F.O. Timely by Libby Jonson

Primrose Yarn Adelaide

Hello everyone!  I hope you are all enjoying your summer.  I have been quiet here on the blog, but let me assure you, I have been busy knitting away.

My latest finished object is my Timely Cardigan.  At first I started knitting the shawl Assana with these two yarns, but although I loved the colour combination, I lost interest in knitting the pattern.

Primrose Yarns Adelaide & Hazel Knits Entice

First attempt:  Assana

I didn't want to waste this yarn, and so I looked at my very long Ravelry queue, and decided on the Timely cardigan.  It is a well written pattern and I am very happy with the result.

Pattern:  Timely

Designer:  Libby Jonson

Yarn:  Primrose Yarn Co. Adelaide (100% Merino)
Colourway:  In Between the Lines (2 skeins)

First skein of "In Between the Lines

Second skein of "In Between the Lines"

Yarn:  Hazel Knits Entice MCN (70% Merino 20% Cashmere 10% Nylon)
Colourway:  White Winged Dove (2 skeins)

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Merino Light (100% Merino)
Colourway: Antler (1 skein)
Needles:  2.75, 3, 3.25, 3.5mm

Ravelry:  See my notes here.

Added Notes:

1.  Have you ever knit a cardigan with a single ply before?  I have learnt over the years that single ply is not the best for cardigan knitting, as it pills a lot quicker than plied yarn.  However, I think pairing the single ply yarn (Primrose Yarn) with the plied yarn (Hazel Knits) will hopefully result in a cardigan that doesn't pill as much.

2.  There was a colour variation between skeins of both the Primrose Yarn, and to a slight extent, the Hazel Knits.  As a result I decided to alternate the four skeins for each row.  I am not going to lie...it was a pain.  Often the yarns would get tangled and with a single ply the yarn sticks more and needed to be pulled apart.  However, I kept telling myself that it would be worth it.  

3.  This is the first cardigan that I knit that I did not swatch for.  Since it is a top down cardigan I knew I could try it on as I went, and luckily it worked out well. I modified a few things...I decided I wanted a longer cardigan, so I knit about ten extra striped rows in the body, and I knit one less inch of the ribbing.  Also, I made full length sleeves as that is my preferred sleeve.  I also did the ribbing on the hem with Madelinetosh Merino Light in Antler, as I did not think I had enough of the Hazel Knits to complete the cardigan.  Surprisingly, I used almost the whole skein.  

4.  Knitting a fingering cardigan is a commitment.  It takes way longer to knit than any other weighted cardigan.  However, it is the most wearable of all the yarn weights as far as I am concerned.  I am super pleased it is done and love the result.  But I definitely need a break from fingering weight sweaters for a while.

If you like the look of the Timely Cardigan but don't want to invest the time knitting a fingering weight cardigan I heard that a DK version of the pattern will be released sometime around November.  How exciting!  It is the perfect stashbuster.

Happy knitting!

FO: Japan Sleeves

Japan Sleeves, my spring sweater, is complete.  I thought I had cleverly planned this sweater to be finished just in time for the springy weather that comes in April.  But just like last year, when I completed my Folded Poncho, the snow came and the photos were done with snow flying in my face.

However, I know it can't snow forever and I will be all ready with this lovely sweater.  As mentioned in a previous post, I thoroughly enjoyed the construction of this sweater written by Joji Locatelli.  The pattern was written so cleverly and clearly, beginning with the lace panels and then the top down construction, that it really kept my interest.  When I got to the body, knit in the round, it was a bit monotonous, but made for good t.v. knitting.  I would really like to make this pattern again, or at least its' sister pattern, Old Romance.  If I were to do it again I think I would like to use yarn with a bit of cashmere in it.  I was pleased with the combination of the Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light colours I used (Teddy Bear and Molly Ringwald) and I was impressed with how far one skein of yarn goes.  For the medium sized sweater I only used about 1.4 skeins of the pink colour and 2.5 skeins of the light brown.

I am really enjoying the colours I chose for the pattern Cladonia by Kristin Kapur.  I am just finishing the main body of the shawl and then I will move on to knitted the lace section.  Look at this colour combination:

What do you think?  Wouldn't it make a great fall Japan Sleeves?  The yarn I used was String Theory Caper Sock Yarn (containing 10% cashmere) in Java combined with Sweet Fiber Yarn Super Sweet Sock in Chartreuse.  Ahhhh, the possibilities.