Queen Bee Knits

Knitting, Living, Loving, Baking, Tips, Tools and Idle Chatter

A Fear of Stranded Knitting Conquered

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Queen Bee Knits

I bought a Lobster Hat kit at Over the Rainbow Yarns in Rockland, Maine several years ago. I bought it for my daughter for Christmas that year with a promise that I’d knit it for her. Fast forward to today and I “found” the kit in my time out cabinet and decided to give it a go and see if I can’t finish it (finally!!!) All those years ago, I’d begun the knitting but I wasn’t particularly confident about it. I didn’t know how to carry the floats well and my tension was wonky. So I frogged what I had begun, rewound the yarn and started over.

I had avoided stranded knitting/colorwork and Fair Isle for a long, long time. I’ve blogged about this before. But a few years ago my co-worker showed my a pair of beautiful (and warm) Snowflake Mittens and I HAD to knit them. I’ve knitted many pairs of them (one story included two left hands!) and have taught many knitters to make them, too. Worsted weight yarn and only two colors didn’t feel too overwhelming but I wasn’t really eager to try the finer yarns or more than two colors.

This year, however, the stranded knitting projects have been coming at me from everywhere! My co-worker, Peggy, and I made the Sunset Highway sweater. I found a knitted coffee cup cozy pattern that is a Fair Isle pattern knit in the round and steeked as a practice for a sweater I want to knit. I made a Christmas stocking for my daughter. I am knitting a pair of socks, as part of a MKAL and our 2020 Sock Knitting Challenge that is stranded knitting. I just took a class with Mary Jane Mucklestone that turned into a test knit project for her, the subject of which was a Fair Isle cowl (the pattern is coming soon!) And then I found the Lobster Hat.

So, riight now, on my needles is a pair of socks and (ta! da!) the lobster hat. I need to cast on another pair of Snowflake mittens, too, for a friend. I’m really pleased and proud to say that I am feeling very confident with colorwork/stranded knitting. Progress through practice!

Gone Knitting!

You can find out more about these projects and more on my Ravelry Project page. I’m lindar on Ravelry. Find me on Facebook and Instagram @QueenBeeKnits.

Mary Jane Mucklestone!!!

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Queen Bee Knits

YOU GUYS!!! I took a class with Mary Jane Mucklestone!!!

Late last week, my co-worker, Glenda, shared with me that she was going to take a class at the Farnsworth with Mary Jane Mucklestone. Needless to say, I was hoping that my calendar and husband would be supportive of me doing the same … and that there would still be space in the class when I signed up! The knitting gods were smiling in my favor so on Saturday afternoon, Glenda and I, driven by my handsome hubby, went to Rockland!

Mary Jane is a wonderful and knowledgable teacher. The class was inspired by my friend and knitting idol, Katharine Cobey, who has a one woman show at the Farnsworth through April 12, 2020. Go see the show. It’s magnificent. I blogged about it here. Katharine made famous diagonal knitting and the class was a Fair Isle design based on “diagonal” knitting but the Fair Isle way. Mary Jane was kind enough to bring one pattern for her Flying Geese Cowl about which she had intended to teach the class. She also was inspired to design another cowl pattern very shortly (days) before the class was to happen and we also got that cowl. It is, as yet, unnamed.

We learned a lot about choosing colors when knitting in the Fair Isle way. We were to come to class with an inch or so of ribbing in a dark, high-contrast color. I chose an Ella Rae Classic Wool in a dark charcoal gray. (Details on all my yarns are on my Ravelry project page. Find me on Ravelry, I’m “lindar”.) I brought a bunch of leftovers from my stash in various colors that I like which you can see above. Since you don’t need a whole lot of any one color, in this case, I brought bits and bobs. We needed three colors to really have some fun and I finally chose the creamy white Galway worsted and the one right next to it which is an ice blue colorway in a Paton’s Classic wool. All three are worsted weight and plain old wool.

While we were knitting, Mary Jane serenaded us with stories and tales about her travels to and knitting from Fair Isle. She is a wonderful story teller and full of knitting knowledge. I really enjoyed listening to her talk. She brought TONS of samples of Fair Isle motifs, talked about and demonstrated how some yarn colors, shades and tones, play well together – or don’t. It was a wonderful day.

