Sunday, August 7, 2016

A Quick Sweater (and Maybe One More)

The hubby and I are going on a long-awaited vacation in a bit and so, of course, I needed some traveling clothes.
At the world's best fabric shop I grabbed up some Nani Iro double knit in a fantastic blue. I traced a pattern from a tank top I like to wear, and since it was the Democratic National Convention and I didn't want to miss any of the speeches, I sewed it by hand on the couch.
Then I remembered the need in my wardrobe for a cardigan.
Last fall I went a little nuts and bought a bunch of wrap sari skirts from Darn Good Yarn. The colors of these skirts are wonderful and you can wear them in lots of ways, including a few different dress styles. The only downside is that they are a little revealing of the upper back as a dress and as I burn easily in the sun I wanted to have a cardigan I could throw on over top.
I dug through my library of knitting books (dramatically reduced since our pre-move cull) and found this beauty I had been thinking about for years.

As I can't just follow a pattern, and since I was teaching a sewing camp all week anyway and couldn't be bothered with bringing along the book, I made a modification here and there. The end result was just as I had envisioned.

I knew it had to have pockets, so I made a couple of squares and added the leaf motif from the sleeves.
(Try saying "sleeve leaf motif" three times fast)
I am happy I finally found a project for these lovely buttons from Jennie the Potter, which justifies their purchase 4-5 years ago.
The yarn is Nashua Creative Focus Linen, a cotton/linen blend I got on sale a couple years ago at the local yarn emporium.
I enjoyed using it in general, though I am not completely happy with the floppy nature of the pocket bind off. I should have used a smaller needle. I didn't really notice it until I had sewed them on to the sweater, so I may follow up with a crochet edge to give it some stability or just leave it and remember it's not going to be judged at the state fair or anything.
This sweater used up much less yarn than I anticipated, and I may start in on a second one using this pile of excitement.
I didn't think I had enough here for a sweater given the amplitude of my bosom, but I may yet.
In closing, and on a completely unrelated note, thank you to the Rio Olympics for reminding me to listen to my favorite album of Antonio Carlos Jobim's: Elis and Tom. Please just listen to Águas de Março. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

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