I really enjoyed the process of making my first Wardie cardigan (which, holy crap, was actually towards the beginning of this year, which feels like an entire lifetime ago), and the style really suits me, so I knew I wanted to make at least one more of them. And for some reason, my mind would not let go of the idea of making a bright magenta Wardie. I just loved the idea of the relatively gender-neutral/borderline masculine cardigan in a bright magenta. The thing is, I’m really, really picky about my pinks. I’ve learned from experience that a color that I think looks like a nice magenta online is actually a brighter hot pink, and so I wasn’t sure how I’d go about finding the “right” magenta for my imagined Wardie. And then it dawned on me – I knew I liked the magenta in the Joy Mitts bi kit, and since those were knit in the same Rauma yarn that Wardie calls for, I knew I could order that and be confident that it would be the magenta of my dreams. And so, during the brief lull I had between the last day of classes and my students turning in their Final Portfolios, I cast on for a magenta Wardie, while wearing my very neutral oatmeal colored one.
It turned out that a bright magenta Wardie was exactly the right knit for me during the incredibly stressful end-of-semester. I love knitting with the Rauma yarn; it has a delightful toothiness and bounciness that just feels perfect in my hands.
Once the Final Portfolios came in, I used Wardie as my “treat” – for every 3 portfolios I graded, I got to knit a few rows on Wardie before diving back into grading.
And now, a few days after finishing grading, I have completed the back of Wardie! I absolutely love knitting those nifty cabled decreases for the English tailoring at the shoulders, though in this bright magenta yarn, I couldn’t get the camera to focus on them enough to capture a detail shot!
My daughter saw me knitting this and is now lobbying HARD for her own magenta Wardie cardigan. She’s getting tall enough now (at 4’5.5″, she’s taller as a 3rd grader than I was as a 6th grader!) that I’m pretty sure the smallest size would work for her as a slightly oversized cardigan, so she may just get her wish. We’ll see!
whit::knits 