About a year ago I knit up a ruffly cardigan in a superwash wool that I plied with some laceweight alpaca so I could hit gauge. I loved that sweater and was very sad to discover I had machine-washed it one too many times.

I will never learn this lesson.


It's really very pretty, I just didn't have Violet yet to showcase it.

My sister-in-law--we affectionately think of her as a midget--inherited my newly shortened creation and I hoped I might make it again someday.

About that same time I learned about Artfibers, a small yarn store in San Francisco that sells only their own lines of yarn. I went online, ordered some samples and a month later, ordered enough yarn to make a sweater. The original sweater and the yarn did not cooperate well together. So my lovely stash of Artfibers Ming, a wool/silk singles, stared at me, looking forlorn.

What I Made:

This spring, I decided to make a new ruffle-cardigan, with the Ming. This time, I shortened it a little (I don't really need a ruffle around my a$$) and then shortened and puffed the sleeves. I also tweaked the armhole a bit--I think the pattern is wrong.


As always, click pic for Ravelry Link.



I love it. It's not blocked yet so it's bulgy and puckery in places, but once I do block it, it will be lovely. The yarn is so so soft and the color. The best description I can give is the color of a puddle in a sunny parking lot. An iridescent rainbow.

Now, I need to wait for fall. Wool is not logical when the temp is 87 degrees. Also, I have less than 25 miles of yarn in my stash now--this one took a mile.

Vogue Knitting, Fall 2007, Ruffled Jacket by James Coviello