A New Sweater for a New Year

The best thing about all the trunk shows we host here at Fancy Tiger Crafts is seeing and trying on knit and sewn items in person. When Miriam Felton was here last October, I was able to try on her Vinculum Cardigan and fell in love. This worsted weight cardigan features beautiful feminine touches such as a smocking pattern in the neck and cuffs and a pretty "V" shaping at the back. I have been wanting to make something with the classic Irish tweed yarn we carry from Studio Donegal and it was a match made in heaven!

You all know how I feel about neutral colors and I couldn't resist this classic color of tweed yarn in Oatmeal. This color is sure to compliment almost anything in my wardrobe for maximum cardigan usage. You also might know I often have gauge issues (I just knit so dang loose!). For this sweater I was working with 16.5 stitches to 4" instead of Miriam's 19 stitches to 4" (and I was on a 6!). I did the math and went ahead and made the smallest size 32" to finish with a 36" which was what I was going for. It worked out well and my cardigan fits beautifully. Miriam's pattern is well written with waist and bust shaping in the body and short row shaping for the back neckline. It knit up quick with no hiccups. I took her advice and blocked the sweater before seaming which made the seaming so easy!

 

I finished this sweater in a record (for me) 1 month during the holidays and seamed it on New Year's Eve. I was at home without access to all of our beautiful buttons so I just put one vintage button I had on hand at the top. I've loved wearing it this way so I might just keep it with the one button.

Thanks, Ironwood for the awesome and other-worldly photo-shoot backdrop!

Amber's Donegal Tweed Peabody Sweater

I just finished knitting my first Brooklyn Tweed sweater! The Peabody Sweater by Leila Raabe is a quick knit in worsted weight yarn. I used Studio Donegal's Soft Donegal, a classic Irish tweed with a traditional rustic texture, but the softness of merino wool. 

I couldn't resist the bright green for my new sweater. It's a colorful warm thing to brighten up snowy days! The lace inserts kept my interest and had me loving charts. Our new highlighter tape is a chart knitter's best friend, by the way, to keep you on track when you have a large chart to follow.  

I did make a few mistakes in the lace, but thank goodness Miriam Felton shared her lace-fixing wizardry with me the last time she visited! Dropping down a lace panel several rows in your handknitting sure gives you the feeling you can do anything! Yes, there is a glass of wine in the background...

I am in love with my new Peabody sweater! Now I'm hooked--I have my eye on a couple more Brooklyn Tweed patterns...