Well hello there! Can you believe it, a new handknit? And a terribly unseasonable one at that. But this has cardigan has taken me 14 months to knit, so like it or not summerlike weather, we are wearing it!
This is from Vogue's Fall 2010 knitting magazine, I believe, Smocked Cable Coat. I fell in love with the pattern instantly and knit it up with a Cascade 220 heathered yarn called Shire. 7.5 balls I think. It's supposed to have buttons but I haven't been able to find suitable ones yet, and given how many trials we've gone through together I am just wearing it as is until I can find decent ones.
The design feature that makes this cardigan, of course, are the smocked cables. Wowzers, I am never, ever knitting up smocked cables again. They look gorgeous but are they a pain to knit. My fingers hurt at every cable and I could never get through the row fast enough. The result is beautiful, I give you that. But never again. Never. (The more emphatically I speak, the more I jinx myself).
I had intended to lengthen the coat to mid-thigh length but somehow my calculations didn't quite work out. At first it irritated me, but Ali and my mom convinced me to wear it for a year anyways and see if the sweater doesn't grow on me. I think it is working! Because the alternatives are to 1) give it away, 2) cut off the garter stitch hem and then pick up the stitches and knit downwards. After all the trials I've gone through with this sweater (which I shall not bore you with but it involved a lot of unseaming and ripping back and knitting), there is no way I am fiddling with it anymore at this point. I will, however, let you all know if I decide to go with option #1 :-).
(That's a lot of cables. The back nearly killed me.) I rather winged the hood with a lot of short rows and increases and decreases. As a result, it is rather wonky. That's OK though. I wanted this cardigan to have a hoodie, and heck, I can't see myself and how strange the hood looks. It's all good, as we like to say in California. All good.
With this out of the way, maybe my knitting mojo will return! Maybe my crafting mojo in general will return! In the meantime, though, this is definitely one kickass kickback type of sweater for lounging. Just perfect for sitting outside at twilight, my favorite hour of the day, and taking in my parent's beautiful backyard (of which you have just gotten a glimpse). More later, friends!
(My favorite FO photographer has returned to CA to study for his Boards! Perhaps this will be additional incentive to finish up some more projects ...)
8 comments:
I love it! I don't love the sound of the long hard work though! The back cables and smock type effect on the back are fabulous. I think you should keep it that length. x
Oh no... it looks terrible... you should definitely give it away... to ME! ;-) (Just kidding, it's awesome!)
looks great -I've never tried smocked cables before and I think you've put me off ;-)
Holy Cow, another amazing knit! My hands hurt just looking at it. Sometimes I think that the harder something is to make the more harshly we judge it's imperfections. After all, we have had plenty of time to examine the problems. But from my view, it's perfection and I want it for myself.
Ooheey ooheey ooh! That is so gorgeous! Hood? Cables like cables I have never seen before? GREEN?
Hand it over , your hoodie or your life!
What an incredible sweater! The smocked cables are gorgeous and I love the length and that it has a hood! Well done, and how lovely that you got such a great return for those months of hard knitting! :)
Hi there... I haven't visited for a while and am doing some catch-up (way behind on my blog-reading... like 4 months behind!), so just dropped-in to say: Wow! Beautiful work! And I like the length just as it is. It's so flattering on you.
That is stunning! Wow. If that project made *you* swear off smocked cables, it's a sure bet I'll never even try such a thing. ;-) But they really look incredible.
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