I was fairly overdressed when my friend Peiyi and I met up for lunch at the local Falafel restaurant this Friday. I had donned red lipstick, my black oxfords and my new sparkly jumper and felt quite fabulous! Afterwards we went and snapped a few pictures of the whole outfit; even though it was a miserable, rainy day for a holiday, the light was great for photographing!

I don’t care much for the dreary colour and frankly a bit depressing photography of the original, but when I discovered Laura Mae’s pink interpretation I couldn’t get the pattern out of my head. While I didn’t want my version to be as girly, it needed something that would make it “pop”. Luckily I found just the right solution in the Wolle Rödel catalogue: a sparkly Rico Design yarn in a brown-ish colourway. That way, the jumper would keep the festive and sophisticated vibe of the original yet still be fun. Also, sparkles. I mean, c’mon.

(A huge thank you to my friend Patricia for her generous gift certificate that enabled my addiction went into buying this beautiful yarn!)

This is one of the “A Stitch in Time” patterns where knitting went pretty much without a hitch. I didn’t run into any difficulties or find any mistakes as far as I can remember. The fit is really good too. All in all, it was an extremely satisfying knitting experience! Knitting a yoke was new to me, but I didn’t have any problems there either. It’s quite clever to use short rows to shape the round form of the yoke!

The yarn isn’t scratchy at all as I had feared in the beginning. I didn’t exactly get gauge, though. Since it was knitted in stockinette, I took every stitch count, divided it by 15 and multiplied it by 16.67. Don’t ask me, my Dad did the math, I’m just glad it turned out so well. 😛 The yarn’s really hard to block, though. I blocked it about three times, the last time with my iron, but neither the back detail nor the pointy end of the sleeves will stay flat. Oh well. I can absolutely live with that!

During the photoshoot we ran into a girl with a huge bouquet of flowers in her arms asking for directions. To thank us for our help she asked if we wanted a flower for our pictures. Of course we did! What a lovely gesture!

I had loads of fun during the photoshoot, as always with Peiyi. I often feel awkward when someone takes my picture, but never with her! It absolutely helps when I’m wearing something that makes me feel so beautiful, too. 🙂

Pattern: This one for parties (A Stitch in Time Vol. 1) by Jane Waller/Susan Crawford

Yarn: Fashion Metallise Aran by Rico Design (Aran, 58% Polyester, 42% Wool)