Projects
She Got Me Again
D’oh—Judy Flores got me again. Dang it, Judy!
Judy Flores of Atlanta, Georgia is one of my knitting muses. She’s a constant, prolific knitter who is really, really good at picking patterns and choosing the yarns and colors to deploy to make those patterns; we share a love of grays, blacks, blues, quirky motifs, and a very occasional pop of neon. Forget about trend forecasts—I want Judy’s edit of what the grans who are killing it are knitting and wearing this season.
The latest Judy project that I can’t stop thinking about: her Boro, fresh off the needles.
Boro is a cardigan designed by the famous Danish designer Marianne Isager, named for and inspired by the Japanese mending tradition. It uses two of Isager’s own laceweight yarns, Spinni and Alpaca 1, plus her DK-weight Jensen, a DK, for a cardigan knit to a DK weight and a gauge of 5 1/2 stitches per inch.
That back
The color is brighter than life here, but: zoom in on the front bands, with garter-edged, graduated ribbing.
Doubling Isager laceweights is a formula I loved for the Tokyo Shawl, many years ago. My Tokyo Shawl is still one of my favorite things I’ve ever knit; it comes out every November or so, when a wrap with both warmth and heft is needed.
I know from that experience that an Isager pattern can call upon a knitter’s self-reliance. Although the book is still on its way to me, I think I’ll enjoy the challenge and puzzle of creating the faux mended patches, which are worked in simple mosaic patterns spiced up by intarsia. Not sure if there’s a chart! Adventure awaits.
I could order up the Isager yarns for my Boro, I do love them. But first, I’m going to try a little experiment to see whether MDK’s own Jane—held single of course, as it’s already a DK weight on its own—works for Boro. I’m optimistic because Jane’s base, with that gray-brown undertone from the Masham in the blend, conveys a bit of shadow similar to the effect of marling 2 strands of yarn together. If it doesn’t work, it will be because marling is key to the boro vibe of Boro. I reserve the right to change my mind!
Smugly, I finished my official Rhinebeck sweater in May—my Waffle Pullover, which was too warm for the weather by the time it was off the needles, and therefore will be brand-new come October. But wouldn’t it be fun to try to finish Boro in time for Rhinebeck twinning with Judy? Wait up Judy! Am I bothering you, Judy? What’s that you’re knitting now, Judy?
And since we’re talking about Rhinebeck sweaters—it’s mid-July, after all, time’s a-wasting—are there other new (or new-to-you) patterns that are calling to you for your festival season sweater? The comments are open!
Simply stunning – looking forward to your knitting journey, and possibly mine!
That! I want to do that. What a great way to start a day.
I’m sorry Kay but what knitter wouldn’t want to twin with you! Or is the correct usage twinning with you? ❤️.
Love this cardigan. Keep us posted on your experiment with Jane yarn.
Judy is the best. I am always inspired by her too.
Something tells me Jane yarn will work. I look forward to the pictures of your progress!
Boro IS stunning! I can’t wait to see and learn about how Jane(yarn) works. This sweater looks too complicated from the photos to be knit…..and there are SO many colors/textures, etc!! Thank you for sharing!♥️
OMG, love, love, luuuv this!! Rooting hard for a Jane solution which entails me knitting some Bluebell and cheery Marigold!
Bright and logical idea, I would think, Kay! Blues (my half-learned/half-cocked belief) can be a no-fail mixture because I’ve heard/read that “all blues go together” (my husband raised a questioning eyebrow on that one) so I think you have that aspect covered. But brighter tones might work too because of that Masham softening effect. (I’m staring at the creaminess of the Peony and Yorkshire across the room awaiting inspiration.) Looking forward to your experiment as I slog through what the first time was a joy of a ribbed hat, but a fatal flaw forced me into a total rip-out. I am definitely not a Judy. (I’ve always loved that Tokyo shawl, too!)
I’m considering a vest next….they seem to be having a moment….I do love your style of writing….your sense of humour is uplifting….keep it coming!
WOW!! What a beautiful sweater! Thank you for pointing us to Judy’s projects as well. She is a knitter who digs in to all the fun things. I await your Boro testing with Jane. I’m so drawn to Isager designs but always pull back out of concern whether I’m up to the task. Lovely!!
I love Isager patterns and this one is especially great. Please keep us posted on how it goes with Jane. I would definitely consider making it.
The sweater is beautiful and I just added it to my ravelry favorites. Looks like a challenge but I’m pushing myself!
My favorite is actually the picture of Judy looking at the glacier with her ?granddaughter. We got to take the “little people” in our lives to Alaska this summer….ahhhhh…the lifelong memories:)
Perhaps the Shop can carry the book???
I would love to knit this sweater! Looks complicated but I would enjoy the challenge. Let us know how Jane works out
Love the concept. Just finished a Patchwork Cardigan Harry Styles fashion in pastel pinks and Grey’s. All my little pieces yarns knitted into a Bohemian style sweater. Hours spent threading yarns away.
I am planning to use Noro to make my Boro! (I have a lot of blue & brown Noro cotton blends in my stash.)
Sadly the directions for Boro are written only. I’m making my own chart so I can see how the patches work. If Kay makes one too maybe we can compare!
I’ll share my big discovery: Isager gives directions for a stitch pattern 4, which is used in the swatch but doesn’t appear in the sweater directions! It is the same as stitch pattern 1, just offset by 2 stitches (and shown in a different color). Onward to knitting adventure!
The book (A Knitting Life 3: Tokyo Tversted) is absolutely exquisite, full of must-make sweaters. I want to knit them all–some in multiple colorways.
Another beautiful pattern knit with double strands of yarn! I have a question about knitting with doubled strands that I’m hoping Patti can answer: when held double, the yarn twists a tiny bit with each stitch, one yarn twisting around the other. After a while this kinks up the yarn & uses more of one skein than the other. It helps to keep the balls of yarn in yarn bowls on the floor & every few stitches shake out the doubled working yarn to distribute this extra twist along the length, but eventually I find it necessary to stop knitting & untwist them. All of this makes the yarn a bit uneven to work with, as sometimes it’s more highly twisted than at other times in the knitting, & the problem of using up more of one ball than the other remains. Are there tricks to minimize this extra twisting? Using yarn doubled is such a popular technique, but I haven’t seen any mention of this issue. Thanks so much!
That is one wonderful cardigan!!! Can’t wait for you to see if Jane works —I might be twinning with you, Kay!
For Rhinebeck, I just cast on a Humulus with yarn I bought in March in the Faroe Islands. Pretty sure it will be too warm, but I’m dying to knit it, so off I go. If I knit faster than I’ve ever knit before, perhaps I’ll make a fresh cardigan to take, too….
Wow, that sweater is gorgeous! Thank you for sharing this.
What a beauty of a sweater! Jane, I think would be great.
Let us know how it goes.
Goes to check out stash…..