Tea Leaves Cardigan

Almost a year ago, I whined here about wanting more hand-knit sweaters for myself. Well, I am happy to report that I have a finished beauty to add to my collection (now it is a collection of 2).

Love the neckline...

I am all squealy about my new Tea Leaves Cardigan. I am wearing it all the time. I had such a hard time narrowing down which sweater to knit, so it's satisfying that this ended up being a really great choice.


The Pattern
This pattern was sooooo easy to knit. I am a big fan of working top down. (My other hand-knit sweater, Liesl, was the same.) The detail on the yoke is simple but elegant and the miles of stockinette made for great mindless TV watching/knitting. And, there is very little "finishing" work to do on this sweater which is always a big plus.

The yoke in progress.

One problem:
I actually knit a gauge swatch before I began this project because I wanted it to fit just right. I was spot-on with gauge so I was surprised in the end that my sweater is about a size bigger than I'd like it. My body measuring must be off. The next time I make a sweater for myself I am going to do more research on this subject and make sure I am doing it properly.

With that said, I did notice a lot of people on Ravelry mentioned that they ended up ripping back after knitting the yoke and making this sweater in a smaller size. So maybe it's not just me. For a better fit, I ran a piece of yarn through the neckline to tighten it up a bit. It helped immensely.

The back view of my new sweater. It could fit a wee bit snugger.

The Yarn
I used the Madelinetosh merino that the pattern specified. It was spendy, I was nervous. I was worried that it would be wonky. Then I would have a hand-knit, expensive, and ugly sweater in my collection. I put my reservations aside and mustered up my kitting bravado...casting on with confidence.

I am not that experienced knitting with hand-dyed yarns so I wasn't sure if pooling would be a problem. To be safe, I alternated between two balls on every row. A bit of a pain, but better safe than sorry.

Madelinetosh Merino in Nutmeg.

This yarn knits up like a dream. Beautiful stitch definition yet as soft as can be. And the color...oh Lordy! It is so rich. I am not generally a fan of variegated yarns, but this is so subtle. No wonder I fell in love with it in the store. This is a bad, addictive kind of love though. I want more...

Wonderful pattern, wonderful sweater. I can see why it's so popular on Ravelry. I have some dreams about the next one on the needles for me...

–Cassandra