Signs of fall

Today was the first multiple handknit day (Rumpled and Aestlight).

There's that little chill in the air in the mornings that means autumn is just around the corner.

The chestnuts are lying in prickly heaps on the sidewalk.

I saw red ivy leaves from the train this morning.

There wasn't a cloud in the incredibly blue sky as the girls and I walked to school.

This is the kind of weather that means only one thing in my knitting world - sweaters. Cozy, comfy sweaters. Warm toasty sweaters. Piles of knitting on my lap in the evening. It's a good time. My dilemma now is what sweater to do.

It's not like I don't already have a list* of projects for the next few months. Including projects that require dyeing and spinning in addition to the knitting. But I'm itching to cast on for a sweater for memememememe! I even know what sweater I want to do - Pas de Valse by Marnie MacLean, from Twist Collective Fall 2009. And I've got the yarn picked out - a pile of gorgeously soft baby Alpaca that Ironman picked up for me in Peru several years ago. There's only one problem:

I don't really want a tan sweater.

So I've spent the last week throwing little 5 gram skeins of tan alpaca into a crock pot with various colors of dye, just for the heck of it. It's been great fun!

The original color is at the bottom, and dyed with (going clockwise) sun yellow, golden yellow, deep orange (0.5x), deep orange (1x), fuschia, burgundy, periwinkle, brilliant blue, turquoise, emerald, brown and gun metal Jacquard Acid dyes

And I'm surprised with the way I'm leaning color-wise - I think this sweater needs to be orange. I am not an orange person. I have one orange t-shirt that I love, but it's a paler tone then this orange. I'm a bit dubious that this color will look good on me at all. But, as I've said before, it's time to break out of my sweater-color-rut and try something a bit different.

I'm leaning towards the darker of the two deep oranges, which makes me think of pumpkin pie, and fall leaves, and chrysanthemums. What could be better for a fall project? But what do you all think? Too dark? Too orange? Let me know your vote in the comments, and we'll see which one comes out ahead.

*List update: #1 on the list is now 1/2 done - one project knitted and done, one into the third reknit, but should be done this week, and one...still in mental stages. #4 is finished, blocked and needs to be stuck in the mail. #2 - I wound up Devil's yarn last night, so incremental forward progress there.