Sunday, February 01, 2009

Shalom

Late winter in Arizona is glorious. Mountain Man and I drank it in this weekend with a climbing trip to "Magma Gardens," east of the Superstition Mountains. The manzanita were awash in blossoms and buzzing with bees.


On the drive there, I finished sewing on the buttons to my Shalom cardigan. And I'm smitten! The yarn is probably the most marvelous yarn I've ever had the pleasure of knitting. It's a handspun yarn in fawn alpaca and tussah silk from Smooth as Silk Alpaca Ranch, and it beautifully combines all my favorite yarn qualities: soft, lustrous, artisinal, earthy, luxurious.


It's a very dense yarn, and I expect it to stretch in length as I wear it. So, I knit it straight instead of adding waist shaping. But since this leaves me without any waist definition, I used the last half ball of yarn to knit a slender sash to tie around my middle.


Frankly, I'm not sure if it does me any favors waist-wise, but it does add a little panache!


And now for a few project details. The original pattern, as I mentioned, is the Shalom Cardigan (rav link) by Meghan McFarlane. Meghan's version was a yoked vest with a single button at the top. I added 3/4-length sleeves, buttons every 10 rows, ribbing at the hips, and that sash. I also made all kinds of tiny modifications for my gauge and size.


Love how it matches the rhyolite.

8 comments:

lexa said...

Love it! Well done! :)

petra said...

I love the long sleeves and sash! The sweater is very flattering on you!!

loopykd said...

I love that sweater! It's just gorgeous.

Veronique said...

Shalom is awesome with long sleeve! Great mod :)

rockbridge said...

Your shalom is beautiful!! I was never a huge fan of the design, but that's because I couldn't imagine it with sleeves - they make all the difference. Your posts are making me think I really need to do some climbing up at Queen Creek before I leave Arizona... looks like fun!

kathy b said...

Shalom is great I love the buttons you choose. Such a hard task for me to pick buttons. I dont think you need waist shaping. It is lovely on you and I 'll bet your good instincts are correct and it will change with some time and gravity!

Spring is so delightful to see in your neck of the woods when it is still very deep winter here in Chicago. thanks

Sue said...

The yoke design is really striking and you've turned the original into a gorgeous cardigan.

I'm not sure about the belt though - I don't think you need it.

turvid said...

Beautiful!