Homemade Friday: Shawl Collar Cardigan

I'd like to say that I won't be able to wear the sweater I'm currently knitting, that it will be entirely too warm for a full sweater.

However, if you look at the forecast for the next week or so, you will see that I will have plenty of time to wear it, even though it's not finished yet.  I'm close, so I'll show you it next week.  Probably with a scarf and hat and multiple other layers because late March in Kentucky is the perfect time for all that.

I know I should stop complaining, that many, many people are still dealing with snow and ice and super cold temperatures.

But screw it.  I want to play outside on the new tree swing my husband made "for the kids."

Ahem.

But seriously, look at how happy they are!  Full of joy and energy and the love of being outside.  This, of course, was before they realized there was only one swing and once that happened there was much yelling and screaming and fighting and basically a normal Saturday afternoon, except this happened outside instead of inside.

Fun fact: I bought the shirt Adele is wearing in this photo
from a thrift store when I was pregnant with Sebastian, before
I knew he was a boy.  I just loved it.  It has a copyright date of
1977 on it.  Hippie.

And now we're back to being cold.  Today I pulled out an old sweater I made years ago.  I can't tell you exactly how many because I am old and this was before I started taking detailed notes on what I knit.  But I think it was four years ago.  Or five.  Maybe.

I first saw this pattern as an advertisement in a magazine for the book Knit 1.  As soon as I saw it I wanted to make it.  It was light and looked so pretty and simple.

I bought the book, and then proceeded to knit at least two other sweaters from it instead of the one I'd bought the book for, because that is just how I am.  Fickle.  Flighty.  A knitting charlatan.

I'm not sure what made me decide to knit the sweater, finally, years after I bought the book, but I finally did.  I used Knitpicks CotLin yarn, in Linen, I think.  My gauge was off, which meant that I knit the medium size and ended up with an extra large.  Which is fine.  I would like it to be a little more fitted and a little lighter and with shorter sleeves that don't get in my way when I try to work.

But the sweater adds a nice, warm, extra layer that's not too hot, as wool would be.

And it's held up pretty well throughout the years, thankfully.

The pin I'm using to keep it closed was a Christmas gift from Christopher a few years ago.

(I first tried to take pictures of this sweater myself, but ended up with this:

And this:

 And this:

In order to have a picture that actually showed the sweater, and to also come in out of the cold, I enlisted Sebastian to help. He was thrilled that he was actually able to touch the camera as usually I refuse to allow him too.  Those kids are destructive.

 Here are Sebastian's photos:

Adele is obsessed with that backpack.  She won't take it off.

Pattern:  Shawl Collar Cardigan from Jo Sharp's Knit 1.

Yarn: Knitpicks CotLin in Linen.