Tempest

Pattern: Tempest by Ann Weaver (published on Knitty)
Yarn: Violet Green Socrates Merino 4ply in Seascape
Yardage: 1101 yards for size E
Needles: 4mm straights and 3.25mm straights for edgings

This cardigan is all about the finishing. It takes some time but is worth it for the end result. This has turned out beautifully and is an excellent fit.

The first obvious mod is the lack of stripes, of course. I'd knit this again but am still in two minds about whether to do a striped version - I'm not sure they'd be as flattering! The sleeves have a few rows of garter stitch as an edging. The pattern doesn't specify any edging for them and I didn't want the ends curling. I guess you could also add the hem to them afterwards as per the lower edge but the GS does match the button bands. The latter turned out well, especially with the sewn bind-off.

My only slight gripe is that the buttonholes would have been better as YO, K2tog rather than binding off 2 stitches and adding them again on the next row. This seemed to cause a bit of gaping around a few of the buttonholes. It also meant I couldn't use the sweet little purple buttons I bought (too small). This cardi needs 14 buttons and in the end I used a mix of green and purple buttons of the same type. They are a little larger than called for, I think, but I like the effect.

In other knitting news, I've finished the first large section of Shawl That Jazz. I'll be tackling the rest of it as soon as I get the Noro bug out of my system for a while. I started a Noro Striped Scarf the other night and as usual, it's addictive watching the stripe colour combos evolve. I can see this being finished fairly quickly, it will be a great addition to my winter woolies.

Tender is coming along nicely, I have the back and one front piece completed so far. My sock project is on hiatus but I will come back to it, probably with one of the short Addi circs I bought. I'm also waiting on tenterhooks for the new Rowan 46 to arrive, having seen the preview pictures there are a lot of things I like in this issue.