Finished object files: Livie cardigan | SofTrope Worsted

Finished this Livie just in time for Miss L's birthday on Monday

For this whole week I've been walking around with my completed Livie cardigan taking every opportunity I get to show it off. I proudly pulled it out for others to admire at playgroup, at my ministry wives group, over a cuppa before Miss L's Leaping Lizard's class, at my mum's place and at Buttonmania while I was shopping for the perfect button to pair it with. Suffice to say I love it and I want everyone else to love it too.

The things I love about it is firstly the design. It's simplicity is appealing to me because it gives it a classic and timeless look. I have a vague hope in my heart that these pieces will be worn by my future generations and still look as stylish as it does today. However, though simple I find the asymmetry of the front a bit funky and lovely to look at.

I also love how it's just one button. I find sewing buttons a fiddly job and trying to button up clothing on a wriggly toddler even more fiddly. So, one beautiful button is perfect for this piece and for every day wear. I even went to the effort of shopping at Buttonmania rather then just settling for a Lincraft/ Spotlight button.

To finish my love of this piece I also loved knitting it. I am such a fan of Carrie Bostick Hoge's Madder designs and this is the fourth pattern of hers that I have knit. Carrie's pattern's are so well explained and the designs have been different each time. She doesn't use the same seamless raglan construction every pattern and she incorporates many different techniques which I have enjoyed learning as I knit her work up.

Other than loving the pattern I love the yarn too. Originally I had intended to use the suggested yarn, The Fiber Company's Canopy Worsted in Quetzal but when I pulled it out to cast on I decided that the colour looked too masculine for a little girl's cardigan. I um-ed and ah-ed about it for a day or two but I decided that I wanted to knit this cardigan for Miss L in a yarn that I loved without any doubt. Therefore, I pulled out these two skeins of SofTrope worsted that I had been keeping for a rainy day. Actually I had always intended to knit this yarn up into something for Miss L so this cardigan became the perfect opportunity.

Forgive the photo with the borek, sometimes you just can't get kids to sit still without given them food.

The colourway is 'Luminal' and I don't even know if that is a real word. The yarn has beautiful soft variegated pinks and though I normally avoid pink clothing for my girl I love how this yarn has been dyed. The other thing I love about it is that it is a superwash merino. I have decided to try to use superwash yarns when knitting for the kids. I think the processing of the fibre to make it 'superwash' hardens it up a bit and makes it less easy to pill. When I knit the Camilla Babe for Miss L last winter I used the buttery soft Swan Islands Organic Merino Worsted yarn and though it is the most lovely thing to wear against the skin I find that it has pilled a lot because of the constant abrasion it experiences when I carry Miss L. Maybe when she is a little older and asks for fewer 'Up please's I can forgo the superwash again.

In my enthusiasm to finish this and get it on my daughter I neglected to block it. Now looking at it I think it could do with a block just to give it a little more ease in the fit. It fits perfectly right now and I know that we'll get this winter out of it but I wonder if we'll get to see it again next year. Oh well, it's not really a problem because I will knit something for the kids to wear each season so it's not like she'll be needing it next year anyway.

What is your opinion when it comes to blocking? Is it a cardinal sin to not block finished knitting?

Alrighty now, Miss L's birthday knitting is done and now to finish off the piece for Sir S and then I might give myself a bit of a knitting Sabbath, just for a day.