A month later

It's done. The Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I finished it in exactly a calendar month - 4 July to 4 August. Even though I didn't complete this cardi, which was my Tour de France project, within the scope of the Tour, there is no way I could have achieved a whole garment - in 5 ply, no less - within a month without the impetus of the TdeF knit-a-long.



Now my worry is about whether the cardigan will fit. I'm hoping to catch up with my daughter next week, so this will be the next test. There'll be photos if it fits, and tears if it doesn't.

I'll reserve judgment about my version of the Tangled Yoke Cardigan until I see it on my daughter. After blocking, the fabric is unexpectedly drapey - well, unexpected by me, anyway - and I think it needs a person inside it to show the cut and fit. This is also the first time I've knitted an adult garment that is not knitted in a series of flat pieces sewn together, and I'm still not sure what I think about this. I'm not particularly averse to sewing up completed garments, and I think the seams give stability to the garment construction. There's a kind of flimsiness to this cardigan that I'm in two minds about. Anyway, further judgment reserved till I see it on my daughter.

As an aside, it's a long time since I've found a project so difficult to photograph. I've tried inside and out, in shadow and in sun, and all photos just wash out the rich colour of this yarn. Apart from the brown being much livelier in real life, the yarn has mid-blue flecks that just disappear in these photos. And in real life you can see the tangled yoke, that's very disceet in these photos (and a good thing you can see the yoke in real life - I'd hate to have done all that yokey work and not be able to see it)

While I'm on the subject of blue-and-brown, this is my latest passion:



The colours of this Kauni yarn are superb, and together with its prickly Shetland type texture it might just about get my vote for the perfect yarn. In a previous post I'd described the yarn as Danish, but I've since discovered it's Estonian. Apologies to Estonia for not correctly attributing such a beautiful product.

Today I'm off on a week's holiday, to visit old friends and attend the Byron Bay Writers' Festival. So, no computer and no blogging till I return. This time I've had no difficulty deciding what knitting to take - I'm just hoping I come somewhere near to meeting my knitting expectations. There'll be lots to report on when I get home.