Papyrus Lace Cardigan

I blogged about this project two months ago on the Wardrobe Refashion blog.

While communing with my stash one day, I noticed that there was a black cotton tape yarn with a greenish cast near a piece of green rayon with a black cast. A marriage made in heaven (or my stash closet).
[snip]
I went to San Francisco for the long weekend and did not buy any new or used clothes. I did do some major shopping at Artfibers, Thai Silks and Black Oak Books. Slideshow and store links here. The black tape yarn above is actually a second from Artfibers (Papyrus, a discontinued yarn). The yarn did not take to the dye evenly. I prefer the look anyway.

The pattern is from the Adrienne Vittadini Fall 2003 booklet. Isn't it pretty? The pattern is written for two strands of 'Carmela' (cashmere) with a gauge of 16x22. I am using 1 strand of Artfibers Papyrus (100% cotton tape yarn) with a gauge of 18x24. Of course I am following directions for the sweater 1 1/2 sizes larger than the one I want to make up for the change in gauge.

I had trouble with the lace swatch. The yarn has no elasticity and the yarn overs looked terribly sloppy. So I did not perform any yarn overs. Let me clarify. On the right side, I ignored the yarn overs. On the wrong side, I lifted up the bar between stitches, where the yarn overs should have been, and purled that. I am much happier with the results of this method than the standard yarn over.

I knit the sweater body in one piece, dividing at the armholes. I finished the two fronts first, binding off the center back collar sections with a three needle bind off, using a crochet hook for the third needle. Then I knitted the upper back section and performed a three needle bind off across the entire back, joining the front and back shoulder stitches. At the back neck area, I pulled the crochet hook through every other stitch on the center back collar section before pulling a loop of yarn through. That way, I don't have to sew the collar piece on! Very clever. Very lazy.

I thoroughly soaked the sweater in warm water and put in through a washer spin cycle. I gently tugged the lace sections to open the fabric up and pinned it to the ironing board to dry.

I had planned on using the top pattern, but thought it would be too busy with the lace cardigan front. I may use the TNT (tried and true) pattern on the bottom. I have made that woven T-shirt several times and it fits very nicely in the neck and shoulders. I even used that pattern as the basis for two maternity dresses.

I may not make the green blouse after all. This morning, I looked at the green rayon and thought maybe the two pieces don't coordinate after all. In the sun, you can see the green cast to the black yarn. With the pale winter light today, I don't see any green. The sweater would look nice with a simple shell or t-shirt.

Aside:
I have been home for 13 days straight with one illness or another. I was so sick, I didn't even feel like knitting for the first 10 days of that. Like my cousin, the surgeon, says, I am a delicate flower. When my body goes off-balance, things can go downhill rapidly. Thursday, one doctor said I was well on the road to recovery and cleared me to work a little bit. Friday is my half day and I telecommuted. What would I do without high speed internet at home? Tomorrow, I go back to the office. I still don't have a voice, but I didn't expect it to come back until next week anyway.