Yarn Along: Rosemont Cardigan and The Shepherd's Life

Update: for those who are aware, Birdie is still in the hospital, but her prognosis is looking much better.  She may even be able to go home tomorrow.  I had set this post to go live several days ago, before everything happened. 

I finally got around to photographing my completed Rosemont cardigan!!  I've been wearing it to sleep in for the last week or so, and it has gotten a bit fuzzy on the arms, but overall, I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

It was a fast make, one I put my needles to it--I sort of tootled around with it for a few days in late December, then set it aside in favor of other shiny knitted things.   I decided to put my mind to it in early February so I could finish it for the spring rotation.  I'm glad I did!

I also made the dress which happens to coordinate perfectly--a win all around.  I decided I needed a bit more purple in my life.  The dress has a navy blue background, which means I can wear it with a navy cotton cardigan when it is warmer.

My only complaint about the sweater is that while the shawl collar rolls perfectly when not on my body, for some reason, it doesn't want to stay fully rolled over at the back of my neck while on me.  I discovered that rolling it twice really helps it stay put.  The sweater also wants to slide off my (admittedly narrow) shoulders and makes the sleeves seem too long, even though they aren't.  But overall, I can't complain.  I did shorten the body length by several inches because I know that the pattern length doesn't look good on me.

The dress is a straight up Dottie Angel frock, with my mods.  I think I've got it right now.  I've got the sleeve caps to the width I want, and I experimented with differently shaped pockets on this one to see if I could skip a step and save some bias binding (I did!)   The fabric was that rare unicorn of threads: a nice cotton lawn from Joann's.  It was listed with the quilting cottons, and I knew I was taking a chance ordering it online (my experience with Joann fabrics has been dodgy in the extreme), but it was a good deal, and I just loved the print.  I'm calling it the Yardley's dress because the color scheme kind of makes me think of English things.

I'm happy with the back elastic length, and I think I've worked out the best way to apply the elastic to both sides (wide zig-zag stitch, with elastic pinned on both ends and held VERY taut).

File this one under: Oh yes, I did.

I was browsing etsy a few weeks ago, looking for some Outlander themed jewelry as a kind of mid-winter pick-me-up, and I found this pin.  Of course I bought it straightaway.

(It is the Fraser motto and coat of arms, for the uninitiated)

I also just finished reading The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks and I really enjoyed it.  I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Wendall Berry's writing about farm life.  (Which makes me think I should crack some more Berry soon!)  I'm waiting for my copy of The Light Between the Oceans to arrive, as Kate convinced me that it is a must-read.  I'm also eager for the film in the fall--Michael Fassbender is one of my favorite actors, and the rest of the casting looks superb.

More gratuitous sweater photos, because I'm so pleased to have a wearable finished object that I knitted!  The yarn is the wool-alpaca blend from Valley Yarns Stockbridge line.  I recommend it--it is soft and has a nice bloom with wet blocking.

Just the facts:

Rosemont Cardigan: me-made, Stockbridge yarn, Rosemont pattern from Hannah Fettig

Yardley's dress: me-made, Simplicity 1080, light cotton fabric from Joann.com, vintage navy bias binding

Je Suis Pres brooch: etsy

Sea Glass earrings: etsy

Purple tights: Foot Traffic via Sock Dreams

Black boots: Payless

Linking with Ginny for Yarn Along!