Ulrike pattern preview

Say hello to Ulrike, or at the very least, a tiny piece of her. Whence the name, you ask?

My mother’s family comes from a small city outside Stuttgart, Germany called Wendlingen. One of the first Dukes of Württemberg was named Ulrich – and Ulrike is the feminine version of his name. What was once the duchy of Württemberg is now the state of Baden-Württemberg, and this is where the Black Forest, or Schwarzwald, is located.

(The color of Malabrigo used here is called Black Forest)

I also really like the name Ulrike. It means “prosperity and power,” from the Germanic uodal “prosperity,” combined with ric “power”. (Yes, German was one of my college majors — ask me to recite the Hildebrandslied one of these days).

There were two Swedish queens named Ulrika — I’m also part Swedish — and they were both really interesting, especially in the context of their era’s social mores.

Ok, enough of the boring history stuff, Shannon, what’s Ulrike going to look like and why should I want to knit it? What is she?

Ulrike is a picot-bottomed, rib-sleeved cardigan with interesting i-cord details. It is fun and easy to knit, with both long stretches of “TV knitting” for those difficult days when you just want to knit without even having to look down, plus tricksier bits for when you need a challenge. I’ve also got a new way to calm your nerves for crochet steeking, too!

At this point I am debating ‘to hood or not to hood’ (I do love a hooded cardi, and I have some ideas…) but it’s wicked close to being done. I’d put it down for a long, long time and then it called its siren song to me from the Unfinished pile.

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