Toasty Warm!

Just in time for the cold weather...

I finished up my cardigan-length version of Norah Gaughan's Serpentine Coat from Knitting Nature. I really like how the variation in the kettle dyed yarn makes the pattern look a little more rustic and earthy. I'm also pretty pleased with the buttons, since I usually have trouble finding ones that I like that aren't too expensive. These were just cheap-o buttons from Joann's Fabrics, but when the light catches them they kind of glow.

I haven't done a lot of stranded colorwork, and it was nice to do a project with thick, worsted weight yarn so I could see what I'm doing and make sure that my pattern is correct. It's also the first time that I properly caught my floats on the backside of my work - the color repeats between the fractal patterns in the colorwork chart are pretty long, and I wanted to make sure that I didn't have any super-long floats that could catch on something.

Another knitting lesson for me? This was my first steeked project! I made a sewn reinforcement line up either side of the cut line, then snipped away.

This project got me really excited about pairing the Wool of the Andes kettle dyed yarn with other patterns in Gaughan's book. Her designs use shapes and mathematical principles seen in nature, and a lot of the projects in the book were knitted in yarns with subtle color variation in order to make the details pop out. The Snapping Turtle Skirt (Ravelry link) is made from a bunch of interlocking hexagons, and I've been thinking about making it in WotA kettle dyed colors like Spruce, Grasshopper, and Bordeaux.

Pattern: Serpentine Coat (Ravelry link) from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan
Yarn: Wool of the Andes kettle dyed yarn in Auburn, Timber, and Oak
Needles: KP Options Nickel-Plated Interchangeable Needles, size US 7