Spring Quartet

It's a fine feeling to learn something new - and an even greater feeling when you can except that you were wrong. You see, I've always been a knitter of wool. I work with wool all year round no matter the temperature. I do own a few summer knits in cotton but I don't like knitting cotton. It has no flexibility or the puffiness of wool so I mostly work with wool and wool mixes. The Finnish summer is quite cold so there is always a need for wool but you can't make warm weather clothes out of wool. Or could you? This is the antiquated truth I no longer believe in.

What: Spring Quartet / Anna Johanna

How: Circular needles 3.5 mm

From: Dandelion Yarns Falkland Fingering, 160 g

It all started last fall at the annual craft fair in Tampere. For the first time ever, dyers and yarn shops from abroad were allowed at the Finnish craft fair and they had a little corner for them in one of the great halls. Of course, it was my first destination at the fair. One of the dyers there was Dandelion Yarns from Sweden. Anna was so lovely and offered me to take a few springy green skeins of her gorgeous Falkland Merino for designing. The yarn immidiately let me know it was destined to grow up to be a fitted lace cardigan. And when yarn tells you what to do with it, you don't argue.

Then finally, it was spring and the right time for a springy green lace cardigan. I searched for just the right lace pattern, made a swatch and calculated and graded the pattern. I designed cardigan with a lace back and a bit of lace on the front that would slowly disappear. The cardigan was to have long sleeves - you know, who would ever need a wool cardigan with short sleeves?!

I went to knitting retreat in the spring and chatted about fitted lace cardigans with my friend. She told me it would be nice if I included also short sleeves in the pattern. Sure, I could do that. I desided I would first make the short sleeved version, take a few pics, unravel the bind off and make the long sleeves and finally, take pictures of the cardigan with the intended long sleeves.

But look what happened! Once I put the short sleeved, lacy wool cardigan on me, there was no going back. Despite of all my misbeliefs about wool and short sleeved summer cardigans, it turned out that wool is an excellent material for lighter knits as well. I've been wearing the cardigan non-stop. It's the perfect companion for dresses and the short sleeves keep it from being too hot to wear during warm weather.

In the end, I didn't have the heart to unravel the bind off and work the long sleeves. The short-sleeved version has been so great I didn't want longer sleeves after all. You can see long-sleeved versions by my test knitters on Ravelry.

Spring quartet is a fitted lace cardigan with raglan sleeves. The back has a lace panel and the front lace slowly decreases until it completely disappears. The cardigan has waist shaping and a cropped hem, making it a perfect companion for dresses. The pattern includes instructions for both short and long sleeves. And the short-sleeved version especially works up in no time and uses so little yarn. You can find the pattern in my Ravelry store and get 25 % introductory discount during this week with the code DANDELION.

I've also started expanding the size range I offer to include 10 sizes from XXS to 3XL. So, Spring Quartet has finished bust circumferences 31-57.5''. I hope the new size range is a more inclusive one.