I was a little worried when I ran out of yarn for Branden’s sweater. I had plenty of fiber left, but I’ve heard that it’s hard to spin the same weight twice. Add to that the fact that I’d spun a bunch of fingering/laceweight in between, and I wasn’t sure I could get the same yarn again.

Turns out I needn’t have worried. Sometimes well-worn ruts work to your advantage. Here’s a photo of some of the old yarn next to the new yarn that I plied last weekend. (The strand laid across the top is coming from the ball.)

And here’s a comparison of the two weights together.

Not bad, huh? I can feel a slight difference between them in the knit fabric, but only barely. It’s good to know that I can go back and spin more on demand (at least for this weight).

Once I had the rest of the transition yarn, it was clear sailing on the body of the sweater. The dark brown feels like it’s taking forever, but really it’s moving right along.

I’m a little surprised that the 2:1 to solid dark brown transition is so sharp. The top of the sweater is plain grey, then a 1:2 brown to grey, then a 2:1 brown to grey. You’d think there would be a smooth transition the whole way, but that little bit of grey really dominates in both mixed yarns, leaving a big difference between the gradient colors and the solid brown. One of those interesting things you could only know by trying it, I suppose.

Fall has arrived in force here in Chicago. Not many colors to see yet, but the weather settled in last week, with daytime temperatures in the 60’s and getting down into the 40’s overnight. This weekend has been grey and a little damp, so we’re beginning to really feel the chill. We’ve put on sweaters and started drinking cups of tea, and today we’re washing the winter comforter for the bed. Time to start knitting faster!