It is Montana Born...Twice

Time flies when your not looking...especially so when you are not updating the knitting blog in a timely fashion.  I do have a few posts that only need pictures taken of the finished item so they can be updated.  My latest and new favorite cardigan is Burrard.  I'm so happy with how this one turned out and was slightly disappointed thinking that I would have to wait until next Fall to wear it.  Happily our return to the East Coast coincided with a colder and wetter Spring than normal so it did get some wear.  I adore this cardigan and it will soon be making a return trip West. 

The cardigan was knit while we were spending part of our Winter in the area where the yarn originated.  How cool is that!  The yarn was made from Montana grown Cormo sheep.  It made its return journey with us back to Montana...actually it went last summer too, but never made it out of the car.  Sad, but true.  I cast on the first sleeve as we drove from east to west.  I decided to be radical and not knit a 'bonified' gauge swatch instead I used my sleeve as the swatch.  It worked so well that I may need to be radical all the time.  At least I didn't feel like I was 'wasting time' on the swatching. 

The yarn has been in the stash for quite sometime...waiting for that 'perfect pattern'.  I used the same yarn for my Cassidy in a grayish color and loved it so much that I immediately bought the remaining skeins in cream.  After wandering around Ravelry for a few days I discovered Burrard.  Only a few had been knit, but the cabled back was spectacular.  I'm such a sucker for anything cabled.  Since the Elsa Wool was just sitting there and we were heading to Montana it seemed to be a perfect combination. 

I usually don't get an awful lot of knitting done when we travel.  I end up taking far more than I can do...afraid I'll run out of something do.  It has happened every time we head out on our little adventures.  This time it was different...not camping and not driving all over creation.  We stayed put in one location and I actually knit every night.  Of course I still took more than I could knit, but only 2 other projects.  You know...just in case.

Details
Project:  Burrard by Glenna C. at Twist Collective Winter 2012;


Yarn:  Elsa Wool;  100% Montana grown Cormo wool; woolen spun; worsted; 237 yards per 4 ounces; in natural (aka white).  I had a total of 7 skeins, but used only 4...well 92 grams of ball 4.  The other great thing is each skein weighed slightly more than the 4 ounces listed so I have enough for a matching hat.

Gauge:  20 stitches and 32 rows = 4 inches of stockinette stitch

Needles:  6 US Addi Clicks

Modifications:  To be honest I only changed the shoulder shaping.  I decided to rewrite it for 3 needle bind off...it just looks so much nicer in the finishing. I also added one extra button hole to the collar since I always seem to miss it.  The one thing I thought about changing was the collar.  The pictures looked really odd...way too small.  Once I started to knit it I liked the shape that was developing so I kept the original collar.  It stands up nicely and looks much better than when it is rolled down.  I like the overall look when the collar is up so I'm thinking this will be how I wear it in the future.

I chose buttons that contrasted rather than matched this particular cardigan.  I'm always undecided about which way to go...contrast or matchy.  Most of the time I end up with more of a match between the yarn and the button.  I decided that Burrard looked the nicest with the contrasting buttons.  They can always be changed, right?