I finished one half of the front of Mariah back in February. Here she is:
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| click on me for a (slightly) better view of the cabling |
After I put it on a stitch holder it looked a little big, which concerned me because cardi fronts (if anything) tend to look small, right? I measured it and sure enough, it was a good inch/inch and a half too big. WAY too big to salvage.
Now, I did a gauge swatch, and measured, and got perfect gauge. Then, since I planned on washing and drying this cardi, I even washed, dried, and re-measured it.
I think I used a bigger needle when knitting it though. It seems lately most everything I knit is on 7’s, but for some reason I knit cotton looser, so I had to go down to 6’s. I’ll bet I just grabbed 7’s without even thinking about it.
Not the end of the world. It’s a quick piece to re-knit. I think I did it on one Saturday morning and afternoon. But since I have to re-knit it anyway it has made me reconsider the color choice.
I have some celtic green cascade 220 in my stash that would also make a lovely Mariah.
So now I’m not sure what to do.
Stay with the black. It goes with everything. The cotton will make it more of an all-season cardi, and who doesn’t need more black in their wardrobe?
Or, go with the green. It’s a beautiful color, it’ll show the cables better, and if I’m already considering it then I should just go with it. Plus it’s from the stash and that’s gotta count for something, right?
I’m not putting up a poll because I want to hear your thinking behind the color (and fiber) choice.
Whaddya think?
Once you start the pondering, it’s clear you are wandering.
Go with the green.
And no, I didn’t intend for that to rhyme.
Tough call Jody. I love green! However, the black will be far more versatile. No help, I know.
But I do like Christy’s rhyme.
I say go with the green. As someone who wears black every day, even I have to admit that I don’t enjoy knitting with black at all. The cables will show up better.
Oh definitely go with the green. Maybe you can knit the black one at a later date for someone as a gift? Someone you really love though, cause that is a lot of work
My vote is also for the green. The only reason I was able to do those cables in black without ruining my eyesight is because I did it all outside in the sun on a camping trip. It’s also going to show the cables a lot better; shame to do all that work to have it not show up (everyone who has done Mariah in a bright colour has way better cables than mine!)
I’d say the black, since it’s more versatile in color and fiber.
I say black, you’ll get a lot more use out of it not only because of the color but the washable cotton will mean it doesn’t sit in the hamper as long as the wool would (at least at my house).
I say green……..spring is here, yada, yada. You may be sorry you asked us!!!
While black is my favorite color
I’d say go with the green, it is gorgeous!!
I believe the green. It’s always good to have one or two pieces that aren’t necessarily versatile. Plus, I think that the green really would look good with that cable pattern.
I vote for Green!! You want your cablework to POP as much as possible and black just wont do it!
Make Mariah in the green cascade and maybe make a Ribby Cardi in the black, or maybe a Sitcom Chic…both classic, year round styles that are well suited to the black all-seasons yarn!!
Whatever you choose, it will be lovely, I’m sure!
Good Luck!
Tough call. I don’t know your climate very well, but I’m making mine out of peruvian wool and it’s knitting up very densely and it’s going to be very very warm. I imagine the cascade 220 would be the same, so keep that in mind. If you want something a bit more “all seasons” for this sweater, you might keep it in the black cotton. I guess it depends on what time of year you were hoping to wear it!
Green. I love the green and and you’ll really get to see the pattern. Save the black for doing a simple cardi in–the knitting will be a lot easier. I made one with deep ribs at the waist and cuffs that I love. The knitting was simple, a must for my aged eyes and black yarn, but the little shaping details give it some pizazz. Just my four cents.
Hey, if you can cable in black, go for it! I couldn’t hang with my black yarn for cabling and had to re-think my choice for Mariah. I still haven’t picked a new color, but the black yarn has been repurposed for a Ribby.
My vote is for the green because I think the cables would show up better and if you’re rethinking your choice of color, it must mean something! Black does go with everything but maybe this is just not the right pattern for the black. The black would be lovely as something lacy or something with less stitch definition.
I say green – it’s more unique than black, and plus you can see the cables better.
Green, well it is Spring!
You could always make two! Which will you wear more? It sounds like the black. The green will probably show off the cables more but so what if you have cables that pop in your closet. I’d rather have more subtle cables and have people ask me if I have anything else to wear because it gets so much use!
Isn’t green the new black? Haha! Seriously, I have been wearing black for fifteen years and I am getting tired of it. It can be so severe. And I think this cardigan in particular has looked beautiful in some of the rich colors that I have seen around the blogs. Green, my vote.
I vote green! The cables will show better, save the black for something later.
My favorite color EVER is green, I’m very biased. And, wool will pop those cables more than cotton.
Well, “celtic green” for a sweater with Book-of-Kells inspired cables? Sounds too perfect.
I’d say green also, mainly because if your brain is going there, that’s probably what’ll make you happier!
Plus, Cascade 220 is so nice to use for cabling (I think moreso than cotton, but that’s just me)!
GO GREEN!
What can I say? I gravitate towards greens and blues. But on top of that, green shows cables better than black, regardless of the material.
I’d go with the green. Initially I was contemplating either black, gray, brown or taupe for my Mariah, and then Jen pointed me towards the red. I am SO happy that I’m going with color now. I’ve got so much black, white and neutrals in my wardrobe that, even though it’s red, I’ll be able to wear Mariah with many outfits. Besides, something with color will make those gorgeous cables pop much better than the black would.
I like the green. Last fall I saw a green hooded cable sweater at the mall that I just fell in love with but didn’t buy due to me being pregnant. The design was very similar to Mariah, and the color was what made it look so fabulous.