It's an ACTUAL DALE OF NORWAY (!!!)

I freely admit that at times, I'm a Knitting Herd Follower. Someone on the 'net knits something really cool, and by gum, I'm gonna knit it too. My most ambitious "I wanna!!" thus far is inspired by the YarnHarlot's lovely Whistler sweater. I mean, her sweater looks really great, right? And I've been knitting for a while now. I've managed to make a sweater (well, most of a sweater) with a swatch, and gauge, and all that good stuff, and the sweater fits. So I was gonna track the pattern for this lovely Dale of Norway "Whistler" sweater down.

YEAaaaah, not so much. It's the sweater for the Canadian skiing team from 2005... and slightly out of print, unless through a Special Deal with a Dale of Norway retailer (or by getting the original pamphlet through eBay for an astronomical price - if I could locate it in the first place). Possibly, someone local carried it, but my allergies were getting to me, and it just seemed a lot of trouble to wander around to all the local yarn stores when "wandering" and "wheezing pathetically enough that passers-by asked if I needed help" were interchangeable. (On the other hand, lots of friendly, helpful people in DC, should I ever actually be about to keel over.)

An internet search, however, located the wonderful Kirtland's Yarn Barn here in Virginia, due west of Richmond. There it was: Dale of Norway Book #8501, with the Whistler sweater right on the cover. Woohoo! And... even better - Pat will KIT THE SWEATER!! (Which, as it turns out, is a good thing - the book is totally not available.) I decided that I wanted the "other" version of the sweater, with the "bright" color on the bottom, and the black across the shoulders. My "bright" color is actually olive drab - after a color assessment, I actually look best in neutrals and blacks. (Which is weird - I'm SO not a winter, but I'm somewhere odd between Spring and Summer - bright colors bring out the red in my skin, making me look flushed; pastels bring out the blue, and make me look dead. Neutrals and black make me look like a normal human, which is what I'm mostly going for.)

Anyway, exchanged e-mails with Pat, got my yarn all settled (some had to come in from the warehouse), and on Wednesday, a box arrived at my house!! Loook!!


It's an actual box. Full of ACTUAL YARN.


ACTUAL DALE OF NORWAY YARN.


I am going to knit an ACTUAL DALE OF NORWAY SWEATER using ACTUAL DALE OF NORWAY YARN. This means, I think, that I am actually a Knitter now. Or will be, anyway, once I actually finish it.

Now to find my... oh my gosh, SIZE 3 needles... (*gulp*!!)!!