Hi, Knitters,
Back to some regular old posts now.....
Way last winter I quickly knit up Agnes by Melissa LaBarre in Quince & Co. Puffin in the Bark colorway. I love this roomy pullover with the side pockets and I wore it quite a bit last winter. The pocket linings are knit in Quince & Co. Osprey in the Bird's Egg colorway which is the perfect counter to Bark in my opinion. It is a fun and fast sweater pattern and it is a perfect top-down beginner skill level project to boot.
Anyway, as the temperature is dropping this winter season I looked to my Agnes again for warmth and comfort but my feelings had changed slightly about it. I was not feeling the pullover sweater as much this year. The handknit garments I will wear day after day are always cardigans. To remedy the Ages situation I dug through my stash and saw that I had an extra skein of the Puffin in the same Bark colorway. So I immediately pulled out my handy crochet hook and went to town crocheting a steek down the center line of the sweater. (There are lots of great tutorials about how to do this on youtube.)
It only took one short evening for me to crochet the steek, cut down the center of the sweater, add button bands and sew on the most beautiful cut branch buttons that I happened to have sitting in a bowl in my studio. Click here for this great shop for reasonably priced cut branch buttons.
Miraculously my Agnes cardigan looks fantastic now! I have been wearing my new version ever since.
Here is the story of my new cardigan version of Agnes in photos......
My love for 100% wool, not the superwash sort, is growing and growing by leaps and bounds lately. I have such respect and love for pure wool.
On another quick note, I noticed that a secret is now out. Click here to find out where I'll be in April 2013! I'm really excited about this one and I hope you'll join me. Spaces are limited I hear.
best, susie
You know, the more I knit, the more I prefer non-superwash wool. Of course there are advantages to machine-washable wool, but the environmental impact of the chemical processes trouble me, and I hate the way it always stretches out! More and more, if I want to make something washable for a baby gift, I'll just use cotton.
ReplyDelete(Socks are the exception, though.)
My goal in life to is to reach the point where I feel comfortable doing what you just did to that sweater. (Mainly because I love cardigans but hate knitting back and forth!) It's just hard to imagine actually doing it.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! And I do love the buttons, too. My go-to sweaters in the winter are all pullovers. But I love my cardigans in all other seasons!
ReplyDeleteSara
Your new cardigan is wonderful! I love everything about it, from the squishy wool to the surprise pockets to the buttons! Great job!
ReplyDeleteSo cozy! I really think cardigans are more wearable than pullovers a lot of the time...Thank goodness for steeking ^_^
ReplyDeleteYou are truly inspirational, I just love how you can turn that favorite pullover into a whole new cardigan! I would've just put it at the bottom of the sweater pile and hoped that I'll change my mind in a few years. I'm going to go through my pile and see what I can modify and wear again.
ReplyDeleteYou are truly inspirational, I just love how you can turn that favorite pullover into a whole new cardigan! I would've just put it at the bottom of the sweater pile and hoped that I'll change my mind in a few years. I'm going to go through my pile and see what I can modify and wear again.
ReplyDeleteSusan, you are an inspiration to me. I began knitting in 2011 and I am still that....a beginner knitter. After I caught the bug I signed up for 4 classes on Craftsy. I just never can seem to take the time to watch them to go beyond what little bit I do know. As I was reading your post and realized what you were about to do to your pullover, fear struck me. Not because YOU were going to do it, just the idea of someone doing that to a SWEATER. Something I can only dream about making at this rate in 50 years. Yet there is hope. My son took me out to lunch this past week to Panera's which I had never been to. There were signs posted everywhere about their free WI-FI. I suddenly looked at Eric and told him that I should start going there one night a week and taking all of my Craftsy classes. I have a pair of ear buds that fit really well and Eric said that people go and just buy a drink or a pastry and a drink and will stay for long periods. He said I wouldn't be out of line doing what I proposed. Susan I own everyone of your books and I have bought quite a number of your patterns on Rav. I love your designs so much. Maybe, just maybe my granddaughter will get Spud and Chloe before she's a teenager. She's 6 right now. Maybe I'll make her and her brother sweaters for next Christmas. Maybe one of the next knitalongs you have I'll be in it. Your post today first scared me, but now has spurred me on to get out their and conquer this thing I love called knitting. Thank you Susan.
ReplyDeleteI have to consider this for my first sweater ever. It's a wonderful roll neck raglan knit out of Lamb's Pride Worsted but I rarely wear it because it's a pullover. I've thought of steeking it for greater use but also can't decide if I'd like it to remain intact as my first knit garment. Thoughts to ponder more....
ReplyDeleteThe sweater is incredible -proof again of your knitting genius!
ReplyDeleteAnd the Loopy Ewe? Ooooooh! How I wish I could attend that Spring Fling! I've never been to the Loopy Ewe but I read the blog and get the newsletter - my dream s to get to go ... Someday!!!!