Where did it go?

My gosh, it's October! I'm still wondering where our summer went, though I suspect that at the time I was obsessively hoping to get the kids back to school. They are busy, busy, busy and it is a *lot* of work to keep them from destroying the house/each other/my sanity. I complained to a friend about the noise level when all three children are home and we decided that it works on the Richter scale. (!) Doesn't help, but it makes me feel better knowing that it's not just me who thinks it.

So: still working on that thing I mentioned last post, but this time when I say soon I really do mean it! Like in the next 24 hours.

In the meantime, I will share with y'all a little bit about the impetus behind Urbanite, my design in the Fall issue of Twist Collective.

(Awe inspiring sketch by Boy-O, mais oui)

My dad is the world's biggest clotheshorse. Seriously: the man must look good at all times.

His basement is like a one guy department store. It's completely amazing.

When we lived in the same city, we were shopping buddies. We often joked that if we had a family motto, it would be "Never pay retail."

Unsurprisingly, with a fellow like Dad for inspiration, the design had to handsome, practical and not too costly to knit. So as I noodled around with a lovely fluffy yarn for a ladies' pullover:

(Harrisville Yarns Orchid with Cashmere)

it occurred to me that this might be a good man's sweater as well. Having borrowed many of my dad's (and these days, my husband's) sweaters over the years, I figured I had a pretty good grasp on what makes a good one: long, lean look, attractive details like saddle shoulders and interesting-to-knit cables that are still understated, and a quiet color that didn't scream "look at me." Luckily for me, Twist's editors agreed.

After conferring with Kate, we decided to make the sweater a crew neck rather than the turtle I'd originally conceived (my husband and pop are both rather warm-blooded, so this made sense to me), and she selected the Soft Brown color in delicious Valley Yarns Amherst. I'd never knitted with this yarn before, but it is lovely. Soft and smooshy (yes, that's a technical term), easy on the hands, yet it shows off complex stitchwork beautifully. I am a big fan of yarns you can knit by touch, and Amherst delivers on that score. It's reasonably priced, too, which rocks my socks.

I can't wait for Urbanite to come back home just so I can wrap myself up in it. Though I may have to fight off the husband -- I think he's got his eye on this one, too.