Glenda, my co-worker, has finished knitting her Flying Geese cowl and she was blocking it when we last spoke. I must be knitting too slowly. I am planning to finish my cowl today because we have a snow day today so it’s an unexpected “free” day to sit in my atelier to knit. I don’t think I have to tell you that both cowls are fun to knit and a good way to learn to knit with two colors at a time (and you don’t have to catch the floats!)

I offered and Mary Jane has accepted me as a test knitter for this pattern and I am happy to oblige. Deadline is 2/13/2020 … so I had best stop “talking” and go knit!

Gone knitting!

Proof. Fan girl photo! Thanks for obliging me, Mary Jane!

2020 The Year of the Rat

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Queen Bee Knits

Hello 2020!

Time sure does fly. I’ve told more than one friend and/or family member that I thought life would slow down and change after my kids were little and life was so busy-active. Once they grew up and had homes of their own, I imagined that time would slow and life would be less busy. Turns out that I was totally wrong. The time seems to only go by more quickly.

So, with that said, this is my first post of the new year and new decade. The year of the rat according to the Chinese calendar. I think it’s going to be another wonderful healthy year full of fun and lots of good knitting!

We have started 2020 with a Sock Challenge. Twelve pairs of socks, one each month. Two pairs can be little socks for children or “peds”, two need to be something you’ve never done before. I have finished two pairs of socks so far this year and am up to the heel on the first sock of the third pair.

January pair number one is for my granddaughter, Rose. Her name explains the color choice, n’est ce pas? Pattern is Yankee Knitter’s Classic Socks for the Whole Family. I did a 3 x 1 rib down the leg and on the top of the foot. Knitting for children, who grow too quickly, I like to build in a little bit of wiggle room. I measured their feet in May so I gave them an extra half-inch in foot length and made the large child size. This Cascade Heritage wool is nice and soft.

February pair number two is my DH’s Christmas socks. I’ve begun to give him a ball of yarn in his Christmas stocking (also hand-knit, not by me) because we all know that Christmas knitting leaves little time for selfish knitting and it’s the old cobbler’s children philosophy: no hand knit socks for my DH until after the paid knitting is finished. Anyway, this pair is also Yankee Knitter’s Classic Sock pattern and it’s a sport weight yarn by KFI with a touch of cashmere. They’re very soft and felt good on my knitting hands! That said, there are spots where it seemed like the dye hadn’t completely saturated the yarn but I hope that doesn’t reflect on the socks themselves. I have two more balls of this yarn because it feels so good. Another blue and a grey.

I’ve been wearing and loving wearing my Love Note sweater by Tin Can Knits. I love the yarn, the weight, the color and the fit. This may be my very most favorite sweater of the year and decade (so far!) I have a couple of other sweaters coming up on my queue and it’ll be interesting to see if I like them as well as I like my Love Note!

Today we had a visitor in our yard. I am so privileged to live on the edge of a lake in Central Maine. The Belgrade Lakes area is a well-known summer spot but it’s also a fun place to live in the winter. I know, many of you are wondering if my mental health is stable but I have to say, I love the snow and I love watching the different seasons and the way the lake and life changes. Today has been a relatively warm winter day for Maine and the lake was crawling with ice fishermen (and women), snow machines, and birds. I was thrilled when I returned from lunching with a girlfriend and saw a Bald Eagle on the lake about three quarters of a mile from our front porch. Later this afternoon, as I was sitting at my desk working, another (or maybe the same) eagle left the ice and flew straight toward our house and landed in our tree. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, “it doesn’t get old”! What a thrill watching these birds! I do have to watch the little dogs very carefully in the winter – an eagle or a big owl or hawk would love a shitzu feast.

Not a great photograph but he or she flew off just after I snapped this photo!

My philosophy for the next year is to be kind. Truthful and kind. Accepting and kind. Healthy and kind. Happy and kind. Loving and kind. Simply put I want to bee happy … and kind.

Gone knitting!

You can read more about my projects and yarns on my Ravelry project page. My Ravelry name is Lindar. You can also find Queen Bee Knits on Facebook and @QueenBeeKnits on Instagram.

Final FOs of 2019

Posted on December 31, 2019 by Queen Bee Knits

Today is the last day of 2019 … a year ending and a decade ending! Yikes! I’ve been working to get a couple of projects finished so that I could happily say that I finished 60 projects this year.

