You are my sunshine

Behold! A miracle has occurred!

No, I was not whisked away to heaven during the weekend’s scheduled rapture. But I did finish my Whisper Cardigan Saturday night, which was almost as impressive and surprising as judgment day would have been.


Pattern: Whisper Cardigan by Hannah Fettig from Interweave Knits Spring 2009
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Rhodesian
Needles: US 6 and US 3


Can I tell you how much I love this yarn? I love the color, I love the softness, I love everything about it. Had the sweater come out terribly I wouldn’t even have cared because then I would have had the pleasure of knitting something else with it.


This project was fraught with uncertainty. The pattern sizing was sketchy at best and I didn’t know until I finished the whole top portion whether or not it would fit. But I tried it on and it fit perfectly. Then came the small matter of picking up about a zillion stitches. Barely pulling through that ordeal, I began knitting downward, increasing on each side to create the little flaps on the front, which I feared that I’d find annoying. I was also concerned that the sweater would keep my shoulders too warm while leaving the front of my body chilly. But I wore it all day today and noticed only how luxurious it felt, and how much I enjoyed the burst of sunshiny color every time I passed a mirror. And after this many gray and rainy days I will take sunshine in any form.

A million little stitches

Like with any project, before I began the Whisper Cardigan I looked through the projects on Ravelry to make sure it was possible to recreate the garment in real life. Frequently, it appears to be difficult for the average person to follow a pattern and end up with anything remotely like what was pictured. Or it’s possible, but looks terrible on people not shaped like the model in the photo.

Usually I also look for comments on how pleasant, or torturous, the pattern is to work on. For instance, are you required to pick up approximately 4,367 stitches along an edge?

I mention this because it has become obvious to me that I did NOT look for such comments this time. And last week I had to pick up approximately 4,367 stitches around the opening of the damn thing.

Had I read through the pattern before starting (a lesson that is apparently impossible for me to learn) I would have realized that the construction is a little different from what I’ve been telling everyone within earshot. I was under the mistaken impression that I knit the side-to-side shrug portion (sleeve, upper back, second sleeve) and then pick up stitches just along the back and work downward. In fact, after knitting that top shrug-like part, I had to pick up stitches around the entire opening. Some will be knit downward for the back as expected, but the rest form a band around the whole neckline and armhole area.

I was so surprised by this development that after spending the afternoon bent over my project in the manner of a Dickensian factory worker, I looked again at the Ravelry projects for overlooked warning signs. One of the first comments I saw regarding the picked up stitches was “I imagine it’s how the Egyptian slaves would’ve felt if told they had to build the pyramids out of field stones.” Yeah, missed that one the first time.

But maybe it’s a good thing that I was oblivious. Surely I would have foregone the entire project had I known about this and I’m really pleased with how it’s coming out. The edging really makes the cardigan look structured and pretty.

You can't tell from this photo, but take my word for it.

I'm kind of a dumbass

I just wrote an entire post on how terribly written the Whisper Cardigan pattern is, because there is no schematic and no measurements except the “x inches across back” in the size descriptions. This has made the project difficult because as I knit the first sleeve I had no idea how long it should be – the pattern instructions are all based on how many rows you are knitting with no helpful “sleeve should now be this long” instructions. So I guessed, bound off for the underarm and began knitting the back.

A few minutes ago, I pulled out the pattern again to check something, and a post-it note fell off the page revealing all the information that I had been missing. Not a schematic (which would be awesome) but several helpful measurements.

Since I now have nothing interesting to write about, I’ll just show you a progress shot.

Luckily, it turns out that my sleeve is the right length!

Knitting Plan

It’s not much of a plan really, more of a progress report through which I’m hoping to shame myself into action. With the Tweed Pullover finished, I return to my three languishing projects.

First up, the sadly neglected Whisper Cardigan.


I have knit nary a stitch since this post, though I did move the project to new needles with a smoother join. (So much for my assertion that once I did so, the project would practically knit itself.) My fear now is that it’s been so long I will have to rip out and restart the project because of gauge changes and the fact that I don't know where I left off in the pattern.

Next is the Bramble Stitch Shawl, which I actually have done some work on in recent months, but it is still embarrassingly slow going.


This is also the least photogenic of the projects and I look forward to the day when it is not only completed, but blocked into wintery glory.

Most successful of my works in progress are the Glynis Socks. I’ve been burning through these and have a sock and a half! I think I can finish this sock within the week if I really try.



The plan: finish the Glynis Socks, and make substantial progress on the other two projects before rushing out and starting anything new. Beyond that, I have little planned for knitting this year. My only real knitting goal is to make one sweater that is practical and fits me well and that I will actually wear. An upcoming post will discuss this in depth, so stay tuned!

A bit of orange

This will be the Whisper Cardigan from IK spring 2009. I want to build up my cardigans in number, styles and variety of colors.

So far the project is slow going. I had to make a trip to Windsor Button for a circular needle this size in metal. The joins on my interchangeables were making this project maddening. That was over a week ago and I still haven’t transferred it to the new needles. But when I do it will practically knit itself, I’m sure!

Oh, and the yarn? Malabrigo Lace. It is absolutely luscious.