Branches & Buds

As mentioned before, Carrie Bostick Hoge's "Branches and Buds" is the second pattern I knit from the first issue of "Making" magazine. After "Marigold" was a full success I thought I'd quickly follow up with the second one, which I started to like even more.

In order to reduce my stash I decided to go for some thick wool yarn from Montenegro (most probably hand spun) which is very similar to my favourite Létt-Lopi. For the pattern in the yoke I used some leftover Plötulopi from my "Berlin" jumper. For that I also had to adjust the pattern and I decided to go for a bottom-up version instead of the top-down method suggested in the pattern. I also altered the number of stitches.  Bref, I ended up with a completely different garment from the one in the pattern except for the chart of the yoke pattern!

To get the right gauge I had to experiment a bit; it was somewhere between the Létt-Lopi and the Plötulopi so none of my traditional patterns matched. But I got it right eventually. I knitted the sleeves first because I wanted to test first how the unknown yarn behaved after washing and blocking and it turned out very nice and fluffy. To make it extra soft I rinsed it with hair conditioner - and it works!

After I had worked out the basics it was a quick knit, as all those amazing Lopipeysur. Oh, and as you saw on the photos, I went for a cardigan again instead of a jumper. Simple steek procedure as explained in this post. Actually, this was probably the best steek I ever managed to make - maybe I'm getting the hang of it now. Although the button holes are still not matching; I'm kind of hopeless in that respect. Practice makes the expert, I guess...

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Pattern: "Branches and Buds" by Carrie Bostick Hoge
Yarn: Of unknown Montenegrin origin but similar to Létt Lopi