If you've been a reader of my blog for a while, you may vaguely remember this sweater from last summer - almost exactly a year ago, actually. I re-discovered it last week while looking in my yarn cabinets for a needle, and realized it only needed a sleeve and button bands. In an effort to gain some confidence by finishing something, since my socks are still dragging, I decided to finish it up.
I'm so glad I did.
This is such a wonderful addition to my summer wardrobe. Light and airy, but warm enough to be a great cardigan for my air conditioned office, and cool summer mountain nights.
The hardest part about letting a year go in between sleeves, was trying to match the second sleeve to the first. I searched and searched for my notes, but I either lost them, threw them away accidentally, or didn't take any. Knowing me, I probably didn't take any. I think I managed to do a fairly decent job, though, just by sight.
The buttons were a lucky find - I have a large jar full of buttons that I've collected over the years at thrift shops and the like, but I couldn't find 10 matching ones. I then remembered that I had an old box full of some of my grandmother's old buttons and clip on earrings. I was so happy to find that there were 10 buttons that matched! Not only do they match the style of the cardigan, but they're so special, since they once belonged to someone so dear to me.
The yarn I used is the oh-so-soft malabrigo lace, with size US 6 needles. I used a basic top down raglan style recipe based on my swatch. I know there's probably a better way I could have done the color changes, but I just divided my yarn into 5 small balls - one for each cardigan front, one for each sleeve, and one for the back - and when it came time to switch colors, I just brought the new color up over the old, eliminating any gaps in the change. Then I finished up the body, added the collar band, sleeves, and button bands. I am really happy with how the colors go together - they remind me of sorbet.
One thing I love about Malabrigo's colors are the different tones you pick up on while knitting with the yarn, that you may not notice if you were just holding the skein. This orange color has the most beautiful pinks mixed in, which really reminded me of a gorgeous sunset.
And our blooming lilies just make the perfect backdrop!
Now... to pick those socks back up!
