To me, For me, From me!

Back in March, I started a project on the spur of the moment.  I bought a book called Knit, Swirl that displayed an interesting cardigan construction.  At the time, I was merely curious and had no real intention of knitting anything for myself out of it, but after reading through it, I was intrigued.  A quick glance at the stash revealed a contender:  Blue Moon Fibers Twisted in Bittersweet.

I had wanted the Bitter Sweet for a cardigan, but the design I had in mind had cables, and I thought the variations in the yarn would distract from the cables…so, it was not going to work for the project it was originally intended.  

I also remembered I had a skein of the same Twisted left over from another project in Valkyrie:

Together, they hit it off spectacularly!

So, I cast on immediately.  Five days into the knit, I was well into the second skein and about 40% complete.  

Then the hemp for the Flaming June came in, and I put the heavy aran weight yarn down to work on something for summer.  

I remained monogamous to the Flaming until I finished the body and got to the dreaded sleeves part of it.  

Instead of pushing forward to complete the sleeves, I picked up the Bittersweet Valkyrie again.  A week later, she was done!

I could not love this knit more!  It fits PERFECTLY!!  The yarn is bouncy and soft.  The colors are amazing!  This turned out to be a heavy cardigan, almost coat-like, which is just exactly what winters in South Texas require!

While it was a tremendous amount of knitting, this was a surprisingly simple and rather mindless project.  I am actually contemplating a second one in a lighter weight yarn...I love it so!

My only quibble with the pattern is having the beginning (and ending) of each round at the back of the neck. That portion becomes the collar and is turned inside out showing the weaved in ends for the color changes and the slight jog in pattern between the rounds.

Of course, no photo shoot these days  is complete without a Rita-Monster appearance:

In other news, the Flaming Chrissy now has sleeves!

The hemp softens up wonderfully after it is washed and blocked, even more so, when it is worn.  Unlike the original photo shoot before the sleeves were added, today's pictures were taken after I wore this all day yesterday.  It grew, then grew some more!

There is no way to swatch that kind of growth.    

I will wash it again in hot water and throw it in the dryer.  The growth is a bit disappointing, but it will not deter me from continuing to wear it.  The next one I make, I will actually go down a size.

Again, Little Miss Rita Monster had to make it into another shot!

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!