Not so Oranje

I finished my Oranje cardigan! Well, truth be told, I finished it like a month ago. I've been feeling a little busy lately, and honestly I kinda suck at blogging. If I could blog and knit or spin at the same time, I might be better about the whole thing. But anyway, enough meta-blog! On to the sweater!

This is the second of Ann Weaver's patterns I've done, and I was even happier with this one. I modified for fit, and I did a very tiny bit of messing around with which was the main colour at different points in the sweater, but other than that I stuck with the pattern and it served me very, very well.

I used KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Sport in Dove Heather, Midnight Heather, and Caution. If you aren't into a slightly scratchy yarn, then maybe don't wear this stuff next to your skin, but I don't mind it one bit. I like a nice rustic wool, and the price can't be beat. Sport weight is one of those funny yarn weights that is hard to knit with cheaply. All the sweaters seem to call for as much yardage as a fingering weight garment would, so the weight of the project goes up and the cost follows along accordingly.

I pulled out all the stops on the finishing of this sweater - a lot of it (including the fancy turned hems and faced collar) is written in the pattern, but I put extra effort in when covering the steeks, choosing buttons, and weaving ends. It was SO worth it.

I learned a few new techniques on this project - Latvian Braids, turned hems, facings, stabilizing with ribbon, and of course the dreaded steek - and as usual, it's just knitting. If you've been wanting to try new knitting skills, just do them. It's totally easy. Even the steek. Although tIhere was wine first, just for my nerves of course.

This project is just all over awesome. I definitely recommend the pattern and yarn, both together and separately. It's flattering, cozy, entertaining, and just generally gorgeous. Do it!