I’m waking every morning at the moment with 3 little voices singing its only ‘x’ days left until Christmas (oldest is way too cool, and involved in exams for this!).  Currently they’re also wondering if there is any possibility of time travel to make the intervening days disappear.  Unfortunately for me, even though I am completely with them on this sentiment, every day closer to Christmas is also a day less towards deadlines :)

My niece will be here after Christmas so I’m hoping to get a second little girl knit finished before she leaves.  Knits for here are really selfish gifts…you can only take it if you let me photograph first!  The first knit I have for her is a version of Ignus Junior in Spud and Chloe sweater.  Its in the Watermelon colour so just right for a girl that is crazy about pink!  The knit I hope to get finished before she leaves is in Madelinetosh Tosh DK.  I’m pretty mad about this colour combination of Citrus and Tern, but these colours are really for me as she only wants pink.  It’ll be a child’s version of Eilonwy but with a swing cardigan that has long sleeves.  It’s a good thing I’ve got such yummy yarns to work with, it makes all the speedy knitting more fun!

Speaking of yarns, I got to try some of Miss Babs yarn this week and she has some seriously delicous colors….have a little peek here to make you jeleous!

Just in case you want a little yarn love yourself, the publisher of my Contemporary Irish Knits Book, Wiley are doing a Christmas giveaway for a sizable batch of Studio Donegal yarn.  You just need to leave a comment by the end of the week here! (Please don’t watch the video, its seriously embarrassing to have to listen to my own voice!!)

Last October I made a little baby cardigan for a friend’s baby…

I had a multi-colored alpaca yarn (Artesano Hummingbird) and I got a small ball of red Artesano dk yarn for contrast.  I had envisioned the rows of pattern stitch in alternating multi color and solid color but so much red came up in the multicolored yarn at the yoke that I didn’t quite get the contrast I was hoping for.

I did however like the basic concept so I thought I’d give an adult version a go.  So at Christmas armed with 3 different colors of Brown Sheep’s Lambs pride I began a version for myself….

This time I had a wonderful turquoise color that I loved, a little of a multi-tonal turquoise and some orange.  This version introduced the idea of  the garter stitch accent bands to combine the two colors that were similar but not the same together in a cohesive way.  Now while the orange band are fun the brightness may be a it much for some!  A lighter shade of blue would be a more subdued  way of combining a third color.

I knit this while I was on holiday and I was lazy.  I didn’t do a gauge swatch (which I should have cause my knitting can be a little on the loose side!!) and I ended up with 17 rather than 18 stitches per 4 inches.  As you can see on the sleeve there is too much room for me, and the back has too much looseness for me.

I also decided at this stage that I liked the way the stitch pattern worked when it was slightly smaller…which brings us to the third and final version of Eilonwy…..

As I was finishing up the second version Sundara contacted me asking if I wanted to use her yarn in a design.  This design immediately came to mind and we settled on the wonderful Aran Silky Merino for the final version.  When the yarn arrived Sue (who is also the model for these shots) knit the final version.  She like the way this yarn worked at a tighter gauge and after much swatching and calculations the final version was designed and knit.  I love the way the two colors blend together around the circular yoke, very subtle but still with a great texture.

Knit at the tighter gauge the yarn didn’t go quite as far as we had expected and we wanted to make full use of the contrasting color so the bottom band has changed from the alternating color version to a solid band.  When you are knitting it you can decide yourself which you like best.

Eilonwy $5.95

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Showcase the beauty of hand dyed yarn with this wardrobe staple. This cardigan is a great way of combining 2 or 3 complementary colors that blend together well and is idea for hand dyed yarn. Knit from the top down with circular yoke shaping, options are given for 2 or 3 different colors to be used.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Chest: 27.25 (30.5, 34.5, 37.5, 41.5, 44.75, 48.75, 52, 56)” / 69 (77, 87.5, 95.5, 105.5, 114, 124, 132, 142) cm
Note: Buttonband is not included in this dimension.
Length: 21.25 (22, 22.5, 23, 23.5, 24, 24.5, 25, 25.5)” / 54 (56, 57.5, 58.5, 60, 61, 62.5, 64, 65) cm
Size 34.5”/87.5 inches modelled with minimal ease.

MATERIALS
Sundara ‘Aran Silky Merino’: (50% silk / 50% merino wool; 200yds/183m per 100g skein);
MC Color: Exotic birds; 2 (2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4) skeins
Note: Size 34.5”/86.5cm uses 2 skeins almost completely, so you may require an extra skein.
CC1 Color: Classic Car; 2 (2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3) skeins
For three-color version only, CC2 of desired color: 1 skein

GAUGE
20 sts/32 rows = 4”/10cm in stockinette stitch on US 7/4.5mm needles
20 sts/38 rows = 4”/10cm in garter stitch on US 7/4.5mm needles