Sweater weather!

Dark, cold, snowy January is always a long haul in my part of the world, but cardigans help. Late last year, just over a year after learning to knit, I finished my first sweater. The pattern I chose was Stylecraft 9717 Cardigan and I made it in Carnival Tweed – Parade, which is a 30% wool, 70% acrylic yarn in pretty shades of green, pink, blue and purple. This was one of the first patterns I paid for and it was worth it; the instructions were quite clear and easy to follow. This is more of a fitted cardigan, rather than a slouchy oversized one, but it’s still really cozy. As you can see it has a lot of cabling in it and at certain points I wondered why I had chosen something quite so complicated for my first sweater. But in the end I was glad I did. I made a gauge swatch first, blocked after knitting and the sizing was right on. The most stressful part for me was probably seaming it together! I have worn this sweater many times since making it, and would like to make a couple more in some of the other Carnival Tweed shades!

Seaming fun!