I finished my Laelia cardigan almost a month ago but haven’t been able to get photos taken until today.
When I first bought this yarn, I pictured it as a zesty, spring-y splash of citrus orange to liven up a summer sweater; something silky and lacey to slip over a sundress and wear with orange heels. And even though it is most definitely a summer sweater, and will look great next summer over a cute dress, I can’t help but think it looks pretty nice against the brilliant fall foliage here at the back of my house.
The pattern is by Hanna Maciejewska and the yarn is the luscious Merino Silk Fingering by The Uncommon Thread. I can highly recommend both pattern and yarn. The two together make for a very serendipitous pairing.
(I have a terrible cold; thus the somewhat pained expression on my face. Or it could be that I am all smiled out after jumping and whooping for joy today – Go, Trudeau!) You can see how beautifully this yarn showcases the lace pattern. I made two changes to the pattern. First, as I’ve adopted from many other Ravellers, I’ve had the two cascading lace patterns “meet” at the back of the sweater. In the pattern, they are separated by a laddered lace detail; this is done to accomodate the many sizes. You need to do some fiddling with the numbers to make this work, and it won’t be appropriate with every size. Second, I’ve knit the sleeves without any lace.
I had both bad and good timing with this one. Bad timing because I finished it just as the cold weather is settling in, and it will have to sit in a drawer until the spring comes. Good timing because no sooner had I finished it, then I developed hand and wrist problems which have prevented me from knitting.
