Lilacs in Valencia

Somehow it felt like I wore a lot of black last week, and it's true, I did wear black three days. I don't think I wore black three days all summer, except perhaps for gym clothes.  My gym wardrobe pretty much revolves around black pants and a black tee, but generally that is the exception to my wardrobe rules. 

So, why the black?  And why is it even notable?   I mentioned last week that I am not purchasing black items right now, although I have not eliminated black from my wardrobe.  If I did I would lose most of my basic pieces, and I don't really want to have to replace them all at once.  I'd prefer to eliminate them as I purchase or make new basics that work better for me.  

But black worked for me this week, partly because there were a few days when I did not feel like wearing jeans, and it seemed too late in the season to be wearing white pants other than jeans, which meant that pretty much all that was left in my fall wardrobe was one summer skirt, and black.  

For example, there was this sweater, which I finished in August, and which has been sitting patiently on Matilda waiting for me to wear it.  Admittedly I had issues, and it was too hot in August for wool and silk anyway, but now that I've finally worn it most of those issues have been resolved.  Some garments just seem to need to worm their way into my heart slowly.

I originally knit this sweater last January, ripped it out, and reknit it. The second time around I knit a size smaller, the medium, or 29" bust measurement, which fit the pattern instructions to knit with approximately 9 inches of negative ease.   The first time I was apparently suffering from cognitive dissonance and I knit a larger size.  I still sometimes do that, think I am bigger than I am, and the results are usually not pretty.

When I decided to knit this pattern, which is named Valencia, (non-ravelry link here) I noted that several people on Ravelry said that the sweater was either too tight or too short, the shortness undoubtedly being secondary to excessive widthwise stretching. Although most of them were using different yarns, not the yarn recommended in the pattern, and although I am all for yarn substitution, I thought that yarn could be part of the difference.  The pattern was written for Cascade's Venezia Worsted, a wool silk blend.  The silk gives the yarn a subtle shine and a bit of drape, with the wool providing a bit of recovery.  Yarns that drape tend to grow or relax more than yarns without drape. I used the same yarn because I happen to love it, and because it was available at my LYS.    But the sweater still drapes more than it clings.  Were I to knit it again, I might use a different yarn, or were I to use the wool/silk blend again, I would go down another size.  The warmth of the body encourages the drape, and the sweater is looser on me than it was on Matilda.

But I am happy with it and will wear it again and again.  The color is actually more blue than in these photos, more like the color in the original January post.  My photoshop skills are not adequate to overcome the warming effect of the rather horizontal autumnal sun.  And I believe the sweater will look fabulous with the kind of soft, muted, medium tones purple, violet and gray toward which in increasingly gravitate.

But it worked with black.  And black is good too, and perfect for a transitional wardrobe when life is a bit unsettled.  I wore the sweater with black Born wedges, black knit pants by Joseph Ribkoff, and a lightweight black mesh cardigan.  Since I have several black cardigans in different weights this may well prove to be a basic outfit over the next two to three months as I pack, move, and get settled.   I really like this cardigan and wish I had another one in a different color, but since the label came off long ago, and the store from which I bought it has closed, I have no idea where to look and may end up eventually knitting something.

This post is part of Visible Monday.