This morning I finished the Love Note Sweater by Tin Can Knits. I love this sweater and I love the way it fits! The way that the neckline is designed is brilliant! A provisional cast on leaves live stitches and you just knit a few rounds above the yoke and ta! da! the neckline (and the sweater) are complete. I was worried that it would be too wide but it’s not. It’s perfect!

I loved the way this sweater knit up quickly holding together two strands of yarn on large needles. I used Jojoland Ballad and Debbie Bliss Angel in this beautiful teal-y blue color that I love. The yoke is a simple lace pattern repeated a couple of times and then there’s a bunch of stockinette stitch. The body of the sweater was great car knitting for our trip from Maine to New York City for Christmas! I’m really excited to wear it! I made the XL-XXL size and used five skeins of each yarn.

I finished my very last last FO for 2019 this afternoon. The pattern is Mochi Plus Trout Fishy. This pattern was very sweetly sent to me by another knitter. I reached out to her through Ravelry because when I finally got around to knitting the first fish, the pattern was gone. Gone! No longer available. Anywhere! The yarn company was gone and so was its website and the free patterns. I was so sad! I’d even collected some Mochi Plus for the first few fish. I’m so grateful to her for being willing to scan and email me the pattern and I think you’ll have to agree that the fish is wonderful!!!

My original goal was to knit a school of fish to hang from the ceiling between our front door and the door onto our porch on the lake. I’ve since decided that it could be any handmade fish … because I’ll be knitting fish until I die and there are a lot of other things that I want to knit!

Two down, seventy-bazillion left to go! 🙂

Gone Knitting!

Learn more about my project on my Ravelry project page. I’m LindaR on Ravelry. I’d love to have you follow me on Facebook where I am Queen Bee Knits by Linda Warner. I’m also on Instagram as @QueenBeeKnits.

Rearranging My Atelier

Posted on December 30, 2019 by Queen Bee Knits

Today we turned my atelier upside down! My sweet husband helped me to rearrange my atelier furniture this afternoon. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and today we made it happen … it wasn’t easy!

I had some cupboards built on the lake end of my studio and now that they’re finished, I needed to rearrange things. What I’ve been thinking about was moving the two chairs onto the same (and only big) wall in the front room but that meant moving the Ikea shelf to the other end of the studio. I was concerned that it wouldn’t fit. Turns out that I was right. But there is good news! I married a handy guy! My hubby got out his tools and took off the baseboards so that, with the file cabinets stacked up, it all squeezes in! Yippee!!! (And then he cut and replaced the baseboards so it looks finished!

I spent the rest of the afternoon putting things back. And dusting.

I still have pictures to hang, more things to put away and my husband is going to build me a desk tomorrow (if he doesn’t go to work). I had a huge slab of wood with natural edges as a desk in the old arrangement. We (the royal we) will cut it down to fit between the new cabinets. The much smaller desk will hold my laptop and a lamp. I’ll find a smaller rolling chair for those days when I have to spend time working there. I’ll have my big desk chair for sale!

I’m loving the new arrangement so far. The dogs have more space in the evenings when we gather in my studio to watch the news and I have a place to stretch or maybe even do yoga. A girl has to consider these things! 🙂 I’ll post some pictures when it’s finished.

Gone Knitting!

Fingerless Mitts in a Weekend – a free pattern

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Queen Bee Knits

This weekend was Thanksgiving and I decided to cast on a new and very simple project. Something I can make to sell. Well, they’re already off to their new home and I got them started AND finished over the course of the weekend. And I didn’t sell them. My daughter wanted them and I was more than happy to oblige!

Several people have asked me for my pattern. It’s an antique pattern with a lot of little changes.

Fingerless Mitts in a Weekend

220 yards (100g) Worsted Weight wool yarn. For my sample I used Ella Rae Classic Wool in colorway #164; a heathery light purple.

Set of 4 US 4 double pointed needles

1 stitch marker

Lengths of scrap yarn or yarn holders to hold thumb stitches

Cuff: to make a women’s mitt cast on 44 stitches and K2, P2 for 3 inches. You can certainly make the cuff longer but remember you may need more yarn. On the last row (it can be an extra row after 3 inches, don’t sweat it. Just remember what you did so you can do the same on the second mitt) *k1, k1fb, p2, (k2, P2) ten times, repeat from * one more time. Two stitches increased. 46 stitches total.

