I just realised this morning that this cardigan, in one form or another, has travelled more than most people do in a lifetime. When I bought the farm share that resulted in this yarn, I lived in Germany. The buttons were purchased one day when I was shopping in France. The fibre was grown on a small farm in Virginia, USA and sent to Prince Edward Island, Canada for processing into yarn. It was delivered to me in Sicily. It hibernated while we lived in England, coming out of The Stash occasionally to be considered for one project or another. It was during this time that I became aware of the pattern’s designer, as I tested one of her earlier patterns. Then we moved to Virginia, only a couple hours’ drive from where the fibre was grown. Cheryl put this pattern out for testing, and I knew I wanted to knit it and had the perfect yarn ready and waiting!

The wool is a blend of cormo wool and mohair processed and spun in a small mill in Prince Edward Island.

Work is somewhat slower than I had hoped, mostly because of the yarn. It’s Juniper Moon, but from the days when they were solely CSA. It was sent from the farm to a small mill in Prince Edward, Canada for processing and spinning. It was not carbonized, a harsh treatment done to commercial-spun yarn, to dissolve all remaining plant material in the wool. As a result of this, there is still a LOT of VM (grass, seeds, etc.) that must be picked while knitting.

2/11. Now that l have the pattern essentially memorised, l set my stopwatch. Currently at 18 minutes per row for largest size. That will come down somewhat as the knitting progresses, I’m sure..

Eliminated waist shaping, as I have none. Note: shaping is not an “hourglass” -- number of stitches before shaping begins is greater than number after it is completed.

When I divided for sleeves I saw the stockinette panel is wider on the back than the front. This will result in the back shoulder having a wide stockinette panel, where the front is all patterned. Had this garment been knitted in pieces, I would have frogged the back and re-knit with the central leaf panel either wider, or divided and doubled, and eliminated the extra width on the stockinette panel, so the shoulders would match front and back.

If I knit this again, I will change the armhole shaping to k1, k2 tog, k2 tog or k1, ssk, ssk rather than binding off 2 stitches. It makes a smoother edge for seaming. The bindoff method used in the pattern is a bit “stair steppy”.