Finished!!! Or: Femke goes trendy, all thanks to knitting

Yesterday, I made myself sew the buttons on the drops cardigan. I wore it today and made my dad take some pictures this morning. I will try to get some daylight pictures this weekend, because these are really awful.

I think my yarn substitution was successful. I swatched with the Lana Grossa Royal Tweed I wanted to use. My gauge was 13.5 sts and 21.5 rows per 10 cm, which was in between both gauges from the pattern. So I calculated how many stitches I would like to have at the bust and looked for the size in the pattern that came closest to that number. This turned out to be size XL from the bulky version of the pattern. I knew I would have to compensate for the row gauge, but that only mattered for the sleeve caps.

Even though I compensated for row gauge on the sleeve caps, I still had some trouble getting them to fit right. I think the armhole should have been a little less long, about 2 cm I think. Or the sleeve caps should be taller. I just winged it and I have a little extra fabric under my armpit which no-one will notice.

The other trouble I had with finishing was that the yarn does not lend itself to sewing seams. There is no twist in the yarn, so even a little tug causes it to break. I used embroidery thread instead. I think this was also a good thing, because it really reduced the bulk in the seam.

When I tried this on during seaming I was very underwhelmed. I mean, it fit alright, but I didn't really like it. But now that I added the collar, it's great. It really makes the cardigan. That's also what my dad said when I showed it to him: "that's a nice collar".

Overall, I am very happy with this. I have to get used to the style. This is the first swingy cardigan I own. I think I'd never have followed this trend if it had not been for knitting. I think, in general, knitting makes me much more aware of the current fashion. Which is kinda cool, because I tend not to pay attention to it, out of sheer laziness of course.

So, what to knit next? I feel kind of lost without a sweater project... I have yarn for several projects, but there is nothing I really WANT TO KNIT NOW!!!!

Project Monogamy?

I always thought that the idea of having multiple projects at once is a very good one. After all, different moods/stress levels, call for different kinds of knitting. However, in practice, I work on two projects at the time, no more, no less. I always have a sock in progress, that goes everywhere with me. But most of my time is spent on a larger project and lately I have been knitting a lot of sweaters/cardigans.

I finished knitting the collar of the Drops cardigan last Friday. I bought buttons yesterday, which I will sew on tonight. When I showed my father the buttonless cardigan he remarked: "So, what is your production rate, about one a month?" I guess that's the case, and I really like it that way. One large project at a time, but I am allowed to swatch for the next while finishing.

I haven't yet decided what my next big project will be. I am torn between a shawl and a smallish cardigan. Both projects are swatched and ready to be started. I thought I would just start them both, but it turns out I don't want to. I'd like to focus on one at a time, but I am not sure which one it will be.

I also finished my oldest UFO about 1,5 weeks ago. It is this pattern by Drops design. I started this in October 2006 (I think). I picked it up because I wanted to give it to a friend. She was really happy with it.

Minimalist Cardigan - Success!

About a week and a half ago I finished the Minimalist Cardigan. I've worn it a couple of times since then and I am really happy about this one! Here, in the Netherlands, we don't really have the cold winters. Wool turtleneck sweaters don't get a lot of wear in my wardrobe. But I think this cardigan will.

I really like the design, especially the contrast of the moss stitch and the rolling stockinette. The three-quarter sleeves and the way the front does not really close make this cardigan very suitable for Dutch weather.



On episode 35 of Stash and Burn Jenny and Nicole talk about their love for sweater projects. One of the things they point out, is that for their climate they prefer cardigans that look nice unbuttoned. I think this statement also applies to my country. The minimalist cardigan obviously falls in the category of things that look nice unbuttoned, but I suspect my current project will too.

I am currently knitting this cardigan from Drops/Garnstudio in Lana Grossa Royal Tweed. There are a lot of finished versions over on Ravelry. I didn't buy the yarn with a specific pattern in mind, so I swatched and decided that if I made the XL size of the Eskimo version I would end up with something my size. So far things look fine. I have finished the back and the fronts are both at the armholes. I have set myself the challenge of finishing this before February 1st. I hope I will find the time to post some progress pictures soon.