The sweater is not the old friend. I’ve not worn the sweater much. It’s pretty but the boatneck neckline hasn’t been a favorite look. The “friend” isn’t the pattern either. A bit after completing it, in somewhat an overdose of de-cluttering, I recall throwing the pattern away. So I haven’t even been able to link to it on my Ravelry page and I can’t give attribution here. I just figured I wasn’t going to knit it again and I wouldn’t be recommending it to anyone, so why keep it. I recall it was from a magazine and possibly this was the cover sweater.
The friend is actually the yarn. Tahki’s Soho Bulky. The company seems to be called Tahki Stacy Charles now. I’m sure they are the purveyors of many fine yarns, but the company discontinued Soho Bulky quite a few years ago and knitters everywhere should mourn the loss. OK. That’s an exaggeration. But it was a great yarn. I knit this sweater and basically just keep it around to enjoy the look and feel of this wonderful rugged yarn.
I’ve knit gobs of bears out of Soho Bulky, including this long legged guy who was donated to a charity auction. His body is knit in Soho Bulky. His sweater is knit of a more “refined,” tame yarn.
This sweater, also knit from a pattern I can’t locate anymore, is pure Soho Bulky. It’s seen lots of wear and still looks and feels great.
I have a very high tolerance for wool-against-the-skin. When others are busy complaining about how “itchy” something woolen is, all I feel is nice and cozy. To me, that sense of scratchy yarn against the skin is a comfort. So I have no problem with hats of Soho Bulky. This one is Jared Flood’s Quincy, with a wonderfully clever mobius strip construction.
And this was probably my Soho Bulky magnum opus. It’s Carol Andeson and Pat Penney’s Rambling Rows afghan knit using their pattern for its grid guide, but without regard for their instructions on color placement. This afghan is laid out on a queen sized bed. If gifted, which it won’t be until they crack open my will, it would come with a small child and cat warning. It could probably crush one under its weight. I lost count of how many skeins I knit to complete the project. When I used up my stash I had to scour the internet looking for extra skeins of the precious Soho Bulky.
I have no skeins left. I used the last of them, mixed in with Philospher’s Wool, to complete this log cabin throw.
So, old friend, it looks like we part company.
This is an afghan pattern I’ve knitted six or seven times, in sizes ranging from a baby blanket to a blanket large enough to cover a queen-sized bed. It’s “Rambling Rows,” by Carol A. Anderson and Pat Penney. It is knitted of 55 mitered geometric shapes: squares of two sizes and a rectangle that is half the size of the largest square (double the size of the smaller square). Most afghans turn out to be major tests of a knitter’s sewing or crochet skills because bazillions of pieces need to be joined to create the finished object. But the Anderson/Penney team figured out how to knit together the entire afghan. When you complete the last section, you are done, except for knitting whatever edge you decide to use. Quoting Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky: “Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” ‘Cuz this here knitter is seriously sewing and crochet impaired.
