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A Darn Pretty Drawing For A Darn Good Cause!

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Each year The Compass School, an independent school for grades 7-12 in Southern Vermont, takes its Junior class on a two week service trip to South America. Every student goes, whether the family can afford the trip or not. And every student performs valuable service work in the communities they visit!

To help them raise much needed funds this year (every student gets to go, whether the families can afford the trip or not), we have donated a 5 inch set, US 4 through US 11 (yes, 11!) This set is crafted from an as-yet-unavailable pattern, Tortoise, and comes with four cables, four stops, and a russet case signed by Tom – Set #1200!

To support this amazing program at this amazing school, tickets can be purchased below.  Tickets are $1 each, 11 for $10, 25 for $20, 60 for $50, or 130 tickets for $100.  For the knitter who loves to support student adventure and stellar educational experiences while increasing the odds, $250 will provide that knitter with a whopping 350 tickets!  Go HERE

We’ll chart progress on here and in the Heads Up! DP Drawing! thread in the DyakCraft group on Ravelry, so check back often over the next two weeks to see how the students are doing. Drawing date is April 30!

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Knit a Classic Aran Cardigan with this Free Knitting Pattern

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time. 

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring. 

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. 

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row. 

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves. 

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body. 

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy. 

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn. 

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]