Inky Goings On.

As a result of a hankering to get my messy shelves off the front page, and a little prompting, I blog! Not one but two finished objects. First up, the February Lady Sweater, a cardigan I began in earnest in early July at the beginning of summer. Two long train journeys, and I’d finished the body. A bout of the common cold, and I finished the arms. Then it took me two months to block it. I just fell out of love with it, the lumpy misshapen lace seeming far from Pam’s lovely design. Blocking rescued it a little and assuaged my fears that I’d made the cardigan too short: Noro Cash Iroha has a tremendous propensity for growth. I may knit a mitten and see if it can cover my house after a short dip in the sink. Eventually I added buttons, sewed in the ends and popped it on. Hmmm. I didn’t love it. And the reason I didn’t love it is my own fault.

It makes me look like a tree trunk. And really I should have considered that an A-line cardigan would do precisely this when I knitted it. It looks a little better when I’m not slouching and wearing unfitted dresses, but still, I’m not planning on wearing this anywhere other than around the house, or in the library.

Pattern: February Lady Sweater

Yarn: Noro Cash Iroha, 7 skeins.

Mods: skipped buttonholes, and added snaps under the buttons. Stockinette cuffs, turned with a picot edging, on account of rowing out when attempting garter stitch in the round.

So I’m a little grumpy about this, but am taking it as a lesson. Bust darts are my friends, and swingy cardigans are not. Looking at the photo above, I’m also not convinced I knit the right size: I could fit my clunking great Shakespeare anthology under my armpit, with room for a couple of actors in the arms. Verdict: Blah.

After this little letdown, I snagged some Noro Iro in a Get Knitted sale and cast on for a scarf, since I always seem to be making them, but for other people. Or, they get stolen, like my last Noro scarf.

It’s a bit long. I chose the Scrunchable Scarf pattern, since I wanted some texture, but hoped not to distract from the subtle colour changes. Really, this was just a midnless project I worked on when I came home from work too tired to do anything except follow a simple pattern and gawp at the telly.

It’s tremendously warm, at any rate, and aside from Isadora Duncan fears when cycling to uni every day, it brightens up my black coat a treat. Now to get my numerous WIPs and pattern designs finished!