Disaster FO, and a Promising WIP

I did a dumb thing. And I really should have known better.

As I mentioned in this post, I am (was) working on a green version of my Wildflower Tank. And it turned out too big. I decided to make one size larger than I originally made, because i have a little bit of muffin top post-baby (I have not been exercising nor done a single ab exercise of any kind since before I was pregnant, so it's entirely my fault). But clearly my upper torso is the same size, because this tank turned out way too big. The idea of frogging it just seemed too painful, so I googled about shrinking silk and read that if it's in hot water, the weave or knit should shrink up, but not the fibers themselves. So I tried that on my new FO:

And the dye bled, and the white sections turned lime green. Which of course that's what happens when you submerge hand dyed yarn in hot water, and is why you block and wash knits in cold water. And after all that, it didn't shrink at all, not even one millimeter. I'm so gutted! I'll take modeled shots so you can see, but not just yet. Even though I finished it more than two weeks ago, the pain is still too fresh.

So I'm taking comfort in my new WIP, a classic black version of Nespelem:

I always buy cheap black cardigans from H&M/Gap/etc., and they just get ratty and old looking so quickly. I want a classic black cardigan that I can thrown on with anything, and I'm hoping that this is that cardigan! I'm a 32, and this cardigan comes in a 30 or 34, so I'm trying to get somewhere in the middle. But I'm nervous now, the green tank disaster has shaken my confidence.

Scottish Yarn

My parents recently took a trip to Scotland, and very sweetly made an effort to go to New Lanark (about an hour outside of Edinburgh), which is a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring an 18th century mill, which still produces wool and textiles. They very thoughtfully brough tme back a sweater's worth of yarn:

Sorry for the lousy photos, it's been overcast and raining every morning this week. 

I love the colour! It's  beautiful donegal tweed yarn, 90% wool and 10% silk, and I'm really looking forward to knitting up a gorgeous winter sweater to cuddle up in.  Now, there are three things that are looming large in my mind to potentially make with all this gorgeous, gorgeous yarn:

Now technically,  Peterborough (the first one) and Nidden (the second one) call for worsted weight, and this yarn is DK (which Nespelem calls for). The trouble with Nespelem is that I find myself leaning more towards Peterborough or Nidden, because I like the long look and the drapey style. And when I look at the other FOs, peopel have been using DK weight for both of those other sweaters as well, with lovely results; and they  all call for 4mm or 3.75 mm needles, respectively. Which means I feel pretty confident about subbing in some DK and just have a slightly lighter weight cardigan if I decide to go for Nidden or Peterborough.

So what do you think? I'm having a tough time deciding, and sure could use some advice from you guys!