Wednesday, November 22

Caramel Swirl revealed

Finally - the much promised pictures of my Caramel Swirl Cardigan! These were taken by a friend at work during our morning break, and maybe not as good as the pictures that my really nice boyfriend takes - but I've been wanting to show this off, especially after all the moaning about this project that I've done on this blog.

I started this on Labor Day weekend, on our one-year anniversary - on our lovely relaxing trip up to Lake Tahoe. I had this lovely handspun yarn that I call Caramel Swirl (1 ply each of fawn alpaca/camel down/tussah silk/angora-wool).

Basically I decided that I wanted a fairly plain cardigan that I could wear to work, with a deep ribbing, so I did a gauge swatch, did some math, and cast on. Knit in a 3x1 rib back and forth in one piece. There's a garter stitch edging on the fronts which have a knit-on i-cord border. Knit the sleeves with a deep 3x1 ribbing, and joined at the armpits.

My initial thoughts were that I wanted a saddle shouldered cardigan (I haven't done one of those yet). But reading the directions in EZ's Knitting Workshop called for doing decreases every third round - I knit this back and forth, and couldn't quite wrap my head around how to make the decreases match up on the purl rows, so just caved and knit a standard raglan.

Then of course, I lost the last ball of yarn that I spun for it, and waited for a while to see if it would reappear. It didn't. So I had to spin some more yarn to finish it.

My next huge hurdle came with the collar - I looked and looked all over the net, and my own knitting library for a solution that would work. I had a general idea of what I wanted, and just couldn't find it anywhere! So finally after a couple of weeks of dithering, I punted. I just cast on, and knit. It's a sideways garter stitch edging, with short rows thrown in - for a kind of flared edging.

Here's a better pic of the back so you can see how it came out.

I found some buttons at Joanne's that I actually sewed on. (That's a big deal for me, There have been sweaters that have waited for over a year for buttons - not kidding.) I've decided that these buttons aren't quite right, I mean, they're OK - but not fantabulous, so I went back to Joanne's and picked up some really pretty buttons that I do believe will be Just Right. Though I haven't had a chance to sew them on yet. Or gotten a pretty pic of the buttons themselves.


My general verdict on this sweater - I love it. I've worn it the last three days. It's good for work-wear. It's warm, it's soft, it's comfy... what more can I ask for?

In other news. I finished spinning up all 8 ozs of the Kid Mohair/Merino blend from the last post. And I've started spinning the silk that I dyed last weekend. I'm still debating whether I will do a 3 or 4 ply (definitely 2 plies of the Kid Mohair/Merino) and one or two plies of the silk. I've only got a smidge on a bobbin of the silk so far, but oh - is it nice to spin!

Oh - and my job interview yesterday? I thought it went tremendously well. I was there for 2 hours, and met with three people - the manager was in the middle of a few crises, so I had to wait a bit for her - but I think it's a very good sign that I actually got the opportunity to interview with her while I was there. I will hear back at the beginning of next week, and my fingers are even more firmly crossed now, than they were before the interview. Though I am trying my best not to count any chickens, if you know what I mean.

Also, it was my sweet baby girl's 20th birthday yesterday. We are planning on doing lunch together on Saturday. How in the world has this happened? She's a very wonderful young lady, and I just love her so much, but 20? Sigh - I guess I'm getting old.

Tomorrow of course, is Thanksgiving. we're going to my mom's house, and then my BBE's sister's house for 2 dinners. I'm looking forward to seeing my little nephew Zane - he just had his first birthday a couple of weeks ago. And how did that happen? Seems like there's just no way it could have been a whole year ago that he arrived! I understand that he is quite a chunk. I will be sure to get pics for gratuitous cute baby pictures to post.

I hope everyone that celebrates has a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm sooo looking forward to having 4 days off. I'm hoping to be productive and get some spinning and knitting in - I need to start my Christmas knitting, and there's about 5 (or more like 20) different projects that I'd like to start for myself.... Too many projects/Not enough time!

And here's one more of the back view of the sweater.

9 comments:

Monika said...

It looks wonderful! I love the collar and the way you wear it with black, just beautiful!

beadlizard said...

Oh, it's perfect! I love the deep collar, especially the interesting rib. Your handspun looks so good! I think the raglan shoulder suits that collar better than any other shoulder option. Definitely a winner. --Syl

sgeddes said...

The sweater is lovely! Great job. The collar is just perfect!

Hockey Mom said...

It's gorgeous! And I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for the job. Glad the interview went well.

Happy thanksgiving!

Poops said...

It's perfect! It's lovely!

See? Always truuuuuuust your knitters....

安淋 - Kessa said...

Great cardigan you have there! Can't believe its actually spun and knitted... Inspiring. =) And I love the fibers you dyed in the previous post.

Anonymous said...

That came out great! I'm glad you worked out the collar issue. It looks so soft and cozy. Good luck with the job!

Unknown said...

Love the cardi! It looks great on you.

Lorena said...

I bow down to your spinning and knitting prowess. Seriously, that is one GORGEOUS cardigan.