Sooza's Knitting Stuff

 

Tiberius Richard Ephraim
Born on February 9th, 6:42 pm
3400 grams/7.5 lb., 52 cm/20.5"

By now he's already three weeks old. We are very happy to finally have him here in our little family of four. Delivery went quickly and without complications so we were home soon after and could start getting to know this little fellow. His big sister is quite proud of him even though he's still a bit boring for her. We'll see what she has to say about this 12 months down the road when he's messing up her things ;-)

And of course he's already wearing hand knits :-)
 

 
Pattern is improvised. Two simple tubes of two by two ribbing in pretty Wollmeise yarn.


 
This one is based on a Drops/Garnstudio pattern with modifications to accommodate a slightly different gauge: Cozy and Cute

The colorful blanket I knitted back in 2007 for our daughter and it accompanied us through her first years being a constant companion - in the car seat, the stroller, the bed, the doll bed and so on. It held up great and now gets used again for the little one.

 
I cannot believe that we're going on Halloween already. The halfway mark of my pregnancy came and went and now I'm already nearing the magical remaining 100 days. And the baby bundle is well and already kicking up a storm in my ever growing belly. Naturally baby knitting has been done - romper, pants, leg warmers are only the very first on my list. A cardigan is supposed to be next. And I managed to work up another quilt for a baby blanket.


 
I really like how this little quilt turned out. Bright, sunny cotton fabric against cold and drab winter days. I think the backside with it's cute butterfly fabric is to die for.


 
The little quilt might just be the right size to cover the changing table or to take with in the pram or in a bag. My first attempt at quilting triangles and putting them together in the windmill pattern. It was fun and easy.

While washing some of my woolen garments for winter I was shocked to find my beloved Wollmeise cardigan with two holes and a thin spot on the collar. How can this be? I frantically searched my wardrobe for other signs of moth infestation but couldn't find any. Which is good, of course. But what happened to the Wollmeise cardi? I really don't know. Gourmet moths maybe only out for the finest Merino?! It seemed fine the last time I wore it but after washing it suddenly turned up holey :-( May didn't like the washing machine. Now what to do?

I knew I didn't have any of the original yarn left because I gave the left-over skein to my sister. But I knew there was a swatch somewhere in my binders with project notes. While I'm not the most religious swatch knitter ever I do so most of the time to calculate my gauge and do the sizing. As predicted I found the swatch tacked to my notes and it was quickly unraveled. I sat down and carefully retraced the stitches over a few rows - not so easy in moss stitch - to close up the two holes as invisibly as possible. And it worked quite alright. It's not totally invisible but also not right in your face either. I undid maybe a third of the bind off row on the collar and replaced this one too to take care of the thin spot there. Steam ironed it a bit and now it's as good as now. Let's hope this doesn't happen to more of my hand-knits.

* from the lyrics of 'Wake me up when September ends' by Green Day

After a short but very hot summer it already feels very much like autumn in our neck of the woods right now. Although the sun is still shining brightly in a brilliantly blue sky it's already pretty nippy in the shadows and the nights are getting quite cool. The days are getting noticeably shorter, too. Now starts this magical time of year when most knitters turn back to their needles and tackle old unfinished knitting projects and start planning new projects with renewed energy. Finally the hot days that turned even the lovliest linen yarn into a sticky, icky affair that is best left in the knitting basket are over. And I couldn't quite believe my eyes when I saw the supermarket already had all those yummy Christmas sweets stocked. Jeesh, time's flying. Let's have a look back then at some of my summer knits.

Clothilde


 
This is a wonderful little shawl that works wonderful with slightly variegated or semi-solid yarns. It was so much fun to work up this quick small shawl. The dovetail lace pattern is entertaining and just when you might start to be bored the lace edging starts. And if you want to you can knit this in ANY yarn and to ANY size. Perfect.



 
Pattern: Clothilde by Kristen Hanley Cardozo
Yarn: Saffron Dyeworks Wasabi Sock, Butterfly Bush (100% Merino 365 m/100 g)
Needle: 4 mm

There's been more lace shawl knitting this summer but I'll put this in a post of its own since it turned out downright spectacular.

Linen Dress


 
This one is an improvised design. It's a basic top down raglan construction with an equal number of stitches for front, back and arms to create shoulder straps instead of sleeves. The gauge is very open and see through since the yarn is a very skinny weaving yarn. Even though this is a summer knit I'm hoping this will make a nice layering piece with long-sleeved shirts all winter long.