Knit six rounds plain. (No increases or decreases.)

Begin Thumb Gusset increases:

K1fb, k1, K1fb, PM (place marker) knit to the beginning of the round.

Knit 1 round plain

K1fb, k3, K1fb, SM (slip marker) knit to the beginning of round.

Knit 1 round plain

Continue in this manner, increasing in the first stitch and the stitch before the marker, slip the marker and then knit to the end of the round; knit two rounds plain until there are 15 thumb stitches. (The stitches between the beginning of round and the marker are the thumb gusset, extra stitches to accommodate your thumb.) You need to remember to knit two rounds after the last increase round.

Now thread a needle with some scrap yarn about a foot long. Slip the 15 thumb stitches from the DPN to scrap of yarn (or a stitch holder. I like using a scrap of yarn because I can keep trying on the mitts.) You have 15 thumb stitches on holder and 46 stitches on the Dpns.

Cast on three stitches, connect again for knotting around the hand stitches. Knit all stitches in the round until the hand is as long as you want it to be. I like my hands (mostly) covered so I knit until the hand is about at the first joint of my pinkie finger.

Begin ribbing: k2tog, K1, (P2, K2) to the last two sts, P2. 48 sts total.

Continue on pattern as set (Knit 2, Purl 2 around) for five rounds. Bind off in pattern.

Thumb: slip 15 thumb stitches onto dpns. cast on 5 stitches at the «crotch » of the thumb (where you cast on three stitches.)

Knit 3 rounds plain

K2, P2 around for five rounds. Bind off in pattern.

Make the second mitt just the same.

Weave in ends. Block gently. Or just wear them!

Mind you, I haven’t had these mitts test knit or tech edited. I’m happy to take your suggestions and edits should you find « issues » when you’re knitting.

These are the mitts that I taught last session at the adult education program here. I also taught my students to embroider on the fabric knitted. There are lots of pictures out there of embroidery on knitting. I also used this pattern for these mitts with self-patterning yarn. Be fearless! Have fun!

Gone knitting.

Follow me on Instagram @QueenBeeKnits

I’m also on Facebook: Queen Bee Knits by LindaWarner

I’m lindar on Ravelry

The Fourth Mitten

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Queen Bee Knits

Three years ago … THREE YEARS AGO … I wrote a blog post about finishing a pair of mittens that were samples for a class that I was teaching. 4-Needle Mittens were the subject. (Laughing All the Way is the post.)

Anywho … today, three years later, I finished the fourth mitten!

These are my favorite mittens and I love knitting this pattern. They’re the first color work that I knitted and where I fell in love with the technique. I’ve made quite a few pairs, lots of different color combinations, all beautiful.

I started this mitten on Friday and finished it today (and I worked all day yesterday at the shop!) It’s not rocket science but it’s necessary to know how to follow a chart. In this pattern, the first mitten, the left mitten, is knitted by reading the chart from right to left. To knit the right mitten, you ready the chart from left to right. Obviously, when I taught my class, I made a slight(ly huge) mistake and read the chart for the second mitten the wrong way! (Duh!) This time I got smart and used a simple tool to remind me to knit the chart the right way.

The neon pink “Highlighter Tape” is a great tool to use when you’re knitting. I used the tape to mark the completed rows and added an arrow to remind me to knit from the left. I keep my patterns in a protective plastic sleeve and the highlighter tape is easy to move and replace! It helped me keep track, too, of where I am. I bought mine at my LYS and it’s available at Amazon.com, too.

My favorite, FAVORITE, part … the inside of the thumb

I’m so pleased to have finished the mittens and to have sold them to a dear friend for her daughter with cold hands. The pattern is really old and I haven’t been able to find it anywhere other than on the often-copied pattern given to me by my colleague, Bette.

What colors will I use for the next pair?

To be continued.

Gone Knitting.

Success!?

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Queen Bee Knits

What is our measure of success? People measure success by the cars they drive, the homes they own, the jobs they have, how much money they make and a lot of other things. It’s different for all of us. Right?

I’ve measured my success by looking at what others think of me for much of my life. It’s only after a ton of therapy and the grace of having had a lot of time on this planet, that I can say that I feel successful. I’m content. Content with the life that we’ve built here on the lake in Maine.

Members of my Friday Knitting Group loving each other … kindness is rampant in this group!

