FO: Endearment Cardigan

Now that I've caught up with posting all the gifts I made, I have (chronologically) finally reached this sweater. This project took me just over 2 years to finish (for many reasons lol), but I finally got it done in February of 2022.

This is the Endearment sweater by Hanna Maciejewska. This was a case of wanting to find a project for this stashed yarn and also wanting to make this sweater pattern. I've never been one for variegated yarns because I just can't figure out what to do with them. This yarn looked lovely in the hank, but knit up it gave me kind of girly camo vibes, which I am not about (I'm still scarred from the late 90s with that one). But I felt like giving some visual interest to the front with this cool lace pattern would distract me from what I didn't love about the color of the yarn. The yarn itself is lovely, though. It's Araucania Huasco Btany Lace in the Carmine colorway. This yarn is 100% merino wool and it's so soft and squishy. I picked up 3 skeins of this in the clearance on Webs back in 2014, and after sitting so long I just really wanted to use it up and not feel guilty about it, lol.

So I started knitting. Ah, look at younger, smaller, February of 2020 me. So hopeful, lol. I brought this with me when visiting my then boyfriend in Sarasota and I was loving working on it and whipped up the yoke really quickly. Things went great until I had to start with another skein of yarn. All these were from the same dye lot, so I didn't think about checking to see how the colors blended, just assuming they would be the same. NEVER ASSUME THIS! This is a hand painted yarn, so even though it was dyed together, the dye did not take the same on all the yarn. In fact each skein was a different depth of the same colors and it was jarring enough for me to stop and wonder what the heck I should do. I tried alternating the 2 remaining skeins, but the darker skein was just overtaking everything. I was so bummed about it that I just set this aside while I worked on other things. For months and months.

I picked it back up in August of 2020 and decided to just forge ahead with the body because it got slightly darker and I didn't mind it so much as it went lower if that makes sense. These photos were when I decided I had to start knitting the sleeves to make sure I had enough yarn to finish them, but I had the same old problem. Just look at that color jog! Ugh. This renewed my frustration all over again, and since it was fall and time for knitting gifts, I set this aside yet again. I'm honestly not sure when I picked it up again - probably a year later. I'm not one to have a lot of unfinished objects going at once because it makes me feel guilty to start anything new, so this one weighed on me for quite a while. Eventually in early 2022, I picked this up and was DETERMINED to finish it this time. No matter what the set backs were. 

Because I was working with only 3 skeins and the yarn was discontinued, I had to make the sleeves before finishing the body. I wanted to include the cute split cuff on the sleeve and then I just made the body as long as the remaining yarn would allow. You can still see the color difference between that first skein and the other 2, which feels very in your face with it being so abrupt at the bicep area, but oh well. At least it's done, lol.  I do like the cuff though - I think it's a cute detail.

The back has the same split, which honestly helps with the fitted nature of how this turned out for me. I started this sweater when I was like 30 lbs lighter weight, and while it does still fit now because knitting is so stretchy, I do feel like it's a bit snug. That's very much in flux still (I gained weight from a medical issue and now I'm losing what I had gained), so this shouldn't be an issue in the future. I managed to get this sweater out of the 3 skeins and only using half of my gauge swatch, so that's a win lol. That's really the only negative part of getting yarn like I do - if you run out, there's no getting more. But hey - it's way cheaper! The ups and downs of a yarn stash, friends.

I really love the lace and cable pattern on this sweater. It was easy to memorize after the first few repeats and then it was pretty smooth sailing. I also like the button band - it's different to any other I've knit before and I like the 2 buttons being closer together. I had the perfect lavender buttons in my stash as well, which is always a great thing.

And as ever, I lined the button band with rayon petersham ribbon, also from my stash. I always do this on a fitted sweater so it doesn't look like I'm hulking out of it when it's buttoned up. Just personal preference, but I feel it's well worth the extra work. 

 

My girls wanted to be in on the photos, lol. All in all, despite all the frustrations and set backs, I'm happy with the finished product. I will confess it's not one that I reach for as much as my solid colored sweaters simply because I don't have as many outfits it can go with, but I don't feel like the color issues are so much a problem when I'm wearing it. No one notices but me, so I'm fine with that. This felt like an epic make, but I got there in the end, and I'm glad I pushed through to get it done.

Summary:

Yarn: 3 skeins Araucania Huasco Botany Lace in Carmine - $33.12

Pattern: Endearment by Hanna Maciejewska - $7.50

Notions: Rayon Petersham Ribbon - $3.50, 14 buttons - $0.25 (thrifted)

Time: 2 years, 1 month lol

Total Cost: $44.37