleeves! It’s a good illustration of the difference between art and non-art. In my opinion, the asymmetry in the color is what saves the sweater from being boring – you have the geometric design, but with the rich color changes, the color offset is dynamic, keeping the eye moving. It’s not a mistake, it’s a feature! Really lovely design, and a wonderful use of the yarn.
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I like the sleeves being different. In order to “match” more yarn may be needed than what you have. Then when you match them, just being slightly off will be more glaring than what you have. Go with the art of self-striping yarn.
I have a question about the “scratchy-ness” of the yarn. What’s your thought? How can it be toned down a bit?
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Laurie,
Somebody mentioned using hair conditioner when washing the sweater. I haven’t done it so I don’t know if it works.
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I love the asymetry on the sleeves. It keeps the eye moving over the color changes. Don’t change anything. This art not machine knitting!
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I love a-symetrical. Color variations are great!
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