a whiter shade of...

i have this thing about weird greens.

i am not really drawn to the color green much, but it seems to be drawn to me. and it can't be a regular green, it has to be a weird shade of green. it seems that i can wear weird greens, they look good on me. which is an odd and good thing since weird greens are usually the last thing to sell on a sale/clearance rack. whether it be for clothes or yarn.

i have always wanted to knit the paris loop which calls for bulky yarn. and while the lys was having its "last month in existence sale", i thought i would check out the bulky yarn shelf. and what was on it but this...

yup, weird green yarn. gobs of it. thankfully it was a yarn i have always wanted to work with, classic elites sprout, a 100% organic cotton yarn. i usually find cotton yarns a bit rough but this one is soft and cuddly so i was glad to have the opportunity to work with it.

so i cast on. and even though the pattern said it fits every body, i decided to add 20 stitches. just in case.

bad idea. this pattern turns out big, very big. so big that when i first tried it on, it slipped off my shoulders and landed on the floor big. it would have been big even if i hadn't added the 20 stitches, so with the 20 stitches it was even bigger than big.

so i went down to the local joannes fabric and got some cord. i wove the cord in and out of the 2nd row of knitting so i could tighten up the poncho as needed and ta-da! it fits!

i am so glad. because i love the way it turned out. the pattern is so easy it is like a knitting vacation. and i loved working with the yarn. it felt good going through my fingers and it knit up really well. the poncho felt soft and comforting in my lap as it became bigger with my continued knitting.

my original concerns in knitting with a cotton yarn is that it would not be soft and it would not have enough give. both unfounded. the yarn is very soft and has lots of give. as well as being pretty warm. i thought cotton would be a nice, light wrap for summer, but because of the yarns bulky-ness it is heavy and and keeps me warm, even with our cool evening windiness.

i find myself wearing it all the time. yup, i'll have an order of weird green please. thanks!

btw: this last picture does not reflect the actual color of this garment. the middle picture is a much better representation of the actual color. just so you know!