Oh, Honey!

Thank you for the well-wishes for my health. It's been a doozy of a bug, and I was home for half the week, coughing my head off...but it means I also got the French Braid cardigan done.

I actually finished up the last sleeve this morning, then raced up to Mom's get get pictures.

I have to say, this is the perfect autumn cardigan, not just because of the colour I knit it, but just in it's sheer wearability. It's one of those cardigans you can throw on instead of a coat, and it will pretty much go with anything in your wardrobe.I  made it specifically to go with the dress in the pictures, but I have several other sundresses in my closet it will work with. It also looks good with my jeans and my dress pants. And just like the pattern says - it's even great with pajamas!

This was knit with Rowan Bamboo Tape (colour is Honey). I bought it many, many moons ago, and it's nice to see it out of my stash. I'm a big lover of bamboo yarns - I love the sheen, the drape, and the washability. But this is a ribbon yarn, and I have a love/hate relationship with ribbon yarn. I see it in the skein, and I fall in love with it, but then I start knitting with it, and I don't love it any more.

I'd say ribbon yarn is great for people who don't have perfect tension, because there's no way you're getting perfect tension with it. The fabric definitely has a "hand-knit" look to it. (Which is not necessarily a bad thing). It does help the cables pop, but is not nearly a nice for the lace portion. But the drape made it ideal for this pattern.

 

The pattern is well-written and designed, so there's no complaint there. I made a few minor mods, but just for my own personal preferences.

First, the pattern has just plain 2-2 rib across the bottom. It's hard to see in the pictures, but while most of mine is 2-2,  it alters to match the flow of the cables. The pattern also has only 3/4 inches of ribbing on the bottom, I did almost  four inches, and it looks more balanced to my eye.

I also narrowed the sleeves.I don't like bulky, floppy sleeves, and knitting the pattern as written was going to make them too big for my long skinny ape arms.

I have to say, I love knitting shawls, and socks because they knit quickly, but there's just something immensely satisfy about knitting a whole sweater or cardigan. I really should knit more of them!