I always find it difficult to write a post on a knit-along. How do you sum up a month of laughing, frogging, joking, camaraderie and those magical lightbulb moments? Every morning in November, I have made myself a coffee and sat down, however briefly, to throw my eyes over the Camira KAL board and at times I cried laughing at the stories shared inside. Yes, partly because of Storm Ophelia’s effect on some of the participants and a round of applause is needed for Bonnie’s help throughout the KAL. Wasn’t she amazing!
With over 192 projects on Ravelry since release, I know you love this cardigan as much as I do. When I asked on the boards what you all loved most about taking part, the replies echoed my own thoughts on Camira. The unique pattern construction, the support to finish a huge project in a given timeframe, the feeling of being part of something even if you are knitting alone on your sofa.
Today’s post is mostly to show off the amazing finished cardigans that have graced the FO board in November. I wish that I could include much, much more but I wanted to show the range of colour and yarn choices and how each member of the KAL made their own unique cardigan. If you would like to find out more about any of these FO’s just click the image and it will take you to their Ravelry page.
One of the most loved features of Camira was the unusual construction. I myself had an immediate need to cast on the second I read the first clue. I wasn’t alone in this, by the end of the first day there were a number of knitters who had already finished and impatiently awaiting the release of clue two!
Clue two was the hardest part of this KAL by far. Knitting sleeves are the most difficult part of a garment knit for me but the unusual construction of Camira made these interesting and fun to knit. Believe me, that was a sentence that I never thought I would write. Clue 2 was not for the faint of heart but stitch by stitch the shoulders were attached to the back centre panel, taking care in keeping the textured stitches in pattern and finally the relief set in when joining in the round and proceeding to the cuff.
Clue three was quite a lot of knitting but having the sleeves completed it felt like the cardigan wanted to knit itself. The gentle A-line shape of the cardigan allowed it to be it flattering to wear and I love the length of Irenata’s Camira above. The problem most encountered during this clue was picking up the stitches so that the pieces lay flat together and didn’t bulge. Carol has tutorials for this entire KAL if you are still knitting and in need of help which compliments the tutorial links in the pattern.
Clue 4 seem to come all to suddenly. This clue was focused on finishing the cardigan to perfection. There are also tips and suggestions on how to do this if you have made amendments to the pattern, e.g. increasing the length, added waist shaping. The very first Camira on the FO board was by Ann427 and I love the matching shawl too! Huge congratulations to Lapindalice for winning the yarn by Blue Moon Fibre Arts in the FO draw.
Thank you all so much for allowing me to share your beautiful garments with the world on Carol’s blog. I only wish I was able to keep up with you all myself, cough. If you would like to join in on a KAL, Carol is running her very first mystery Knit-along this January. Pop over to the Ravelry group here to join in and find out a little bit more about the pattern here.
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