Tag Archives: Bang Out a Carbeth

To Carbeth, or not to Carbeth?

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Recently a lot of knitters have been making Kate Davies’ design, Carbeth:

carbeth_01_copy_medium2

© Kate Davies

It is a kind of funky, nicely-shaped, bulky, cropped pullover which knits up really fast.  Mason-Dixon Knitting started a Bang Out a Carbeth KAL and it seems as if everyone is knitting one.  I spent a lot of time considering it, and finally decided against it, mainly because there is no way I could wear a bulky pullover more than maybe two days a year, if that.  Especially a cropped one.  I know that it would get put away in a drawer and never worn.  (I am either hot or cold; mostly hot.  If I am hot, I won’t wear this, and if I am cold, I don’t want it cropped.)

And then Kate came out with a Carbeth Cardigan, and I started considering all over again.

© Kate Davies Designs

I think this looks fantastic on Kate.   But, to tell the truth, I am not sure that it would be fantastic on me.  Yes? No?  I have moved back and forth on this many times.  And then, in a moment of weakness, I bought the yarn to make it: 14 skeins of Buachaille, in the beautiful dark grey natural shade she calls Squall (the one on the bottom in the below photo).

So now I have the yarn to knit up a quick, bulky cardigan, and I am hesitating.  Do I really want a Carbeth cardigan?   Yes.  It’s adorable.   But will I wear it?  That is the million dollar question.  I am trying really hard to knit things that I will actually wear.

If I don’t knit it, the yarn will definitely be used to knit something else; it is gorgeous yarn.  The Carbeth sweaters are knit with two strands of yarn held together so I have plenty to knit a sweater with a single strand (it is a DK weight). For example, I have enough of it to knit either one of these patterns that I have my eye on;  Kirigami by Gudrun Johnston:

© Brooklyn Tweed/Jared Flood

Or Cahal by Linda Marveng:

© Eivind Røhne

What do you think?  Should I Bang Out a Carbeth?

In the meantime, I am still sick.  It has been well over 3 weeks now.  I have just started my second round of antibiotics.  I am unhappy, and grumpy, and not able to concentrate on knitting or reading, and probably a bear to live with right now.  But I have yarn…..