 
Yarn: Bockens Lingarn 16/2, lavender (690 m/125 g)
Needle: 2.75 mm

The Skirt

I've never knitted a skirt before. I always REFUSED to knit a skirt because I wasn't conviced it would wear all the well. The usually look very flattering on skinny models posing for a magazine but I'm by no means a skinny person and I just couldn't imagine a wool skirt looking good after a day of sitting around in an office chair for a day. But then I saw this wonderful swingy summer skirt on Ravelry. I could instantly imagine wearing something like this. So off I went to buy some sturdy DK weight linen/cotton yarn to to purchase the download pattern.

The beginning with casting on over 400 sts was pretty strenuous. They hardly fit on my 80 cm Addi Turbo needle. But things got easier and faster with every decrease row. The construction is very clever and typical of Nora Gaughan. The pattern itself isn't very clear written and could have been explained easier, imp. But after some extreme knitting the skirt was done in under 3 weeks. And I love it!


 
Pattern: #12 Skirt by Nora Gaughan, Knit.1 Spring/Summer 2008, also available at Vogue Knitting Online Store
Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Cotton Linen, black (78%/22% Cotton/Linen100 m/50 g), 12 skeins
Needle: 4 mm

Fluttery Linen Top


 
This linen top was also a spur of the moment thing. I'd seen some very nice projects in this pretty linen yarn and when I found this yarn in a store I had to take two skeins with me. Now what to do with 520 meters of dk weight linen yarn?! Then I found this top in my Ravelry queue and off I went. Knitting with Karen Noe Linea has been a real pleasure. And the mindles stockinette in the round provided good carn and on the road knitting.


 
Pattern: Rosa's Sleeveless Cardi -Jumper by Emma Fassio
Yarn: Karen Noe Design Linea Hør (75%/25% Linen/Cotton 260 m/100 g), 2 skeins
Needle: 6 mm

 

I haven't done much of Elizabeth Zimmerman's pattern so far but I thoroughly enjoy her writing style and her practical and sensible approach to knitting. The modular Tomten Jacket for a small child seemed a good project to venture into EZ's knitting world for the first time.

Since I wanted to knit the jacket in a worsted weight cotton/microfiber blend I calculated the needed amount of stitches for the circumference according to my gauge and went on from there. The back is made longer with 5 short row sections. The pattern is fairly easy to knit and you can modify and change it to your heart's delight. At some point it seemed as if the garter stitch would never end though.



 

It turned out as a nice, slouchy jacket that can be thrown over when spring or summer air turn a bit chilly. Even though I had the feeling the sleeves would be wayyyyy too long they could actually use a few more rounds. But this will be easily fixed.

Details
Pattern: Modular Tomten Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Size: probably a size EU 104, 2 to 4 yrs
Yarn: Lang Yarns Kappa (97% Cotton/3% Polyester; 125m/50 g); 4 skeins fuchsia, 2 skeins purple
Needle: 4.5 mm

This was one of those patterns that I instantly liked when first seeing it in Knitty. I like knitting with skinny yarn and skinny needles. And I like plain sweaters that can be dressed up or down according to occasion and mood. But somehow I never quite worked up the nerve to cast-on. The pattern was in my Ravelry Queue for a while and I checked other people's finished Thermals from time to time. In the end seeing all these nice sweaters on Ravelry and following the posts in a very inspiring Knit-Along on the German Knitters forum made my fingers itch to finally cast on. In the end it took me not quite three weeks from start to finish. I sewed in ends on Halloween eve while the door bell kept ringing incessantly and kids kept demanding treats.


 
Details
 
Pattern: Thermal by Laura Chau, Knitty.com Winter 2006
Yarn:Rowan Felted Tweed, color Whisper (SH141), 7.5 skeins (375 grams)
Needles: 3.75 mm
Modifications:

• Pattern is originally written for sock yarn with a gauge of 28 stitches per 4''. I chickened out on the skinny yarn and chose some Felted Tweed from my stash instead. It's still fingering weight yarn but is much more fluffy and lofty than sock yarn. The Felted Tweed gave me a gauge of 20 stitches per 4''. I had originally planned to knit the smallest size but with my gauge that would still have meant I'd end up with a HUGE sweater. I compensated by casting on only 200 instead of 224 stitches.


• Worked body much longer than pattern suggested.


• Didn't like how the button band looked on most Thermal sweaters on Ravelry. Worked it sideways and added two more buttons.


