Well, after spending the day feeling nauseous from exhaustion, I realise that my days of staying up all night and still, y’know, functioning, are numbered. But I continued to work on my swatch in a more temporally appropriate fashion. I’m very excited about this project. I’ve been wanting to knit a cardigan for ages. During spring, autumn and winter I wear cardigans pretty much every day (I downgrade to every other day in summer, thanks UK weather). However, I can’t say that cardigans are my favourite garment. Cheap ones go bobbly and drab and even more expensive ones tend to get baggy and shapeless once you’ve washed them a few times.
So the stage is set for me to try knitting my own cardigan: a cardigan so perfect that it could cure cancer and end world hunger just by existing. Or at least look good with most of my clothes. I’m not fussy.
The search for the right pattern began about six months ago, after I finished my Bay jumper. I had my eye on a couple of simple Kim Hargreaves numbers but they weren’t quite right. Then I saw this on Pinterest.
Holy. Stitchgasm.
It was love at first sight. I searched the internet for the pattern. I had to have her.
But there was a problem. Although Lime Scented published three very instructive blog posts about her project, I wasn’t confident that I would be able to recreate a version that I would be happy with. Nonetheless, inspiration is inspiration. I loved the idea of using sock yarn as I want my cardigan to be light, so I searched Ravelry for a decent pattern. I also loved open front of this design as I never do up the buttons on any of my cardigans. Finally, the fancy collar seemed like a winning idea too. However, I chose to knit the collar straight on to the cardigan rather than knit it separately and then sew it on. I did some research, rejecting Shifting Sands as well as most cables, which can look a bit frumpy. Soon, I found this rather glorious little pattern
I’m excited because this is the closest I’ve come to designing my own pattern. Really I’m just Frankensteining three existing patterns, but I’m hopeful that I’m going to end up with something as elegant and lovely as the design above.
I got home yesterday to find my Malabrigo sock yarn had arrived and couldn’t resist knitting up a swatch. I wanted to check my gauge was right so I could calculate which size to make given that I’m using a pattern designed for bulkier yarn. Then I realised that I would need to figure out how to convert the lacy leaf pattern from being knit in the round to knit flat. After some head-scratching, trial, error and googling, I got there. I got there.
Anyway, I must be good and finish my current WIP before I cast on this beauty (also there is the small matter of my thesis, but let’s not go there).
The Crafty Crusader 