FO: Agatha Cardigan

Meet Agatha. She's awesome.

I finished her up a few weeks ago and have already worn her about five times, including twice already to work. When picking out yarn, I had a feeling I'd be wanting to wear this little number quite a bit so I chose a superwash wool. Cascade 220 Superwash to be exact. This is a first for me and so far I have no complaints. It's definitely less "wooly" that I usually like my sweaters but it's still soft and warm yet breathable, and seems to be holding it's shape well. I also really LOVE the color. Kind of a dark mustardy yellow/brown with a nice heather to it. Even though it's not a neutral color I think it will pair well with just about all of my dresses and skirts.

In addition to being my first superwash project it also hit a few other "firsts". First lace sweater. First cropped cardigan. First pattern by my fantastically talented friend Andi. And thus my first time doing this type of sweater construction! It seems super weird at first, but then at some point it clicks and you're like "Oh! I get it! That's the armhole! I really am making a sweater!" and then it just seems intuitive and genius and super fast. There are literally no seams. Best thing ever for a finishing-averse girl like me. If you're curious, she did a super cool step-by-step picture tutorial of this type of construction method here.

The stitch pattern was also very enjoyable. It definitely wasn't one I was able to completely memorize - for the back and fronts panels at least - but it still became familiar enough that I only had to glance down at the chart every once in awhile to keep on track. And I'm in love with the finished, post-blocking product. Lace is magic.

So, even though this was a lot of firsts it will certainly not be my lasts. I'm in love with how flattering the shape and length are with skirts and dresses. And it will for sure not be my last of Andi's patterns. Next up I've got my eye on either Hetty or Chuck. My cable loving heart is of course drawn more to Chuck but the cardigan hoarding side of me is leaning more towards Hetty. Either way, I've got at least three sweaters in the queue before I could start another so I've got a while to decide. Your thoughts are welcome...

Last but not least, Raveled here.