Copenhagen Cardigan - Raglan Increases Done!

I finished up the raglan increases this morning and have set up for working the body.  When I finished the last row of the raglan portion I counted the stitches in each of my sections and was very pleased when there were all correct.  When I’m working so many rows of increases I always worry a little about forgetting one (or more) and ending up with the wrong stitch counts.  Last night I draped it around my shoulders just to see how it was fitting and it is so warm and soft.  It is going to be a very cozy cardigan.  I only have 4 balls of the purple yarn, and I’m already into my second ball, so I am a little worried about running out of yarn.  When I get to the end of this ball I’m going to work the sleeves, and then I can determine if I’m going to need another ball.  Given that I’m carrying the mohair along with the purple I’m not too concerned about possibly getting a different dye lot.  Marling can hid a multitude of sins.

Pattern:  Copenhagen Cardigan by PetiteKnit

Yarn:  Ewe Ewe Yarns Fluffy Fingering and Magicland Yarn Marvelous Mohair

Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)

Lupine Saltwind - Ribbing Done!

I finished up the ribbing last night and started working the cable design.  The gauge for the ribbing was given as 24 stitches and 23 rounds in four inches.  Now measuring in ribbing is always a bit problematic because of the stretchiness, but looking at it on the needles, I think I’m pretty good.  I am a little shy of four inches in height at 23 rounds of ribbing, but that may well block out, so I’m not worried.  I decided to stay on the US 7 needles for the body.  The set up round was a bit of a beast, as I didn’t find the designations for the cable stitches intuitive at all and had to consistently look at the instructions, but thanks to knitCompanion it was easy to keep track of where I was in the row.  When I got to the body it has you knit moss stitch, Chart A, Chart B, Chart A, moss stitch.  I flipped Chart A so that it would be a mirror image the second time I worked it, making the pattern symmetric, an easy thing to do in knitCompanion.

As I was knitting the ribbing I pondered the needle size given in the pattern.  It seemed to me that in order to get gauge with a US 9 you would have to be an incredibly tight knitter (I am not a loose knitter since I changed how I tension my yarn, nor am I a tight knitter).  But then I noted that the designer is Japanese, and I know that the Japanese size their needles differently than we do in the US, so I found a conversion chart online.  A Japanese size 9 needle is 4.8 mm, which falls right between a US 7 (4.5 mm) and a US 8 (5.0 mm).

Pattern:  Saltwind by Keiko Kikuno

Yarn:  Osprey by Quince & Co

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Copenhagen Cardigan - Making Progress!

Lest you think my Copenhagen Cardigan is being completely neglected, it hasn’t been, at least not completely.  I’ve been working through all the raglan increases, and I have a dozen more rows to go before I can split things and just work the body.  So, it is kind of slow going at this point as the rows are getting pretty long.  Once I get the ribbing done on the Lupine Saltwind and get in to the cabling, this project should see more love as it will be my TV knitting.

Pattern:  Copenhagen Cardigan by PetiteKnit

Yarn:  Ewe Ewe Yarns Fluffy Fingering & Magicland Yarn Marvelous Mohair

Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)

Lupine Saltwind - Cast On!

This yarn was a fairly recent acquisition (November 2025) and was purchased for a beautiful cabled vest that I saw in a Quince & Co. marketing email.  It was another of those “love at first sight I must make this” purchases.  The box of yarn has been sitting in my piano room (the home of new acquisitions) and after finishing the Sundrop Top I really wanted to cast it on, even though I still have the Copenhagen Cardigan on the needles.  So, I set the pattern up in knitCompanion, grabbed a skein and caked it up, grabbed some needles and cast on.