• Knitted the set-in sleeves from the top down according to directions in Wendy Bernard's book 'Custom Knits'. Worked like a charm. Did I ever mention how much I dislike sewing in set-in sleeves?

Comments:
This is a lovely, very simple sweater that wears very well. The waffle stitch was interesting enough to keep me interested but easy enough for TV knitting at same time. And even though I pretty much improvised this whole thing it turned out fitting really well. To top this awesome knitting experience off I found THE PERFECT buttons in your run of the mill department store. No fancy button store. Nope. Just Kaufhof at Alexanderplatz. They match the strange blueish/greyish/greenish (un-)color that Rowan called 'whisper' exactly. Wouldn't have thought this was possible.
 

 

 
Details
Pattern: Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig
Yarn: 2.65 skeins of Malabrigo Baby Merino Lace (100% Merino, 400m/50g), Color Pearl Ten 69
Needles: 4 mm
Size: Something between M and L.
Modifications:

• Knitted body much longer than specified in the pattern.


• For the collar I picked up 3 stitches for 4 rows. Don't know how the ratio in the pattern could have been achieved. Worked out fine.


• Added a feather and fan pattern to cuffs, hem and collar for some decoration and to keep edges from rolling.

Comment: This is a lovely and very easy pattern. Since it's knitted from the top-down you can incorporate modifications to your personal shape/taste/size as you go. Very cool. The Malabrigo lace yarn was a joy to work with and this won't be the last garment I've knitted from it. With only 150 grams of yarn you end up with a very nice wearable garment. Which means this is actually a fairly inexpensive knit.

Bevor ich mich daran mache, 150 Umzugskartons zu füllen, hier noch ein paar Fotos meines letzte Woche fertig gewordenen Whisper Cardigans. Das Muster ist einfach umwerfend und besonders für klimatisierte oder leicht zugige Räume im Sommer ist dieses Teil sehr praktisch. Das Jäckchen ist ein Hauch von Nichts und lässt sich schnell noch in jede Tasche stopfen.

Before I start on filling up 150 moving boxes that are waiting in our staircase I'd like to share some pictures of the awesome Whisper cardi that I finished last week. It's a wonderful pattern that's perfect for air-conditioned or slightly drafty rooms in summer. It's so light you can throw it into your bag are prepared for everything.


 


 
Details

Pattern: Whisper Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, Interweave Knits, Spring 2009
Yarn: Touch Yarns Mohair/Merino 2 ply (900 m/100 g), 80 grams
Needles: 3.75 mm circ
Size: M
Modifications:

• elbow-length sleeves without flared shaping (cast on 76 sts.)


• 30 rounds of ribbing


• cast off 12 sts. less for collar to avoid body hitting armpits


• worked 3 more short rows to compensate for more body stitches


• after blocking body measures 32 cm from ribbing to hem

Was das Stricken betrifft, so bin ich seit einer Woche fieberhaft dabei, einen Whisper Cardigan zu stricken. Dieses Sommerjäckchen lebt davon, dass ein feines Lacegarn auf relativ dicken Nadeln gestrickt wird und dadurch ein luftig leichtes Gestrick entsteht. Ich hatte da dieses wunderschöne Mohair/Merino-Garn von Touch Yarns hier liegen, welches ich mir vor Jahren einmal aus London mitgebracht hatte. Irgendwie konnte ich mich nie so recht zu einem Projekt mit diesem kostbaren neuseeländischen Garn entschließen. Aber dieses Jäckchen, das sollte es sein. Der Anfang war etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig, da die Nadeln viel zu dick schienen und das glatt rechte Gestrick auch arg schrumelig und unordentlich aussieht. Aber nach einer Weile gewöhnt man sich dran und ich denke, Waschen und Spannen werden das Ganze richten. Besonders schön ist, dass die Jacke komplett nahtlos gearbeitet wird. Es gibt also praktisch nichts zu vernähen. Super.



Hannah Fettig's Whisper Cardigan has completely taken over my knitting time. This cute little lightweight cardigan draws most of its appeal from the fine lace yarn worked on relatively big needles. This creates an airy and summerly fabric. I've had this beautiful mohair/merino lace yarn in my stash ever since I've brought it back from London with me. I couldn't quite decide what to do with it for years now. But this cardi hit the mark. The start was a bit fiddly because the needles seemed way too big and the stockinette looked a bit wonky and crumply. But it got better after a few rounds and I guess washing and blocking will do the trick. I particularly like the fact that the cardigan is worked in one piece without seems. So there is nothing to seam or anything. How practical.

