The Story of Rhea
Norah Gaughan
RHEA PULLOVER - Knit from the bottom up in pieces, with reduced seaming. All the WS rows are resting rows and the twisted stitches are like little cables worked without a cable needle. I’ve charted all the short rows to make keeping in pattern easy while shaping.
DESIGNED AND KNIT (BY ME) IN URUGUAY
Most of the knitting and designing of this pullover happened during my trip to Uruguay with Fairmount Fibers last Fall (well, Spring in Uruguay). Before leaving home I hadn’t packed much yarn, knowing I’d be able to get my hands on some at our destination. I did arm myself with several pattern stitches from my Twisted Stitch Sourcebook. I always have the Kindle edition with me, since it is on my phone, computer and iPad, but I also took the time to narrow my thoughts down to a few I particularly thought might work on a trip. In other words, they had a little something going on, but were easy enough to memorize so I could get away with glancing at the chart only periodically while knitting on the bus and while chatting with the group.
As it happened, the lovely folks at Manos del Uruguay ever so kindly gave me a bag of their Uruguayan Polwarth yarn, Ideal ( that’s pronounced E - DEE - AL). I decided to make a variation of my pattern stitch Triplet Weave Garter (below).
I started with one motif and expanded the pattern as the piece progressed, creating a point. This was 100X easier for me to design from the bottom up, so that’s what I did and that’s how the final pattern is written. I really enjoyed working on one piece at a time. The WS rows are all purl, so you don’t have to think about the pattern stitch at all. I also appreciated working the neck and shoulder shaping into an already established pattern stitch.
I decided to feature a second yarn in for Rhea, a lovely wool from England, Baa Ram Ewe Woodnote Aran. This springy, heathered beauty is a tad heavier than the Ideal, but it worked just as well. The Woodnote version shows the crewneck option for the neckline, while the ideal version has a mock turtle with a mini folded hem.
If you’d like to purchase some Woodnote Aran from Fairmount Fibers, I have an affiliate account with them. Use my link to purchase from Fairmount and I get a little something, at no extra cost to you.
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