Stonecrop Cardigan

I bought the green yarn I used for this sweater when the Columbia Gorge Fiber Fest was still called the Columbia Gorge Fiber Fest (now it's the Knot Another Fiber Festival) back in 2016.  I still had brown hair, 

as this not very good picture of Stephanie Pearl McPhee and I proves.  My friend (and my daughter's future mother-in-law) Andrea and her husband met my husband and I in the Dalles, OR for a fun knitterly weekend.  We (the we that is Andrea and I) took a class from Stephanie.  I bought this yarn thinking I'd make Endearment - a sweater I'd knit once for my daughter.  It was (and still is) a great pattern and I like the sweater a lot.  But then this fall, Andrea Mowry published the Stonecrop pullover and cardigan patterns.  I wanted to knit this cardigan.  So my yarn from the Fiber Fest,  Posh B by Alpha B yarns, was repurposed.  For the contrast, the pattern calls for Spincycle Dyed in the Wool yarn.  I used Spincycle Dreamstate (a worsted weight) for the Humulus sweater.  Ever since, I've been looking for an excuse to use the Robin's Egg colorway.  So I ordered a couple of skeins and had a new plan.

A couple of yarn thoughts:
I'm the ONLY knitter on Ravelry with a project using the Posh B yarn.  There isn't another yarn by Alpha B with this fiber content.  Back in 2016, in the Dalles, I remember a whole display of this yarn.  Now I've checked the label about 8 times as I did my Ravelry entry and typed this blog post.  I have the yarn tags.  But otherwise, you'd think this yarn doesn't exist.

As for the Spincycle yarn, all the colors in Robin's Egg coordinate well with this Two Olives, Please green color yarn.  But, the tan shades have very little contrast with the green.  So the fair isle design shows up better in some parts of this sweater than others.  I decided to commit to the Spincycle and I'm not sorry I did.  I kind of like that some parts are more subtle than others.  But someone else might make a different decision.

I followed the pattern as written except that my row gauge was a bit off, so when I calculated things like the sleeve length, I took that into account.  I wasn't sure I loved all the bobbles in this sweater, and I knew I wouldn't enjoy making that many of them.  So after a few experiments on my swatch, I left them out altogether, substituting a purl stitch when I came to them.



I also used smaller buttons than called out in the sweater.  Mine were 7/16" (11mm) instead of 3/4".  And I only used 9 of them.  Since I was using smaller buttons, I made K2tog YO buttonholes.  I used this site to plan the buttonhole placement.

I used my sewing machine to anchor the steek stitches, since I can't count on this superwash yarn to felt or cling to itself.  Then I covered the cut edge in some Anna Maria Horner ribbon I have stashed away.


Stonecrop Cardi

• Pattern by Andrea Mowry (at Drea Renee Knits or on Ravelry)
• 4 skeins Posh B by Alpha B Yarn, 83% superfine Merino / 17% Cashmere, 382 yards/100 grams.  Two Olives, Please colorway
• 2 skeins Spincycle Dyed in the Wool, 200 yards/skein 100% superwashed American wool, Robin's Egg colorway
• Size 3 (38.5" finished bust) 
• US size 5 and size 3 needles 
• Buttons style #400060163 from La Mode (tan)
• Ribbon (not available anymore, I think) Feathers from Anna Maria Horner 
• in Ravelry

I suspect a little bit of my love for this sweater is a longing for spring.