Friday, May 13, 2011

Essential Cardigan

I finished the Essential Cardigan yesterday, just in time for 80 degree weather, humidity, and thunderstorms here in Northeast Ohio. Despite the heat, I did wear it for an hour yesterday because I felt like it (and I was in the house making minimal movements so as not to induce sweating). It fits awesome.


I convinced Adam to snap a few photos for me during his lunch hour since today is my birthday (I know, right?). I said I needed a least six pictures because he normally wants to do one and then go inside. He took six and I've finally realized how he sees me:


from up high.

I may have mentioned before that he's 6'4" (even though Amy swears up and down he's not tall) and I'm about 5'2". I had to explain to him that he needs to put the camera at my level so it doesn't look like he's taking pictures from a mountain top. This is what I get:


sigh. As my dad says, beggars can't be choosers. 

Anyway, this is a really great sweater. You may recall (or not, as it was last summer!) that I bought this yarn from a store going out of business. I purchased nine skeins for $26! Since I ended up using only about six and a half skeins (even though the pattern calls for eight for the size I made) that's less that $19 for this sweater. The yarns is Naturally Harmony 8 ply and it has this great fluffy texture that makes for a very soft fabric.


I decided on plain, brown, wooden buttons to match the color of the cardigan. This is just a simple cardigan, nothing fancy shmancy. I picked these up at JoAnn's for $3 total.  I think this cardigan is really quite a steal considering it's handmade. 

I'm also pretty pumped about how the shoulders look. The second came out a lot better than the first and I really didn't think the first was too bad. I generally don't mind seaming, I kind of like the way two pieces pull together when you tighten the mattress stitch. It can be time consuming though, as I spent the better part of an afternoon putting this bad boy together (taking a break to go see Thor. It is my birthday week after all).  The button band was also really time consuming. It's four inches of broken rib on size 4 needles. It reminded me a lot of working on the Spring Ribbed Cardigan. For some reason though, this seemed to take longer. 


I'm pretty much in love with this sweater. I think it's going to make a great casual addition to my wardrobe and I also think this means I made my goal of knitting two sweaters for myself in 2011! That is if we count the Dorflinger Tee.

Pattern: Essential Cardigan by Laura Grutzeck
Yarn: Naturally Harmony 8ply in #703 (~6.5 skeins)
Needles: #4 for ribbing, #5 for stockinette
Began: August 30, 2010
Completed: May 12


16 comments:

  1. your essential cardigan looks wonderful! i bet you will get so much wear out of it come fall and winter.

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  2. It's gorgeous! I love the colour (you see so few brown handknits around, isn't it strange)and your buttons are perfect.

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  3. Andrea, you did a fantastic job. I love the color and the knitting is perfect. Have a wonderful Birthday.
    Meredith

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  4. i forgot to say happy birthday! i hope it's a great one.

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  5. Beautiful cardigan, it looks great on you. Happy birthday, enjoy your birthday week!

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  6. Wow that is super lovely! Happy Birthday!

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  7. happy birthday!!
    the sweater is gorgeous!

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  8. Happy birthday! You may get more wear out of that wonderful sweater this spring - living in the midwest always means drastic temperature swings :)

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  9. Happy birthday! Your sweater is beautiful and looks so warm and cozy!

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  10. What a great sweater! I love that color--both pretty and wearable.

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  11. Happy Birthday! I have seen the sweater before, but it looks absolutely fantastic on you! Great job.:)

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  12. I think it looks great. It's also an impressive price. Well done! :)

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  13. Happy Birthday! The sweater looks amazing--fits you so well. Yay!

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  14. It looks amazing! I think it's definitely one of my favorites that you've knit. Also, happy birthday!

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  15. Oh my gosh I LOVE it. That is such a great sweater and it fits you perfectly. You're wearing it every single day, right??

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  16. LOVE IT! It does fit you well. I hope you had a great birthday!!

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