Danshui at Sunsrise and Sunset

First I made the Danshui at Sunrise using Ornaghi Filati Super Sport in almond color. The yarn is sturdy, and woolly, which I liked it fine. A workhorse type of yarn I bought from Elann over a year ago.  The best part, it cost about $25 to make this sweater.  I really liked how the sweater turned out.  Looking at the photos now, it kinda look like a lab coat...

However, after I finished the sweater, even though the size I knitted fitted well, I took a look at the pattern I first wrote, and realized the larger sizes had rather generous back neck.  I re-graded the pattern with more moderate neck opening for all sizes.  And I decided to re-knit one for sample.

With so much yarn in stash, I had a hard time deciding what to use for the second sweater. I went with Quince and Co. Chickadee in Honey.  Initially I had a small lot of this color and made a shawl and a hat with it.  Because I really liked the color, I ordered more. When the yarn arrived, my heart sank, the new dye lot was dramatically darker, not as vibrant as the first lot.  The yarn sat in the stash lovelessly for 2 years.  Every time I looked at it, I thought to myself, Id never make a pattern with it. Well, I decided to to give it a chance this time since I liked the first version of the sweater enough that even if the second one didn't come out nicely color-wise, it would be OK.

Now that it's done. I really do like it. You'd think I should know better, since I teach colors with my classes.  And I always stress that colors have no meaning on their own.  It's all relative.  In the case of sweaters, it's what you paired with, and your skin tone, and hair color, etc. But, I don't always practice what I teach... Its' a good marriage between the yarn and the pattern. I'm glad the yarn finally receives the love it deserves.

Calling the pattern Danshui.  It's a place outside of Taipei city, where the river flows into the sea.  It's the place people of Taipei go to watch the sunrise and sunset.  So the first sweater is named Danshui at Sunrise, and the second one, you guessed it, Danshui at Sunset.