Ich wollte mich mal wieder am Häkeln versuchen und dachte mir, ein lustiges kleines Kleidchen wäre da genau das Richtige. Normalerweise sind Häkeln und ich nicht so recht gute Freunde, aber die schönen Häkelprojekte, die ich bei einigen Mädels beim Mitwochsstricktreffen so gesehen hatte, habe mich doch ein wenig motiviert, es mal wieder zu versuchen. Und so ein gehäkeltes Kleid ist auch ein absolut ideales Projekt, um die kleinen Mengen handgespindelten Garns zu verbrauchen, die sich in letzter Zeit hier so anhäufen. Zwei Garne fielen mir ins Auge, die zusammenpassen könnten, da sie beide einen hohen Anteil lila hatten. Das Rennen machten Random Red Violets und ZigZag. Und ich muss sagen, gehäkelt machen die mehrfarbigen handgesponnenen Garn noch viel mehr her als einfach nur verstrickt. Das Maschenbild hat eine Lebenigkeit und Tiefe, dass es einfach eine wahre Freude ist. Das Kleid selbst war letzendlich schnell gehäkelt. Ein paar Reihen feste Maschen, der Rest in einem einfachen, klassischen Muschelstich, der mich schon immer sehr fasziniert hat und am Ende noch eine Blüte in irischer Häkelei exakt nach Buch gearbeitet und fertig war das Kleid. Es ist hübsch geworden, wenn auch sehr warm und schwer.

Seeing some of the cute crochet stuff the gals in our Wednesday knitting meeting brought with them I was severely tempted to give crochet another go. Crochet and me we usually don't quite see eye to eye but I thought a little dress wouldn't exactly tax my crochet skills to their limits. And a little dress seemed a wonderful possibility to use up some of the hand-spun yarn that's been piling up for a while now. A lovely combination of yarns was easily found and off I went with ZigZag and Random Red Violets. The hand-spun multicolored yarns worked so nice with the crochet stitches, I was amazed. Where I usually find hand-spun yarns hard to work with in knitting I was absolutely taken with how these two different yarns make such an interesting fabric. I'm still not overly fond of the crochet fabric in generel but it made for something different here. The dress itself worked up quickly with simple single crochets and a basic shell stitch that's always held a certain fascination for me. Add a cute little flower done exactly by the book and you get a fun little project. My only complaint is that the finished dress is fairly heavy and warm.

Der Wintereinbruch am Wochenende half nicht unbedingt gegen dunkelheitsbedingte Depressionen, ließ doch aber zumindest mein Strickerherz höherschlagen und führte dazu, dass ich das Kleidchen fertigstricken konnte. Wie so oft ist der Schnitt mehr oder weniger improvisiert und von einigen anderen Kleidern abgeschaut. Nur war ich am Ende irgendwie sicher, dass das Ganze mit Sicherheit zu klein sein würde. Nach dem Waschen und einer Runde unterm Dampfbügeleisen, welche fast alle Beulen im Mehrfarbgestrick ausgemerzt hat, stellte ich mit Erleichterung fest, dass das gute Stück doch recht gut passt. Es ist jetzt nicht wahnsinnig weit und Fräuleins kugelrundes Babybäuchlein könnte auch noch mehr Platz vertragen aber insgesamt kann ich das Stück als Erfolg verbuchen. Die Farben und der Farbverlauf des handgesponnenen Garns machen so richtig gute Laune und bringen die Sonne ins Haus.

Last weekend winter had obviously decided we were due a repeat performance and brought snow and over-cast skies. Well, at least the knitter in me was thrilled because what else would you do while the world is slowly snowed in but sitting on the sofa with a hot cup of tea and your knitting?! The little dotted dress for my girl could finally be finished. In the completing stages of the project I was growingly worried that the dress would not fit, would be way too small or otherwise disfigured. After washing and thoroughly pressing it with a steam iron pretty much all bumps and puckers were evened out and the whole thing actually fit! Yay! Okay, it's not overly roomy and baby girl's cute little tummy could maybe need some more fabric but all in all it was a fun knit and a total success. B. wore it to kindergarten today and obviously the dress felt very comfy and cozy. The colors and the color gradation of the hand-spun yarn is so much fun and brighten every room.