I feel successful at work. I have created a circle of customers and friends and students who I enjoy spending time with. I feel like I am making a difference by sitting on two boards of trustees go organizations that have meaning to me. My kids are grown and living full lives. I’m deeply in love with the person I married and he loves me despite my perfect imperfections. (*ha! ha! ha!)

I’m feeling confident as a knitter. I’m wearing my Sunset Highway sweater today for the first time. It fits and it’s really lovely. I am quite proud to be able to make garments that I can wear. I have been finishing some projects, too, projects that have been hanging around in my studio for a long (long!) time!

Last year I was going to knit Christmas stockings for my daughter and son-in-love. Because I got a pretty good case of tendonitis, I wasn’t able to knit the stiff fabric for the stockings. But I just got them finished … with a little help from my friend and co-worker, Peggy. She took the first stocking, which I had begun over a year ago, and whipped it into shape while I started and finished the second one. They’re all steamed and finished now and ready to be gifted to the wonderful couple. Their anniversary is next week but I think I’ll save them until Thanksgiving and give them as an early Christmas present!

The stockings are both kits from Accessories Unlimited. Kits #402, Toy Soldiers and #103, Christmas Tree Stocking. The yarn isn’t what I would choose to knit with. It’s very stiff and scratchy but because it won’t be worn, it’s ok. They will hold up well and the stitches are pretty well-defined. I am very pleased with them both.

I’ve also finished a scarf promised as a trade with my herbalist. I had wanted it to be done a year ago as well but for the same reasons that the stockings weren’t done, the scarf was shelved (quite literally). Yesterday I brought it over to Danielle and she loved it. I’m pleased. It was (is) gorgeous. This is the first project I actually blocked with blocking wires. Lace really requires it. The pattern was a free one, Sage Smudging Scarf, on Ravelry and I knit it with the most gorgeous shade of gold Alegria by Manos. All of the details are on my Ravelry projects page. Suffice it to say that this scarf will adorn a neck and feel soooooo good!

When I was at Medomak Fiber Arts Retreat (or as I call it, Fiber Camp) this summer, we designed a lace cowl in our Lace class with Bristol Ivy. I have finally finished and photographed my cowl. The pattern was created using a process called “encoding” which was first brought to knitting by Naomi Parkhurst. In the yarnovers, there is a secret message.

Encoded lace … “I love Ned” and “Embraced” are hidden in the yarnovers

I’ve finished a new sample, a baby sweater, for Yardgoods. It’s Knitting Pure and Simple pattern #214, Baby Pullover. We chose a Cascade yarn, Pacific Color Wave, to knit it up in and since it’s teeny-tiny, it takes only one ball of yarn and knits up in no time at all.

I still have several projects to finish and a few to start, but I’m feeling the success all around me and it feels really good.

Gone knitting!

You can find more details about these projects and others on my Ravelry projects page. I’m Lindar. Also, follow me on Facebook, Queen Bee Knits by Linda Warner, and on Instagram, @QueenBeeKnits.

WIP … 1, 2, 3, … No Yarn, No Fabric

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Queen Bee Knits

Today I was up in my atelier after doing all of my day off list of activities when I decided to see what I’ve got in my knitting bag. I tend toward throwing whatever I want to have at work into the bag and taking it with me. Sometimes it just needs to be cleaned out. Today I discovered five projects, WIPs, in my knitting bag. All in process … some further ahead than others.

First, my husband’s sweater. I’m really working hard to knit up some of the projects already in my stash. If fact, I have a new mantra … No Yarn! No Fabric! I repeated it over and over again when my two friends at work and I went on the Maine Yarn Cruise. Anyway … I’m knitting my husband a Knitting Pure and Simple sweater in Ella Rae Classic Wool. I love these patterns because they are time-tested. The pattern is Knitting Pure and Simple #255 Henley Neck Down Pullover for Men. The yarn is Ella Rae Classic Wool in color 125.

And then there is the beautiful lace scarf that I am knitting for my herbalist friend. She needs a gift for a friend and she didn’t have the time (or the inclination) to knit a scarf. I love the Manos Alegria yarn. It’s very soft and not splitty. The color for this project is absolutely amazing. The pattern is pretty but it’s actually boring to knit. A four-row lace pattern repeated one hundred twenty times … or more. Pattern: The Sage Smudging Scarf, free on Ravelry. Yarn is Alegria by Manos del Uruguay in the Turmeric colorway.

