Beekeeper’s Cardigan

Honeybees depend not only on physical contact with the colony, but also require its social companionship and support.  Isolate a honeybee from her sisters and she will soon die.
 ~ The Queen Must Die and Other Affairs of Bees and Men

It's been awhile since I have visited, but this always feels like home after all of these years and I am always happy to be here because I always draw inspiration from my sister bees! 🙂

Some of you may have seen that I ran a sale for Memorial Day and I had a very strange run on my Emma yarn, which made me know that someone had designed a pattern using this yarn base.  After a quick google search I found that the pattern design is a challenging 4 day sweater knit called the Beekeeper's Cardigan.

Did you just read this?  Do you know me?  If you do you know how very much I love our little bee sisters who work so hard to pollinate the food that we frequently eat with no real knowledge of just how they helped to put that food on our table.  Bzzzz!

(Marie Greene image) 

The above picture is from Marie Greene's images on Ravelry and once I saw her pictures I knew immediately that this was one challenge I would commit to this summer…and I am hoping to do it in a week.  I know that the design is a 4 day sweater, but she gives a little more time to those of us who are not tiny and I am giving myself an extra day or two for working 2 jobs, one of which has been dyeing yarn for others to knit this honey sweet sweater!

When I was knitting my swatch I was torn between which side of the fabric I would use and to admit I am not completely sure yet which side I will use.  In the swatch above and in Marie's picture you can see the bees if you use your imagination and on the flip side as you may see in my first picture you see the soft honeycombs.  Both are so beautiful!  The beauty of this pattern is you do not have to decide right away as there are no button bands.

The yarn that I used in these pictures is not Emma.  Because I sold out of this yarn so quickly, I decided to use a new dk weight yarn blend of soft merino, baby alpaca and silk that I have recently brought in and I really like it a lot.  Enough so that I will be adding it to my line and calling it "Piper" and will be listing it later this month.  Such a soft yarn against sensitive skin, which I definitely have.  The color of course is Tupelo Honey which is one of my most favorites, showing the beautiful shades of golden orange and soft greens of the pollen our little bee sisters collect on their journeys.

As a side note after talking to my mill, I will have more Emma here on Monday in limited quantities, so I opened up orders again for a little while as I know his supply is limited until late August.

I can't wait to knit my sweater and I look forward to seeing yours!!