Knitting: Antler cardigan.

It's hard to get motivated to take pictures of completed knitting projects in the summer. But it likely won't be cooling down for another two months at least, so somehow I found myself buttoned up to my neck in a wool sweater in 90 degree heat. But it was worth it, because I love this sweater.

I cast on for this cardigan in the middle of June and finished it three and a half weeks later. This is my fourth sweater for myself, and it's definitely my favorite. The whole process of knitting this sweater was such a pleasant experience! I didn't hit any snags and the small changes that I made worked out perfectly. I think I've learned something with every sweater I've finished, and all of those things just came together in this one.

When I ordered the yarn (KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Tweed in dill heather), I was planning on knitting this sweater. But by the time I got around to starting it, that pattern just seemed kind of boring to me. I finally decided on the Antler Cardigan, even though I technically didn't have enough yarn. I was worried about running out, but I ended up using at least 200 yards less than the pattern called for, so I had two skeins left over!

I was exactly between the medium and large sizes. Knowing that most of my sweaters turn out too big (and that this yarn has a tendency to grow with blocking), I went with the medium. That worked out perfectly, though I did decide to knit the large size at the hips and then decrease down to a medium.

As for the changes that I made, they were pretty minor. Because I did a larger size at the hips, I had to do some "waist shaping" to decrease down to a medium. (The pattern originally doesn't have any waist shaping.)  I changed the sleeves a bit (they were too big) and made them an inch longer, and shortened the length of the body by an inch. Also, I didn't want a big, loose neckline, so I did an extra cable repeat in the yoke. (I probably could have done that again, actually, and maybe even added some extra decreases.) I went into more detail on my Ravelry project page.

With a sweater called the Antler Cardigan, you have to use antler buttons, right? I ordered buttons from this Etsy shop and I love them. They're made from deer antlers, so they're all slightly different but consistent enough to match.

When I first tried on the sweater after blocking it, I was disappointed because it had grown a bit and didn't fit exactly like it did before. (Sometimes I think that worsted weight and bulky sweaters might not be the most flattering on girls who aren't thin. But then I wonder if that's just me and my self-esteem issues and how most of the time things don't fit like I wish they would. I don't know, but my next sweater is going to be sportweight, so we'll see if that makes a difference.) But when I look at this sweater compared to my first one, I've come such a long way! This is the best fitting sweater I've knitted so far, and I'm proud of it. :)

Ravelry project page.