Hard Decisions & a Little Luxury for a Little Doll

I bought some lovely cashmere blend yarn from Knit Picks a while back – from their Capretta line.  I intended to use it for some luxurious socks because it also contains nylon, which is a must for me in a sock yarn.  But when I went to cast on some socks, I realized that this was not superwash wool – another non-negotiable for me when it comes to choosing yarn for socks.  (However, shortly after I bought this yarn, Knit Picks changed the fiber mix so it is now superwash- womp, womp…)

A Cashmere Scarf?

Since socks were off the table, I decided I should knit a nice lightweight scarf for my mother.  I chose the pattern Up and Down Summer Scarf by Luzie Kahlweiss. I think the pattern is lovely, though I was a little boring to knit.  I could never get very far on it before picking up a different project.  It curled at the edges a lot (see below).  I think this probably would have blocked out okay, but you can never be sure.  At the end of the day, I just wasn’t in love with the project…

Here is is before I frogged it.  I imagine I was about 30% done.  Definitely represented at least a good 10 hours worth of knitting, maybe more.  But that’s a sunk cost, really.  If it’s not worth finishing, then it doesn’t matter if it’s 30% done or 90% done. Just frog it!

A Cashmere Sweater!

So, while this scarf was lingering in my knitting basket, I decided I wanted to knit a sweater for my doll.  I have had the Ella Henley Tee in my queue for a while so I thought I’d cast on for that.  I was hoping I would be able to knit this with leftover sock yarn, but the pattern says I’ll need 185 yards and I usually only have about 140 yards left over after a pair of socks.  I’ll admit, I was tempted to just say a prayer and go for it, but I ultimately decided to search my stash for something with the recommended yardage.  I reached for some teal Cascade fingering weight acrylic that I bought probably 15 years ago and still haven’t managed to use up. (Acrylic sock yarn? What was I thinking??)  I did a mini swatch in this and, though I like the color, it just wasn’t right for this project.  Then a little voice whispered in my ear, use the Capretta…..

At first I was like, there’s no way am I am I going to use a $9 ball of yarn on a doll sweater. But then I remembered: this is no ordinary doll.  This doll represents the splurge of all splurges.  I wanted an American Girl Doll my entire life and never got one because it wasn’t sensible to spend so much money on a doll.  Then, last Christmas, my brother surprised me with Athena.  He had won the prize in his fantasy football league and took the money straight to the mall and bought me an AG doll.  The boy knows how to splurge! It was truly one of the most incredible gifts I have ever received.  And you know what? This doll deserves a cashmere sweater. And so she shall have one.

Here is what I have so far. I need to use these needles for a project I plan to cast on next weekend, so I’m marathoning this knit a bit.  Plus, you know, can’t wait to see the finished project! That’s always good motivation to knit faster.