It’s been almost seven months to the day since my last show-and-tell post. That’s hard for me to wrap my brain around. I am usually so prolific when it comes to knits and crochet pieces. Evenings in front of the TV with a stitching project are how I roll. So how have I produced so little lately?
I suppose the answer to that question is that I don’t actually spend my evenings watching TV and stitching. That is, I used to, but these last several months I have found myself less inclined to pick up a ball of yarn, and more likely to play a game on my tablet. (I should write a blog post about my favorite games to play. That might be interesting.)
Earlier in the year, I started improvising a pair of socks with worsted weight yarn. They were stripey. When I got to the toes, I had a decision to make about whether to do another stripe, or to go straight into the toes, even though that wasn’t the color I wanted to end on. I was paralyzed with indecision, and the socks have been in that unfinished state since March.
Clearly I just didn’t really care about having stripey worsted weight socks. But I figured I would eventually. So I left those pretty pastel balls of yarn in my knitting basket, just waiting for me to make up my mind already and get back to it. And while they waited, I spent my evenings playing Spider, or processing photos, or going to the beach, but definitely not knitting.
Sun Kissed Cardigan
It took summer to spur me into action. It took the desire for a lacey cotton cardigan to take with me on our casual nights out. And it took wanting something handmade and lovely to throw over my shoulders if the ocean breeze got to be too much.
So here it is: a Sun Kissed Cardigan, which seems to work equally as well with a t-shirt and jeans as it does with a swingy black dress. That’s exactly what I was hoping for.
I swatched, like a good little crocheter, and still I ended up with a finished piece that was smaller than it should have been. I know I’m a tight crocheter, but I thought I had chosen the right hook to make up for it. Luckily, I was able to block the daylights out of it. While it’s still not as roomy as it was supposed to be, it does fit me just fine, and I’m good with it.
Pattern Details
- Pattern: Sun Kissed Cardigan by Off The Hook Designs by MJ
- Yarn: KnitPicks Cotlin DK (Cotton/Linen blend) in “Wallaby”
- Hooks: Size 7, for the main hook, and Size I/9 for the larger hook
- Modifications: None that were intentional 😜. I accidentally didn’t leave side slits when I seamed it, but I didn’t think it was worth taking it apart to fix that. It’s fine without them.
What’s next?
While knitting and crocheting are both yarn-based hobbies, they scratch different itches for me. And I have found, over the years, that when I finish a big crochet project, I crave knitting. I want the tactile pleasure of bamboo needles my hands, slipping loops of wool from left side to right side over and over and over. Clickety clack.(The opposite is true, too. When a big knitting project finally comes off of my needles, I usually want my next make to involve a crochet hook. I want the simplicity of only having a single live stitch to deal with.)
So, with that in mind, and the fact that it’s already August, and the realization that it’s been a while since I knit a September Sweater, and the fact that I have a sweater quantity of Wool of the Andes that has been patiently waiting for me to put it to good use, I think I am going to knit a sweater. Most likely a cardigan. I have no idea what the pattern will be yet, but the yarn is a color that reminds me quite a bit of bright orange traffic cones. So whatever pattern I choose, it isn’t going to be one that takes itself too seriously 😜
Have you knit any worsted weight cardigans lately that you can recommend?
