Harvest Moon

I fell in love with this pattern because of the pockets.
And then later I fell in love with the yarn. It was my first project using Madelinetosh yarn, and I think I might have a new obsession. The colors are exquisite, and the yarn itself is just a dream to knit with, doesn't really compare to anything else. It's also the most expensive yarn I've ever used, so I guess it lived up to my expectations so far.

The pattern was very easy to follow, but my gauge was off, so although I initially started with a size S, I had to change to a smaller size afterwards.
A summary of the changes I made: 
- Only increased to 220 sts (between markers), knit till 19 cm yoke length and divided the body and sleeves according to this: 32 (right front) + 44 (sleeve) + 68 (back) + 44 (sleeve) + 32 (left front)
- Didn’t make the decreases on the sleeves as written, instead made the following on the last 2 rows:
R1: k2tog every 5 sts
R2: k2tog every 8 sts

The yarn bled somewhat when washed but it didn't seem to affect the original color. Also, the cardigan grew lengthwise with blocking (about 2 or 3 cm) which for this pattern was actually a good thing.

Note: not sure if it’s a fault of the pattern, the yarn or my loose knitting, but the yoke feels too loose and stretchy when wearing it, like it’s going to fall down any minute. To remedy this, I had to secure it with some extra bit of yarn at the top and bottom of the yoke so it wouldn’t stretch.

 
Pattern: Harvest Moon, by Heidi Kirrmaier
Yarn: Madelinetosh Vintage in Cousteau (5 skeins)
Ravelry project page

 

:: 2 years

She's officially a toddler now ...

the birthday dress (2)

Made at the last minute, and turned out a bit large due to a very uncooperative toddler not wanting to try it on. The pattern is from the same book as last year's.

candy stripe

My summer cardigan is finally finished. I suppose it seems like it took me forever to finish it - when it actually just took me a month and a half with a lot of pauses - because I really don't enjoy knitting with cotton. This yarn is actually a cotton/wool mix, but even so not very pleasurable to knit with.
It blocked beautifully though, and it's warm but not too much, so perfect for this season.

I loosely based it on the Treeline Striped Cardigan but mostly I improvised. My original plan was to make a Roseling, but then I noticed how weird that collar was, and couldn't really figure out a way to make it work. So I decided on a bottom-up regular raglan sleeve construction, and incorporated the slipped stitch details along the sides of the body and the sleeve decreases.

A detailed explanation can be found on the Ravelry project page.
I love stripes, and this one is in my favorite color (red) so definitely going to get a lot of use.