Guess What

Guess what this is.



If you guessed a Bohus sweater kit, you must have been there last week.
But indeed, it is the infamous Bohus sweater that the Yarn Harlot knit. (Go read about the history of it. It's very interesting, but I'm not going to repeat it here.) At first, I thought she was really nuts. Why would you knit such a sweater with such tiny needles? It seemed designed to fry your brain. Such thin yarn! Such little needles (US 1.5)! This was too much, even for her. And then I went to go see her talk, and she was wearing it.
Oh my god.
It is beautiful. The color work looks like a halo had somehow forgotten where it's supposed to go and taken up residence at the neck. I pet the sweater. It was so soft, I thought my hand might pass right through it. It was divine. Some day, I thought, I could aspire to this.
And then she scared us. The woman who makes all these wonderful, historically accurate sweater kits is old, and has no apprentice. These are a limited time item! I must have it! Now!
As it turns out, the price is quite reasonable and shipping is quite fast. It costs about what you would expect a hand knit sweater kit to cost, and I got in about a week and a half. I want to start it instantly, but I'm holding back.
Although the Yarn Harlot's sweater is lovely for her, it is definitely not my colorway. Luckily, there is the beautiful Forest Darkness option (scroll all the way down).
Here are the instructions.

Just kidding. They all come with English translations too. But I assure you, that does not make it significantly easier. This is a hard core pattern, one that should have a giant red sign flashing "Not for Beginners" on the cover. This is going to be a challenge.

Oh, but it's so going to be worth it.

Look at those colors. If only you could feel the wonderfully soft wool/angora yarn.
I'm trying to convince myself to finish some of the other project I've got going (although one will definitely be done this weekend, wink, wink) before I start this. I make no promises.


I think I'm going to make the cardigan version, as I am far more of a cardigan sort of person, and it makes it useful as a light jacket.
Now I have to debate the same questions the Yarn Harlot did - to be historically accurate or not. The lovely lady who compiles the kits suggests that it would be possible to steek the cardigan, but I don't know if I'm that brave anyway.