Cranberry Rose.. errr.. vine?

I finally finished my Rambling Rose cardigan yesterday.. which I have since come to dub "Cranberry Vine".. errr.. why? Well, I didn't actually put any of the roses on there. It came out too nubbly for my liking, and the colour of my yarn is cranberry so it made sense =D


Project Details:

Pattern: Rambling Rose, by Martin Storey in Rowan #39. This was the only pattern I liked in the entire Rowan 39, and while I tried so hard to fight the urge not to spend $30 on a book for one pattern, in the end, my love for the cardigan won out. I figured that if I knitted at least 3 of these cardigans, it would pay off (haha somewhere in my deluded mind, i felt that knitting three of the same pattern was somewhat achievable!)

Yarn: The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills 5 ply Classic in Cranberry. The required yarn in the project is a fingering weight yarn, but I wasn't able to find one in a colour I liked so I bought the 5 ply instead. Also, the yarn I used is wool and not cotton, so the FO didn't have the same sort of drape it should have. As mentioned, I didn't enjoy knitting with this yarn. The crepe construction wasn't the softest, but I do like the colour a lot.

Needles: US 2 / 2.75mm for the ribbing, and then US 3/3.25mm for the main part. I knitted it a little larger to gauge because I wasn't convinced I was as skinny as the model in the picture. I shouldn't have done so, because there is a bit of "air" in the waist area where I am considering taking it in for a better fit.

Comments and Modifications: Not a lot. The pattern is easy to follow and written very clearly. The most obvious modification I made was omit the roses. When I had knitted them up and sewn them on, they looked okay front on, but when turned to the side, it looked as if I had 5 very large red nipply things on one side of my body. NOT a good look. In the end I just made it without. I think it still looks nice :)

I also didnt do all the buttons. Because I had chosen to put pink buttons on a red cardigan, I felt that having 8 little buttons in a contrast colour made it stand out a bit too much. In the end I sewed on 3 buttons, and I put a little snap on the inside where the waist tie is to keep it shut (you might be able to see it in the below picture).

In the end, quite a nice little cardigan, but as mentioned there is a bit of excess at the waist area. I might just take it to my sewing machine and try and sew it up.

If I were to make this again , I'd do it in a cotton and not a wool :p