Alpine Cardi - Completed

My Alpine Cardi in Alpaca With a Twist in Ochre

This time I'm on the ball. I managed to take some photos of me modeling Alpine. Here's my review:

Name of Pattern:
Alpine Cardigan

Free pattern at Berroco's site.

Designed by:
Berroco Design Team

Pattern/Garment Description:
Cute cropped cardigan with short sleeves and round neckline. Single button at the top. Chevron-like knitted pattern in the front left and right pieces. Ribbing at the bottom of the body and sleeves. Garter stitch and ribbing around the neckline as well as a decorative BO.

Close up of the chevron pattern


Close up of neckline detail


Size(s):
X-Small (32), Small (36), Medium (40), Large (44), 1X-Large (48), and 2X-Large (52)

I made my normal size Small.

Yarns Used:
Alpaca with a Twist Highlander in Ochre color. Used roughly 3.5 hanks (145/yard) of this lovely yarn. This is my favorite yarn. Love all the colors it comes in. This yarn has a very, very low itch factor. It's soooo soft. Delightful to knit with.

Gauge:
15 sts/4 inches in St st and #10 needles

I was right on gauge.

Knitting Tools Used:
Circular needles: 40 inch in size 10 for the main body (St st. and Chevron pattern)
Circular needles: 40 inch in size 9 for the ribbing (bottom and sleeves)
Circular needles: 40 inch in size 8 for the neckline
Stitch markers to mark the 15-stitch pattern
Bent tip tapestry needle (seams and weaving in ends)
Crochet hook J (5.00mm) for adding button loop in front
1-1/4" button

Techniques I used:
K2tog & SSK
P2tog
M1k
M1p
Mattress stitch for seams

Changes I Made to the Pattern:
For the sleeves I knitted an inch less than the pattern required. Wanted the sleeves to hit above my elbow.

For the neckline, I picked up 121 stitches versus the required 133 stitches. Personal preference.

What I Like About this Pattern:
The design and style is gorgeous. Believe it or not, it was a quick knit. Another pleasurable knitting experience.

What I Dislike About this Pattern:
Just as another Ravelry folk mentioned, the cardi can be a bit snug under the armholes. I found that to be true for me as well.

My Pattern Rating (Beginner, Easy, Intermediate, Hard):
Intermediate

Conclusion/Additional Comments:
I would definitely knit this cardi again. For the next version, I would knit the armhole 1/2 inch longer and do the same for the sleeve cap area. That way I could wear a long sleeve t-shirt underneath. I would also knit the bottom ribbing with a size 8 needle (recommended in the pattern) versus the #9 I used to give the cardi more shaping.

I added the optional button loop closure. I crocheted a one inch chain to the right front for the loop and added a 1-1/4 inch button on the left side. I found the gorgeous button at a recent Sewing Expo I attended.

Overall, it's comfortable to wear. I notice I'm not tugging at it which is a good sign of fit and design.

This is my first Berroco pattern. Their instructions were easy to follow and I like the results. I would definitely try their other patterns.

Here I've shown two different ways of wearing this cardi. I think it looks great as a simple cardi over a camisole, tank top or short sleeve t-shirt.








Modeled with long sleeve t-shirt. Oooops...picked out the wrong one. Should have picked the one with a lower neckline. You get the idea

Just When I Thought...

*** Updated with picture of Alpine ***

...I was done with prioritizing my Ravelry queue, I find another pattern. This time I was perusing around and came across SweaterBabe's Vine Lace Top-Down Cardigan. It is really cute. The design, the style, and the cute pockets...adorable! This pattern quickly worked it's way into my Top 5 queue. There is a lot of texture and design features incorporated into the front. It's doggone gorgeous!

Vine Lace Top-Down Cardigan by SweaterBabe for SweaterBabe.com


Simple styling from the back. Love the deep ribbing


I would love to knit this up right now, but I need to go stash diving and see if I have any bulky weight yarn and enough yardage. This would be beautiful in a burgundy or raspberry color. Definitely charcoal color. Even a bright blue color.

Alpine:

I just have less than an inch of work to do on the neckline and I should be done. Maybe an hour's worth of work. Alpine is done. I just need to weave in some loose ends and decide which button to use.




Here's a close-up of the decorative neckline and BO:



CPHoodie:

I hope to start this cardi/hoodie this coming weekend. Unless something else interferes (like starting the Vine Lace cardi).

Happy Knitting!

Look What I Found....

I'm back from Day 2 at the Sewing Expo. I found a whole bunch of lovely buttons. Most of them were 50% off. I purchased these buttons with a "vision" for future hand knit projects. So, they won't go to waste. Here's the results of my two day's of digging in the button pile:




When I got home this afternoon, this was waiting for me...my City Tweed HW in Jacquard. Notice, I have recently purchased buttons already picked out to go with this yarn. Isn't the yarn lovely?




Here's an update of my Alpine. Back is finished.




Now, I'm still knitting the front left. I wanted to show one of the new buttons that happens to match Alpine nicely. The other button that I'm contemplating is the single orange button in the top photo, second from the left corner.



My head is still spinning from all the wonderful sewing information I've received. I still have one more day at the Expo with one more class to attend.

What's Almost on My Needles

I thought I would do another quick post today before the hectic week begins. I've been knitting some swatches from different yarns for another project called Alpine.


Alpine by Berroco


So far, this yarn is getting my attention and the swatch came out beautiful. I found this yarn in Barrington, IL over the summer. My DH picked out this color for me. Yes, he actually stepped into this cute yarn shop and took a seat and chatted with the owners.

Alpaca with a Twist - Highlander in Ochre


I've been playing around with my Ravelry queue and finally decided to stop moving my future projects up and down my priority list. I guess you could say I'm locked in with my list for the remainder of the year. Closing in behind Alpine is the Central Park Hoodie (CPH).

Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky for Interweave Knits

I did some stash diving (really deep) and couldn't come up with the 1200+ yards of yarn that I needed for this project. So, I took a trip over to KnitPicks.com and found this yarn:

Knit Picks City Tweed HW in Jacquard

Again, DH picked out this deep blue/green tweed color for me. For the life of me, I couldn't select one single color...because I loved them all. It appears that DH will be selecting future yarn colors for me. ;)

Looks like the CPH will keep me engrossed busy for the next few weeks. Of all the projects I've tackled so far, this will be the most challenging.

And yes, I'm in "tweed" mode.