Blissful Jacket, Tubey swatches

First: my fabulous stitch markers:

These were an xmas present from my mom, and came from Gibson Girl Design

I've made a _lot_ of progress on the Blissful Jacket (from Interweave Knits Fall 2005). Here are some pics:


The back


The fronts-in-progress. For once, I had the good sense to work on both at once, so they'd both be the same length, although I actually managed to screw it up and do two extra rows on the left side. I caught it in time to fix it, though.


The first buttonhole


Some of that lovely reverse stockinette stitch.

I'm slightly embarrassed to say that I'm doing this in the exact yarn and color the pattern calls for (Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed #03). I'm a sucker for the color. The true color is actually a much darker teal than it looks here (and than it looks in the magazine), but I just love it.


That said, I'm not thrilled with the yarn; it's on the scratchy side. For a jacket, rather than an against-the-skin sweater, that's no biggie, but for something so expensive, I'd like something softer. (That said, I did get a good deal on it on discountyarnsale.com.) If I had to do this again (and with such a great silhouette, I might), I'd probably choose Cascade 220 Tweed. I only touched it once, but I think the Cascade was much softer.



I've also been swatching for Tubey. My first thought was stripes in Karabella Aurora 8, but then I remembered that gorgeous silk/merino handpaint from Over the Rainbow Yarns I had in my stash... Here are my first swatches:


It's really beautiful, but is knitting up a little drapey and see-through so far. I've tried size 6, 7 and 8. The 6s aren't bad, but I'm going to try 5s and see what I get. My understanding is that a certain springiness is desirable, particularly to avoid saggy back. Aurora 8 is nothing if not springy. :)

p.s. I'd like to add another shamless plug for the Tubey Knit-Along I'm hosting.