summer cardigan

I've been looking for cardigan patterns for months--since last summer, I believe. It's been surprisingly hard to find patterns that aren't flyaway (buttoned at the top), mostly stockinette, or frumpy.

Lately, the search has become focused on finding something summery. I want light and airy but not fingering weight. Finally, I found one I liked--the one on the cover of the April issue of Knit N Style.



The catch is that it's not the current issue. After cruising through Joann's and Barnes and Noble (good grief, I had no idea there were so many knitting magazines these days, yet neither place carries this one), I went to the one LYS in town that was listed on the magazine's web site. It's my least favorite LYS. I've only been there once and never went back after the rudeness I encountered the first time.

The owner was friendlier this time, but the only copy she had of the issue was severely water-damaged. It looked like it had sat in a puddle of water for a while, and more than half the pages were stuck together. She did not offer a discount. Perhaps I should have asked for one, and certainly I could have refused to buy it, but I really didn't want to order it off the publisher's back list and I didn't feel comfortable asking for a discount. So I sucked it up and paid $7, and resolved not to go back there again, no matter how desperate.

Then yesterday I was walking through Fred Meyer, looking for a kids' magazine. And they, of all places, carry Knit N Style. Not the issue I was looking for, but still. I would never have thought to look there.

The cardigan is going swimmingly. I'm knitting it out of merino/bamboo in my Sea to Sky colorway, and so far the combination is everything I was hoping for. Hurray!