Newale

As I work towards sorting my Ravelry favourites into bundles, I noticed that I have quite a few of Cecily Glowik MacDonald‘s designs in there. Earlier this year I knitted up Newale having received the yarn (more about that later) for Christmas. Since September I’ve been knitting Christmas presents for family and friends but my next selfish knitting project is always in the planning phase. Might it be another Cecily design or maybe something else from my (almost) organised favourites?

The Newale pattern instructions were easy to follow and I enjoyed working the pockets flat with the rest of the cardigan. Knitting is still new enough to me that I learn something new about construction with each project. I did ask for some advice from the knitting group I attend in how to stitch the pocket sides but it turned out I was overthinking it… ‘just sew it down’ was a unanimous decision from around the table and we moved onto deeper conversations.

I knitted half of one sleeve and decided it was going to be way too tight. A bit of stitch gauge/upper arm circumference maths indicated that I needed an extra 20 stitches to what the pattern recommended. I worried that this would be a visible fudge but I seem to have gotten away with it. Now that it’s finished I’d say I could have gone up a size for the whole cardigan, it’s a touch too small even after some firm but fair blocking. I find fit so much more difficult for knitting than sewing.

I’ve been making a conscious effort to use British yarn this year, in fact, to my knowledge I have only purchased British yarn and any knitting project completed this year with yarn from elsewhere was already in my stash. I intended to use  Brigantia Luxury Yarn Double Knit for another pattern but I couldn’t get the required gauge and drape with it so I had to switch pattern. Purchased from Ginger Twist Studio it is described as perfect for jumpers and it really is a very good jumper yarn.

It’s pure wool spun in Yorkshire and, although not obvious from their website, is a product of Brigantia Needlework. It’s lovely to work with, smooth and warm, maybe a little prickle but far from itchy. The purple colour (8526) is so vibrant and rich. It’s not a colour I’d normally choose but it goes well with a few other things (including the Ella Top in these photographs) in my wardrobe so has been worn a few times since the weather got chilly. There are a whole range of other colours in both the DK and aran weights but hands off the claret and chartreuse, I want those for myself!