Can you guess what I’ve finished?
Yes indeed, it is my own Cockatoo Brae cardigan! This pattern is one which I helped Kate with for her Yokes book. I love Kates colours in the original and the only reason I didn’t use the same was I have already made myself a yoke using FC58 as the main colour so I wanted to do something totally different.
In my last post I was talking about my colours for my Cockatoo Brae cardigan, I originally chose a group of oranges, reds and purples which would have looked great I think.. but I do love the yellows..I decided to go for shade 203 (J&S jumper weight) as my main colour and then the shaded yellows and oranges for the yoke. At times while I was knitting I thought the middle shades were too muted but now I think they are perfect and they help to make the yoke subtle but striking which is what I wanted.
As you know (maybe) I knitted the body and sleeves in pieces on my machine, so I should have finished this a lot faster than I have but work and life meant it was set aside for a while.. But last week I set to it and made real progress and by Sunday night I had finished the body and linked all the seams together.
So this week I got it steeked and my button bands done. I was struggling to find buttons that looked right so I went for these plastic ones which blend in and look quite inconspicuous. Originally I was going to use metal ones but they stood out too much, same with the yellow ones so I’m really happy with these ones. Today I bought some of Kates star ribbon so as soon as that comes I will be sewing that inside to cover my steek edges.
It wasn’t intentional but my Cockatoo Brae is quite like a Cockatoo! This is a new addition by my neighbour and I think its quite fun. I am really pleased with how my cardigan has come out and it makes me think of spring, which in Shetland is probably a long way away.. but I can dream.
speak soon x
ella gordon 
The yellows on the grey seem like sunshine on a cloudy day – love them. And good call on the clear buttons too.
Still fighting with my 2nd hand knitting machine and losing. Sigh. Inspired to tackle it once more- thank you, Ella :)
Gorgeous, Ella. I love the colours you have chosen.
Well done, its gorgeous. I have just unpicked about 6 inches of the front of a patterned cardigan because Ive decided I really dont like the way the patterngrows. Im going to do one of Kates Yokes instead, you have just inspired me. Thanks yours is fabulous
LOVE the egg yolk yellow, that really stands out…just right :) better a Cockatoo on the fence than a flamingo :) Great job.
It came out wonderful! I like your color combination a lot. Congrats! Very pleased to you using a linker as well.
It looks great.
Just lovely!
Gorgeous cardigan! I love seeing the photo of the machine knitting. It’s definitely an insight into a whole other world of knitting I have no idea about!
That’s a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo – they visit my veranda regularly, along with rosellas, lorikeets and king parrots. I recommend googling pictures of all of them – lots of colour inspiration! There are other sorts of cockatoos, including Gang-gangs and Major Mitchells. They are all huge and incredibly loud. I love them!
I live on Mount Dandenong, on the edge of Melbourne – the national park is at the end of my street. Unlike your national parks, they are wildernesses with no houses or livestock.
It was amusing to see the photo of the sulphur-crested ‘cocky’ in this blog! They frequent where I live (Far South Coast, NSW). The colours in the yoke are reminiscent of this noisy, cheeky bird. A gang-gang or black cockatoo inspired yoke would be striking too.
Perfect colorway! One of the nicest yokes I have seen so far….
Hi Ella I really love the colours of your Cockatoo Brae. So beautifully soft and very original. Beautifully knitted and a great fit. I notice you have a Haig linker, that brings back so many memories for me. I used to have a knitting machine and Haig linker too. Enjoy wearing your Cockatoo Brae x
That’s beautiful, sunshine on a cloudy day :0)
What kind of knitting machine is that? I’ve only seen the long type before.
Gorgeous colours, it’s turned out really nicely :)
This is just gorgeous. I love your colour choice
Lovely, lovely work. The colours are wonderful and the buttons are the perfect choice. Very nice.
WOW, so lovely and neat…
No, Spring in Massachusetts is a long way away!!!! Your cardi is beautiful!
Lovely colors….. such a happy sweater. You’ll have to show us what ribbon you’ve chosen, please.
Oh, that is so lovely! It’s so nice to wear bright cheery colours in the winter.
So pretty and it looks like it fits you perfectly!
What a difference the change in colors makes. Really pretty.
So beautiful! I love the grey color! And it’s my dream to have this seaming machine!
Lovely, and so interesting how the colours you used make it look like a completely different sweater than the original. It’s very spring like with that sunny yellow!
I love your color selections. I liked the original as well, so now I have two different Cockatoo Brae’s I’d like to knit!
I really like the color combination. Could you tell me about your kniiting machine?
Hi Ella
I am exploring knitting machines and I see your above is not flat. What kind is yours? Also can it do a rib or do you do that first or after?
Thank you
Jenny
Hi jenny, I have a silver reed machine and a knit master ribber. I have more information about my machine on my machine knitting for a yoke blog post. Thanks!