 
Details for Dotty Dress

Pattern:
Stitch pattern is a modified color pattern out of Sheila McGregor's "Traditional Scandinavian Knitting" and has a 8 stitch repeat. The pattern was calculated after a store-bought dress. I cast on 208 stitches and started with a few rounds of stockinette stitch in main color on smaller needles to create a turned hem. The two turning rows were worked with contrast color. After turning row 30 rounds in color pattern without decreases. After that 2 decreases worked on each side every 7th round 11 times until piece measured 25 cm in width. For armholes 12 stitches cast-off on each side and simultaneously cast-on 10 stitches to form steeks. 7 more stitches decreased every 2nd round on each armhole side. When armhole measures 5 cm 28 stitches for back and front neck opening cast-off. Again with the steek stitches. When armhole measures 11 to 12 cm cast-off all stitches.

This time I used the sewing machine to secure the steeks. But since the garment was so small I couldn't get it under the sewing machine. Therefore I carefully cut the steeks beforehand securing them with small straight stitches on the machine afterwards. It's still a strange feeling to cut up your knitting but again it worked just fine. The hems were picked up with the smaller needle, knitted in stockinette stitch and I made them into turned hems to hide the cut steeks. They mirror the turned bottom hem. It was a bit of a pain stitching down the facing and all that. But the end result is a very professional looking finish.

Gauge: 31 sts = 10 cm

Yarn:
100 g Regia 4-ply uni, natural
75 g hand-spun Corriedale by Sunset Fibers

Needles:
2.5 mm circulars for hems
2.75 mm for body

Size: 12 to 18 month

Ja, ich stricke auch noch. Zur Zeit arbeite ich mit viel Freude an einem gepunkteten Kleid fürs Mäuschen. Inspiration war hierzu zum einen der Westover "Dotty" von Kaffe Fassett aus dem Rowan-Heft Nr. 40 und zum anderen das unten abgebildete handgesponnene Garn aus dem Kammzug von Sunset Fibers. Ich habe das Garn so gesponnen, dass der Farbverlauf des Kardenbands erhalten bleibt. Details zum Projekt gibt es wie immer wenn es fertig ist.


Yes, I'm still knitting. At the moment I'm enjoying myself immensely with a little stranded project for my little girl. The dotted dress is inspired by Kaffe Fassett's vest "Dotty" from Rowan magazine No. 40 and the funny handspun yarn out of Sunset Fibers' handdyed Corriedale Top. I spun the yarn specifically to preserve the color transitions of the roving. More info on the project to follow as soon as it's done.

This project got done about the same time as the baby socks but somehow I have not yet managed to blog about it. It's my reinterpretation of the classic slipover/vest garment. I call it "Rose Red" because several people commented on the cute rosebud borders. Besides, worn with a skirt and a frilly white blouse it looks fit for a fairy tale setting. The design is - once again - of my own devising. I dropped the initial idea of a cabled lower part in favor of a fake cable pattern stitch because it is much less bulky and a lot faster to knit. Most of the shaping is achieved by the difference in gauge between the ribbing and the plain stockinette fabric. To accomodate for my curvy figure I added four gussets (two back, two front) to the lower part and bust darts to the front within the stockinette part of the garment. The neat border is actually just one repeat of the fake cable pattern. The whole thing was actually very straighforward knitting and to my utter surprise it fits well and was already worn several times. My math and a certain measure of knitting experience obviously were up to the task of knitting by the seat of my pants this time around. Should I find some more time on my hands once my baby girl is settled in kindergarten I might write the pattern down, maybe calculate a couple of different sizes and make it available on the net.

Details
Yarn: 250 g Lang Yarns Delta (50% cotton, 50% microfiber acrylic; 123 m/50 g; col. 61/cherry)
Needles: 3.5 mm
Size: DE 42-44 (UK 16/US 14/L-XL)
Pattern: my own

Fake cable ribbing
Cast on multiple of 5 (plus 2 edge stitches if desired)
Row 1: #slip one as if to knit, knit two, pass slipped stitch over 2 knitted stitches but do not remove stitch from left needle, knit 1 from remaining stitch instead and finally let slipped stitch drop; purl 2; repeat from #
Row 2 and 4: #knit 2, purl 3, repeat from #
Row 3: # knit 3, purl 2, repeat from #
Repeat rows 1 to 4 to create ribbing that resembles cables.

For rosebud border work pattern for 5 rows casting off in ribbing as set.