For Christmas this year, my husband gave me some lovely wool yarn. And then he told me that it was for him – he wanted me to knit socks for him. Perhaps he should have put the yarn in HIS stocking?! This yarn is what I would call a heavy worsted and it’s working up really well but it’s a bit hard on my hands! He’ll love these socks in the winter. One sock is finished and the second sock is begun but I have put this one aside until I get a couple of projects finished that are “due” sooner. The yarn is Briggs and Little Tuffy in the Granite colorway. The pattern is Classic Socks for the Family by Yankee Knitter.

I’m knitting a pair of mittens as a sample for my Messalonskee Adult Ed class that begins in a couple of weeks. We will knit a pair of mittens and then embellish them with embroidery. I’m knitting with Ella Rae Classic Wool … they’ll be pretty mittens and they’ll also be very pretty. The plan is to embroider a bee on one mitten and maybe some flowers on the other. Maybe two bees! The pattern is Classic Mittens and Gloves for the Entire Family (this is a must-have pattern, by the way!). The yarn is Ella Rae Classic Wool in colorway 177.

A couple of weeks ago I saw the cutest crocheted hat on Facebook. It was made with a rafia “yarn” that I quickly found online and ordered. Oops? I had a bit of a challenge with the very start of the hat but with a couple of tries, I was successful and was going around and around! I’m making progress. I thought I’d have it done by Friday, but I remembered the scarf was promised in September. The hat probably won’t be worn until spring. The yarn is called Ra Ra Rafia by Wool and the Gang. The pattern is the Devon Hat (it’s free on Ravelry!)

I have two Christmas stockings, one Delores, a pair of socks, and several other projects on my atelier shelf. The stockings have got to be done by November! They’re the next two projects that have to rise to the top of the list! I have the yarn and patterns chosen for five more sweaters for me, too!

I haven’t sewn for a year but I have the fabric for two twin size quilts for the guest bedroom on the third floor, a tree quilt and a few other projects.

No yarn! No fabric!

Gone knitting!

Allison Cardigan

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Queen Bee Knits

It hasn’t been an easy path for this wonderfully soft and beautifully dyed Malabrigo Rios yarn. I started out knitting one sweater and then another but both got frogged because of the fit or the style. (Both were pretty horrendous!) The yarn went into “time out” for awhile until I found the Allison Cardigan by Hannah Fettig.

This cardigan is knitted from the top down in one piece with US7 needles. I knew that to get the right gauge, I needed to knit this yarn on a size 7 needle. This pattern seemed perfect. It’s a simple sweater, pretty straight forward in the top down sweater world.

The yarn is Malabrigo Rios in the Cirrus Grey (845) colorway. I love, love, love this color! It’s somewhere between a denim blue and grey and everything in between. I chose the Purpureas (872) colorway for the pocket. This is another rich purple color and I think it’ll be just enough zing when the interior of the pocket shows against the blue sweater. I can’t wait to wear this sweater!!! Rios is what I would call a light worsted weight merino yarn. It’s not got a whole lot of twist and that’s why I want to knit it up on a “smaller” needle. The US7, in this instance, I think will be perfect. I loved the fabric on my swatch.

The construction of the pocket was different than any pockets I’ve knitted before. It is knitted into the body of the sweater and then seamed at the sides. Initially I thought it would be bulky but it’s not. And my hands will be so warm!

Once the body of the sweater was finished, I started on the first sleeve. One of the tricks I’ve learned over the years is that if I want to make the sleeves even and balanced, I need to use the tools that I have and mark every decrease! It really helps. And the sleeves turned out the same the first time around! No adjustments necessary! Woo! Hoo!

I was a little bit (or maybe a lot) concerned that I didn’t have enough of the main color so I didn’t finish the ribbing on the bottom of the sweater until I had knitted both of the sleeves. Turns out that I didn’t have to worry. I had enough yarn and one extra skein of the purple! Maybe I’ll knit some fingerless mitts to wear with the cardigan!

Here it is before blocking (on my wonderful antique braided wool rug made by my husband’s grandmother.) I will post another picture or two after it’s blocked and in some good light. I blocked it tonight and I know I’m going to love wearing this cardigan this fall/winter!

Gone knitting!