I rarely have time to work on this lovely Acer cardigan — I really should be finishing up the improv sweater, after all — but every hour I spend with it makes me so happy and proud of myself. There are really only two rows in the chart (one of which is “knit the knit stitches and purl the rest”), with the occasional cable thrown in. So once you get it in your head, it’s super meditative to knit. Hopefully I’ll get some quality time with both sweaters this weekend.
But here’s a little something I really want to share about this. The yarn is Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in the color Nest. I ordered it from Knit Purl about a year ago (with a gift certificate from my beloved friend Mignon — thanks, MK!) for a very simple stockinette cardigan I had in mind. I was a little disappointed with the color when I pulled it out of the envelope — it seemed a bit wan, to put it mildly. But I cast on for that cardigan and … quickly lost interest. By the time I decided I really hated it, the returns window had closed. Eventually, though, I realized the problem was the stockinette. What this color needed to give it more depth was exactly that — depth. The light and shadows that come from ribbing and cables and yarnovers. So that’s when I went looking for Slightly Lacy Cardigans and settled on Acer. And I couldn’t be happier — they’re a match made in heaven.
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By the way, I don’t know if it’s on account of people packing away their winter woolens, or what, but there’s been a run on the jumbo cedar sachets in the shop lately. I almost hate to sell them, because they make my studio smell amazing, but there’s plenty to go around!
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What are you working on this weekend?
It’s lovely – and I agree you need to get the right pattern and wool combo! :)
Your Acer is looking lovely; the colour looks great. I’ve just bought the pattern and am feeling slightly nervous about casting on (first time cardigan). It’s interesting what you say about pattern affecting the colour of the yarn. The yarn I ordered online appeared blue/grey and is more dull grey in reality. The perils of ordering online. I need to find a good yarn store around here.
Have a good weekend :)
I had a very similar experience this weekend with some Cascade 220. I’d purchased it for a kids’ item which was almost entirely done in garter stitch. I hated how the Cascade looked as I started knitting – flat and boring and not the squishy dream I’d had in mind. I ended up frogging the kids’ item and starting something completely different – this time mostly stocking stitch. And suddenly I loved the Cascade! Bizarre. It looked completely different so now I am a firm believer in finding the right pattern-yarn combination.
That is gorgeous, Karen!