Katje

I wanted to have more pictures of this one, but I haven't gotten around to it. If I wait until I remember to get out the camera and take more, and make sure my hair looks good, and make sure the lighting's right, nobody will ever see this cardigan in all of its crimson glory. Phone photography, or what I've started calling "phonetography", is going to have to do.

Notice in this first picture that there is a lighter spot in my hair, just behind and above my ear. This is what happens when you don't make sure that your hair dye has fully saturated every section of your head. I gave myself calico head. I intended to re-dye it a few days later, but then time got away from me, and then the color washed out enough to not make the patches totally noticeable. Again, if I waited until conditions were perfect, nothing would ever get done.



Details
Pattern
Katje by Julie Weisenberger. Ravelry link here.

I bought this pattern a couple of years ago, because I really liked the great big hood. As a person with an unusually long head, normal hooded garments don't do much for me. I can't ever put up the hood without it looking ridiculously undersized. This one looked like it might work, and I loved the way it draped around the neck. I saw the sample at Stitches a couple of weeks later and tried it on, and fell even more in love with it.

Size
Medium

Yarn
Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran in Merlot. I have a note that says that I used thirteen balls, and I think I wrote it before I added the rest of the bottom border, but it can't possibly be right. I think there was some confusion when a few of the balls made their break for freedom. I just weighed the finished sweater and came up with 548 grams, which is almost all of eleven balls, which sounds closer to the truth.


Needles/Notions
Addi Clicks, size 6 the whole way through.

Time
I can't remember, to be honest. I know I started it on April 4th, 2009, because I put that in Ravelry and I never enter a date in there if I haven't cast on for the project. I cannot remember when I finished it. I seem to remember trying to get it done for...something...but I can't remember if it was for Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day, or...nope, can't remember. I know that it was done before the accident. I want to say that it took about a month.

Taking out the bound-off edge and adding to the border took a little more than a day.

Modifications
I haven't ever used Kathmandu, but I think it's a little less weighty than Silkroad Aran. The sample sweater felt lighter, and had more drape than my version. As a result of mine being heavier, it seemed to lack balance between the big, heavy hood and the cropped silhouette. It hit me at the wrong spot, and I spent a few months wearing it uncomfortably and tugging on the edges, wishing it were longer. I ended up adding an additional four inches to it, and balancing out the weight of the hood with a more proportional seed stitch border at the bottom.

I didn't make the knitted belt, even though I have one more ball of this yarn left. I probably won't belt it anyway, because that's not a good shape for me.


Conclusion
I wear this sweater all the time. All. The. Time. I have to fight the urge to wear it to work every Friday. It's comfortable, not itchy in the slightest and warm without being stifling. I wore it today, and it handled weather from 37 degrees and foggy to 65 degrees and sunny without seeming to be either too little or too much

The short rows at the neck make for a flowing, graceful hood. This is great for me, because, as you might remember, I can't tolerate hats. If I want to keep my ears warm when I'm outside watching the dogs play, this is the way I have to go. I'd probably use the hood construction again on other sweaters.

Actually, I'll probably make this one again in a different yarn. I love the pattern, and I get a lot of compliments on the garment. I feel good when I wear it, which is the ultimate gauge of success.