Tweed "Marigold"

As with most patterns I like I tend to knit them again (and again, if I really like them). It just makes sense to go back to something that fits well and worked out the first time around, although in some cases I do the second knit because I learned from my mistakes. I also like it because for most patterns you can make sooooo many variations by only including small changes that it would take a long time to get bored of it.

In the case of "Marigold" it was mainly because it fit well and I ended up wearing my first cardi a lot over the last winter.  But because the alpaca yarn is extremely warm I also wanted one that I could wear in slightly warmer weather (i.e. above freezing point) and I still had this lovely light blue tweed in my stash. To make the tweed structure stand out even more I omitted the lace panel in the back, I didn't want to distract from the beautiful yarn and I also wanted to keep the cardigan as neutral as possible to match my other clothes.

Apart from the lace panel I also made the sleeves full-length and increased the button band (or however you call this if it doesn't have buttons) to 10 stitches in garter stitch. In the first version that I knitted according to the pattern the band keeps on flipping itself around so I wanted to make it a bit heavier. Not sure yet if that issue is solved though because the band is turning by design to make the transition in the neck.

Still a great pattern and I just realized that I now also fulfilled my self-imposed obligation to knit at least three pieces from the "Making" magazine to make it worth the shipping from the US. Score! And I'm especially proud to finish this project because I knitted it during my maternity leave and believe me, it was not easy to find the time with a screaming baby around.

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Pattern: "Marigold" by Cecily Glowik MacDonald, published in "Making" Magazine, issue 1 "Flora"
Yarn:  Rowan Fine Tweed, colourway 380 "Nappa"