Kurzer Statusbericht: die beiden Ärmel sind fertig, einer ist bereits gewaschen und gespannt. Das Rückenteil ist angeschlagen, Bündchen ist gestrickt und das eigentliche Muster ist etabliert. Nach einigen Versuchen, einiger Rechnerei und jeder Menge Pi-Mal-Daumen habe ich mich letztendlich entschlossen, das Rückenteil entsprechend der größten Größe in der Anleitung zu arbeiten. Durch die Rippen, das Perlmuster und die Zöpfe ist im Gestrick sehr viel Spielraum und ich denke, nach dem Spannen, wird es auf die richtige Größe hinauslaufen. Nun muss ich nur noch stricken und zwischendrin ein bißchen rechnen für die Taillierung.

Progress note: both sleeves are done, one is even washed and blocked. I cast on for the back, made it through the ribbing and established the actual pattern. With my constant companions Mr Trial and Ms Error, lots of calculating and even more guesswork I decided on knitting the largest size given. So far it seems to turn out okay. The ribbing, moss stitch and cable work combined with my yarn and gauge lend the fabric quite a lot of give which suggests that through blocking I will end up with the correct size. Now it's only knitting, knitting, knitting with a bit of calculating in between for the waist shaping.

Unsere kleine Tochter macht uns viel Freude und sie wächst und gedeiht prächtig. So langsam hat sich der Alltag ein wenig eingespielt und nach etwas Abstinenz vom Bloggen gibt es von mir nun mal wieder einen strickbezogenen Eintrag. Den Bericht eines FO bin ich nämlich noch schuldig. Am Tag vor der Geburt von Berenike ist der Arisaig Wrap nach langer Zeit endlich fertig geworden. Zwischen Wehen im 15-Minuten-Takt habe ich es tatsächlich geschafft, alle Einzelteile zusammenzunähen. Yay! :-) Und das beste daran: die Jacke passt hervorragend.

Wie immer ist das ganze natürlich nicht einfach so nach Anleitung gestrickt, sondern wurde hier und da kräftig manipuliert, um meinen Bedürfnissen zu entsprechen. Zunächst stimmte z.B. meine Maschenprobe nicht mit der vorgegebenen überein, so dass ich anstatt einer L oder XL im Prinzip nach der Anleitung für die zweitkleinste Größe gestrickt habe. Mächtig zugegeben habe ich dagegen in der Länge, da mir schon vom Foto des Modells her klar war, dass die Jacke viel zu kurz werden würde für meine 1,80 m. Einzig bei den Ärmeln war ich etwas zu großzügig. Das Durchbruchmuster hat sich beim Spannen extrem in die Länge gezogen, so dass ich nun die Ärmel umkrempeln muss. Macht mir allerdings nicht so viel aus, da ich sowieso lieber zu lange als zu kurze Ärmel habe. Als Verschluss für die Innenseite habe ich anstatt eines Knopfes einen Haken und eine Öse verwendet. Insgesamt ist die Jacke mittlerweile bereits zu einem gerne und viel getragenen Lieblingsstück avanciert, besonders in der nicht-ganz-kalten-nicht-ganz-warmen Zwischenjahreszeit.



Our little girl is giving us nothing but joy and we've settled into a comfortable rythm by now so I finally get to update this blog with something knitting related after my little hiatus. Just the day before Berenike was born I finished sewing up the pieces of Arisaig in between contractions that came and went all Saturday.

As always I did not strictly follow instructions since I used a different yarn which gave me a totally different gauge and since I'm considerably taller than the average girl. My cardigan is based on the second smallest size with lengthwise adjustments. After blocking the sleeves turned out a tad too long for even my taste but I refused to redo them so I'm just turning them up. Suits me just fine since I like my sleeves just this side of way too long anyway ;o) I used a hook for closure on the inside.

All in all the cardigan turned out lovely, fits well and already advanced to a well-worn favourite of mine - especially now that days are getting chillier but are not quite cold enough to warrant a real sweater.

Details
Pattern: Arigsaig from Knitty.com's Fall 2005 issue
Yarn: 400 grams/16 balls of Lana Grossa Cashmere+ (25 g/92m; 35% cashmere, 35% merino, 30% viscose) which unfortunately has been discontinued a while back
Needles: 3.5 mm
Gauge: 18.5 stiches and 30 rows = 4" square in lace pattern after blocking
Size: based on 2nd smallest size with adjustments in length to fit a 5'11'' gal