Yesterday morning, my sweater looked like this, and I was distinctly unhappy with a number of the color combinations. The yarns that Fassett used were obviously completely different than the ones I’d chosen, and his chart just wasn’t working for me. So I tore it out, clear back to the second block of color. This was the second ripping in two days. How glad I am that I chose a pattern that’s knit up on large needles. The knitting only takes a few hours (or so) to get this far, so ripping it back isn’t that big of a deal.

I dove back into my skimpy Rowan stash, and added these two colors: a burgundy tweed and a solid navy. This ought to stretch my options a little.

After a day of ripping and re-knitting, I now have this. It’s amazing how long it takes to rip out intarsia. All those color changes have to be dealt with in reverse. The reknitting took a little longer this time, as I thought more about the colors before I started knitting each block. Most of the color changes were fairly simple. Where there had been a gray, white, and green, there’s now a gray, white, and blue. Where there had been a blue, green, and white, there’s now two blues and a green. A couple are completely different, changing a blend of three yarns to two strands of one (thicker) color. I think I’m going to rip out a few rows or so again, though. See that big old red block at the top right edge? Though I love the color, I hate its location. I think a solid green or navy blue block would look better there. Maybe I’ll put it over on the left edge where the blue block is. I don’t know yet. Haven’t decided. We’ll see what I come up with today.