Plum twist

So many ideas and so little time.

What: Plum twist / Own pattern

How: Circular needle 3.25 mm

From: Madelinetosh Twist Light, 242 g

Once again, I had an idea for a cardigan. It often happens that the plans I have for a yarn when buying it are totally different from what it actually becomes on my needles. Some year ago, I bought these lovely pink skeins of Madelinetosh, thinking I would knit Hitofude. Except then I ran into a gorgeous forest green Hitofude on Ravelry and couldn't imagine making one in pink anymore. The plans changed a few times over the years until finally, the skeins ended up in my own cardigan design. The only thing left from my original plan was that I knitted lace with them.

The cardigan is worked seamlessly top down. It features set-in sleeves that are worked at the same time with the body till underarms - the same sleeve construction as in Uan or Soulful. The sleeves are 3/4 length and have garter stitch at the cuff. The hem, button bands and neckline are also garter stitch. This is a lovely basic cardigan but with a twist in the back.

The lace in Plum twist is fun, kind of ribbed. The pattern is made up of simple decreases and yarn overs. After a while, it's easilly memorized. I was trying out a more ambitious lace but after fighting with it for a couple of hours I realized it wasn't a good idea. If I lost my cool with it already in the beginning, who else would ever want to give it a try? This simpler lace was much more relaxing.

The cardigan is slim fitted so if you want a more relaxed look , choose a size with a little positive ease at the bust. There are nine sizes: XXS-XS-S [M1-M2-L1] L2-XL-XXL. Mine is M2 on a 38'' bust.

This was my first time working with Madelinetosh Twist Light. This type of a twist is my favorite and the yarn was so soft. I liked it a lot. It was also a very light yarn choice, making for a perfect spring cardi. Now, I just need this snow to go away. The skeins were from the same dye lot but were a bit different and actually accidentally made a little fade with the top part being lighter than the hem. A happy accident indeed!

You can buy the pattern by clicking the link or from Ravelry. On Ravelry, you can get 20 % off the price with the code PlumSPRING if you buy the pattern by the end of the week.

Liquid

From time to time, it's fun to challenge yourself. I challenged myself to design something simple for a change. I'll never do anything complitely mindless - it's just not me - but more simple than usual.

What: Liquid / Own pattern

How: Circular needles 3.5 mm

From: Les petits points parisiens Single fingering, 182 g

In the fall, I was visiting yarnshop Silmukka at Tampere because they had visitors from Paris. My visit there was a bit comical in all the hurry. We were on our way to a wedding and I had about 5 minutes to shop me some handdyed delicacies. So there I was, running in with my party dress and high heels, and then running out with my hands full of yarn shouting after me how sorry I was I couldn't stay longer.

But back to business, and by business I mean the lovely yarn: this gorgeous sea colored merino single. A while ago I was asked what is this merino single everyone keeps talking about. If you're not familiar with the term it means yarn made from merino wool but with just one ply. Most yarns hve multiple plies to make the yarn more durable but single ply yarns are softer. Granted, they show wear and tear more easilly, but oh, how soft they are. So, there I was with two skeins of lovely merino singles in the most gorgeous color. Two skeins is enough for a hat-mitts-cowl set or one decent sized shawl. And a shawl fitted well in my plans to design something simple for a change.

After a little conversations, the merino singles told me they wanted to be turned into a cresent shaped shawl with garter stitch, because merino singles and garter stitch just are a match made in heaven. I negotiated with the skeins if they would be fine with me adding some lace. They said it was fine - as long as the lace would be easy to memorize. I promised to hold my horses and we made a deal. Although, at the last moment I made an ultimatum that I would be adding short row shaping or the deal was off. Once the negotiations were done, the knitting was a breeze.

The shawl has alternating garter stitch and lace sections and the lace is shaped with short rows. As the shawl grows, so does the height of the lace sections. And in the end, there's more lace than garter stitch. The shawl is finished off with picot bind off. Simple but gorgeous.

You can find the pattern on Ravelry and you can get 25 % off the price until Wednesday (Finnish time) with the code LiQuiD.

The yarn for this design was sponsored by Les petits points parisiens.