Maple Street Cardigan and HATS!!!

I had been procrastinating on my Maple Street Cardigan for a while now. I was a bit reluctant to finish this because I was afraid it wasn't going to fit right and the front band had to be seamed. On Saturday, I was determined to pick up my cardigan and work on it. Unfortunately, there was a power outage due to a thunderstorm. So instead, I worked on another hat! I had to finish my hat first but I did finally work on it on Monday. Instead of knitting the front band, I decided to crochet the band. What the heck, if it didn't work out I could always frog it and follow the directions then. I was surprised at how much I liked the crochet band. I ended up crocheting 5 rows of single crochet (approx. 1 inch) on each side. This gave me the extra inch or so I needed to make it a better fit. I also decided to crochet 2 rows of single crochet around the neckline to prevent it from rolling. I'm actually thrilled with how this came together. Now I'm wondering why I was so afraid to finish this!

The pattern for this cardigan is from the Fall Issue of Interweave Knits Magazine. The photo actually showed a cropped version and I decided I wanted it to be longer. I increased the length to approx. 24" and lengthened the sleeves too. The other modifications I made are: knitting the sleeves on a size 6, 16" circular needles instead of DPNs and crocheting the front bands and neck. I also left off the ruffles. I really LOVE the ruffles but in the end I decided I would get more wear from this if I left it off.

In the last few week I was getting discouraged about knitting ~ so I wanted to knit up something fast and easy. I decided to make some hats. So what if I don't really wear hats...? I started on the Slouchy Copy Cat Hat. I was thrilled that the hat was working up so quickly. I could finish it in 2 days of easy, no pressure knitting! How thrilling. And I was able to use yarn left off from my lush and lacy cardigan. I was hook. I immediately started on another one. This time, I made it a bit smaller since the first one was too slouchy. My third hat, I started during the power outage. It was kind of interesting trying to knit with a flash light! I decided to use the general pattern idea from the Slouchy Copy Cat Hat but add some lace to it. I still had the pattern from the #100 Little Lacy Vest so I used the falling leaves lace pattern. Making these hats were fun and I think it got me back on track to knitting!

Hat #1:

Hat #2:

Hat #3 (Not Blocked):

Ishbel DONE!!!

I should be working on my maple leaf cardigan but I've been working on a scarf/shawl called Ishbel. The pattern is by Ysolda. (I like her designs, the previous pattern I purchased was also from Ysolda called the Yoke Leaf Cardigan).

I've been looking at various shawl pattern for the last month or so. My mom really like shawls and I thought I'd make her one. I have not found a pattern I liked until I saw Crochetgurl's Ishbel. She can be found here: (http://www.crochetgurl.blogspot.com/). When I saw her Ishbel, I knew I had to make one for my mom...urrrr...myself! I am a selfish knitter, I admit! Being impatient, I found a skein of Berroco sock yarn in my stash. I have never used a black yarn for a whole project before. At times, I must admit it was hard to see the stitches without the proper lighting.

Before starting on this project, I tried to read up on the comments people have made on Ravelry. I'm happy to say that the pattern was easy to follow. I used mainly the chart and refer back to the written directions for the last few stitches after the pattern repeat. As usual, I obsessed about the shawl and worked on it a lot. I should of been working on my computer course! (I actually logged some time in today and got a few sections done already)!

I finished my ishbel yesterday and I tried to blocked it. I was disappointed that the blocking didn't take! I even attempted to block it today with an iron (yikes) but still, I could not get my edges to point out! Okay, maybe the third time will be the charm. I'm attempting to yet again, wet block this. (I think this is a nylon and wool yarn so it should block, right)? Anyways, if all else fails, I'll still have a beautiful fo.

The good news is that I started back on my Maple Leaf Cardigan last night. It's nice to knit with a worsted weight after working with a sock yarn. Hopefully, I can stay motivated on this!

I ordered some lace weight yarn from Knit Picks, I can't wait to get them! :) :) :)

(Sorry about all the typos folks, thanks crochetgurl for pointing out the wrong spelling of "Ishbel").

Almost Back to Normal

August was such a busy month. We took 2 vacations. We were away for a total of 20 days! We returned from our 2nd vacation this Sunday. The vacation was fun. It had been over 5 years since we've been to Las Vegas, my daughter's first - and her first time on the plane! The 10 days went very quickly! We ate at all our favorite restaurants, some were as good as we remembered and others not. We stopped by Chinatown several times to buy my favorite drink, boba milk tea. While there, I purchased a gold necklace with a jade and gold dragon pendant.

We didn't spend much time on the strip. We took our daughter to Circus Circus once so she could see the jugglers and play some games and go on rides. Other than that, we took our daughter mostly to the park to play in the water sprinklers. It was a very family oriented vacation even though we were in Las Vegas!

I didn't get as much knitting done as I thought I would. I did finish the body on the Maple Street Cardigan. I am currently working on the 1st sleeve. However, I did learn some new stuff on another craft ~sewing! My brother-in-law's sister's mother (there's got to be a better way to say that), taught me some tricks in sewing. She help me sew up a top and skirt. (I did do a little of the sewing but because we were pressed for time, she did most of the sewing for me)! We went shopping for fabrics and pattern which was a lot of fun. She helped me to sew and I helped her with knitting. It was a good combination!

Here are some pics of my projects:

top:

skirt:

Maple Street Cardigan:

I was so inspired by Crochetgurl's ishbel http://crochetgurl.blogspot.com/ that I decided to make one too! I have been wanting to make a shawl for my mom (or me?) but up until now, I have not found a pattern I liked. So between working on my online class (which I started yesterday) and trying to finish up on my Maple Street Cardigan, I'll be working on my ishbel too!

Ishbel (what I have so far...):