Interesting, Not Complicated

The title of this post sums up my personal knitting philosophy. I like to knit things that have something going on most of the time (not just plain stocking stitch), but I don't want to be wedded to a chart, or have to concentrate very hard, except in small doses. This attitude kicked in some time last week when I was struggling to slog through the body of a male version of the Petrova sweater. Without the double-knitted pockets, the front borders, and the waist shaping, I felt lost in a sea of mindlessness. You'd think I'd be happy with that after working so hard on this,

but such was not the case. I could feel my momentum petering out, until I finally took a deep breath and abandoned the attempt.
Still, James wants a new, thick sweater, so I thought for a bit and then embarked on this Modern Gansey. It's an interpretation of gansey style rather than an accurate reproduction.

 It has gansey knit/purl patterns and seam stitches,

but no underarm gussets. Most significantly, though, it's top-down instead of bottom-up, and it has raglan shaping, rather than the traditional drop shoulders. Best of all, it combines two important characteristics for a successful knit: 1) it's got enough going on to keep me interested, and 2) it hasn't got so much going on that James will decline to wear it. It's a difficult balancing act!
Winter arrived--again,

but the temps for the next few days are predicted to be above freezing, so quite likely all the snow will disappear. A season of false starts in both the weather and knitting.