Looking at the pattern, it calls for US 9 (5.5 mm) needles, and provided 4 different gauges:  2x2 rib, 1x2 moss stitch, 1 repeat of chart A, and 1 repeat of chart B.  Looking at the yarn label it offers 2 needle sizes and 2 stitch gauges.  And no, I did not swatch.  The US 9 needles were the smaller of the 2 needles mentioned on the yarn label (US 11 - 8 mm was the other).  The only US 9 that I had in my boxes of Addi needles were 32 inch circulars, so I grabbed them and cast on for my selected size.  I didn’t read the instructions completely, however, so I actually only cast on half the required stitches.  Curiously enough, those 120 stitches fit nicely on those 32 inch cables.  Given that I knew the finished measurement was supposed to be 40 inches, I knew that I had screwed something up.  That was when I went back to the instructions and realized that I had only cast on half the required stitches.  Danger, Will Robinson!  Obviously the 2x2 ribbing gauge that I was getting on US 9 needles was going to be way off.  So, I went back to my needle stash and pulled out a US 7 (4.5 mm) needle.  The only one I had in my lace point Addi needle box was a 40 inch circular.  Perfect, I thought, so I cast on again, with the correct number of stitches and started working the 2x2 ribbing again.  I like the fabric, and I think the gauge is looking pretty good so far.  I’ll see how the row gauge works out as a get a few more rounds on the needles.  I will also have to decide what to do about needle size when I get done with the ribbing - do I stay with the US 7 (4.5 mm) or go up to a US 8 (5.0 mm).  Interestingly enough the pattern has you use the same needle size for the ribbing as for the body, which I find a bit odd.  Also, looking at the gauges given for the other stitch patterns, has me wondering what is really going on here.  One way or another I will sort this all out.

And here is the pretty yarn that I am working with.  Curiously enough, when I was watching the tracking information for the package, it said that it came from Lion Brand Yarns, which was very confusing as I had not ordered anything from them in many years.  I did notice on the invoice that it states that Quince & Co. is a division of Orchard Yarn & Thread Company, which is the parent company of Lion Brand Yarns, and also, apparently of Quince & Co.

Sundrop Top - Finished!

Wow, that was fast.  Well, not really as fast as that, although it did work up quickly.  I cast on March 27 and bound off the neck ribbing on March 31.  So a pretty quick knit.  Not quite a snack knit, but close.  The top looks better on me than on the dummy and I’m looking forward to wearing it.  It is very soft, the fabric is pretty thick, given the weight of the yarn, so the top has some heft to it, but it is very comfortable.  It dried faster than I thought it would, given the thickness of the fabric.  I had it on the blocking mats for a day and then transferred it to my sweater rack.

Pattern:  Seven Sisters Top by SloaneLacasse 

Yarn:  Blue Sky Fibers Printed Organic Cotton

Needles:  US 8 (5.0 mm) and US 10 (6.0 mm)

Sundrop Top - Cast On!

After finishing the Bunny Wishes Sweater I immediately cast on the Seven Sisters Top by SloaneLacasse for Blue Sky Fibers.  I saw this top in The Dizzy Knitter email and just fell in love with it, even though it is two things that I don’t usually go for:  Cotton yarn in Worsted weight, although coming in at 150 yards per 100 grams, I would consider it heavier than that, more of an Aran weight.  It is also knit on larger needles than I typically use - US 8 (5.0 mm) for the ribbing, and US 10 (6.0 mm) for the body.

The yarn is Printed Organic Cotton in the color Sundrop, and I also just fell in love with the color, and the variegated way it knits up.  I’m still not a huge fan of knitting with pure cotton, or with such large needles, but I am pretty happy with how this top is working up.

Pattern:  Seven Sisters Top by SloaneLacasse

Yarn:  Blue Sky Fibers Printed Organic Cotton

Needles:  US 8 (5.0 mm) and US 10 (6.0 mm)

Bunny Wishes Sweater - Finished!

I actually finished this up almost a week ago, back on March 26.  After working the body, the sleeves worked up quickly.  Overall, I am very pleased with how it came out.  It is only my second colorwork sweater.  The fit is good - roomy without being too oversized, so I can wear it over a t-shirt or turtleneck.  The sleeve length is good - I was a little nervous about that because they were definitely short before I blocked it. The overall length is good as well.  Blocking was straightforward - a good soak, roll it up in a towel and stand on it to get most of the water out, then lay it out on my blocking mats and smooth everything out.

After laying out on the blocking mats for a day, I transferred it to my sweater rack so that air could circulate around it and dry it quicker.

Pattern:  Bunny Wishes Sweater by Sarah L. Kelly

Yarn:  Fleece & Harmony Wildwinds

Needles:  US 2 (2.75 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm)