I took the Urban Aran for a test drive last week in McMinnville, Or.
It exceeded expectations in every area of performance. It looks great, fits great and is cozy and comfortable. It kept me warm while I enjoyed a class of Pinot Noir (or was it Black Rabbit Red?) on the rooftop bar of The Hotel Oregon.
Later, bolstered by its timeless, yet hip, diagonal cables, I remained stoic during a theatrical performance so atrocious that it seemed designed to suck out your soul, like dementors, and make you feel as though you’d never be cheerful again.
It's a great sweater pattern.
McMinnville is a casual, artsy town in the middle of the Willamette Valley American Vitacutural Area. Besides having many restaurants and stores offering “wine tastings,” the downtown has a great yarn store, The Knitting Basket.
I bought six skeins of Donegal Tweed Homespun. The rich green color doesn’t really show in this photo. You’ll just have to take my word that it is beautiful, and if I’d had a set of size 8 needles on me, I would’ve hung the “Privacy Please” sign up on the hotel room door. That’s how much I love it. (Thanks for buying it for me, Sweetie.)
6 comments:
I know this is an older post, but what a beautiful sweater! And a very informative zipper tutorial as well. I would love to make this exact cardigan version of the Patons pattern (in fact, it looks like you're even about my size) -- I was shocked to discover this is not a cardigan in the original! Are the necessary modifications written down anywhere? Many thanks!
Kirsten, thanks for your comment. On the zipper tutorial page, you'll find a section called "Preparations." It describes the modifications I made to convert to a cardigan.
Thanks so much, Suzanne. I don't know how I missed that the first time through. ;) Easy mod -- this sweater seems to lend itself really well to becoming a cardigan, given the symmetry. Love your cat... my folks have had a few Siamese in their day, the latest is Maximus. :)
Hello there! I'm considering making the Urban Aran cardigan soon, using Donegal Heather yarn, and I'm thrilled to have found your zipper tutorial (I am already scared of putting in the zipper, months before it's ever likely to happen) as well as your pics of your beautiful finished cardigan! Did you modify the collar much? Your collar looks great - better than some of the others on Ravelry, I think.
All the best,
Lucy (Ireland)
Thanks, Lucy! The only change I made in the collar was to continue the cable pattern instead of ribbing as the pattern called for. I might also have switched to smaller needles. The cable gave the collar a little more body. If I were to make this sweater again, I'd make the collar more fitted by making the neck hole smaller or gradually decreasing. Since the pattern was originally a pullover, the neck is a little wider than it needs to be for a cardigan.
I was searching for directions to put a zipper in a sweater and came across your post. Your instructions are great and I LOVE the sweater!!! I may have to check into making that one myself! Thanks for your great zipper directions!
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