Stress

Today, I feel out of sorts. Perhaps, it's my daughter's last day of preschool (which she missed) or that she's been sick since last Thursday with a fever on and off or lack of (extended) family relations/support or a stupid crochet magazine that promised me a free subscription to another magazine if I renewed but they don't have a record of it or that I may be coming down with the flu myself! I know, most of it sounds petty but I'm feeling kind of blue and everything that normally is just an ant hill turns into a hugh mountain! It doesn't help that for the most part I've been cooped up alot and I finally went out today for a short while. Sometimes I just feel blue...

On a positive note, I have had more time to knit. I started on the Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig last week. I bought 2 skeins of the malabrigo lace yarn that I've been saving for a project and finally decided this was the perfect project for the yarn. I was hesitant on knitting with such a "thin" yarn but after the initial cast on, it went okay. The yarn is soft and lovely to work with. The progress is slower than I like because the stitches are so small! Honestly, I've been thinking about starting my next project in a worsted weight yarn already!

I've completed the raglan increases on the cardi and I'm about 7" into the body, so a few more inches to go before I end it with 2" of either ribbing, seed stitch or some type of lace? I'm still undecided, it may come down to what ever is easiest to do! When that's done, I can start the sleeves and finally the collar. It's a good design and the pattern is easy and clear to follow. So for now, I'll just keep plugging away at it and eventually I'll have this whole thing done. I can't wait. My first lace weight cardi! Thank goodness for knitting AND (best of all...) hugs from my daughter! I feel better already :-)

Here's my progress so far:

Mother's Day & Molly Ringwald Top

I had a GREAT Mother's Day. Hubby took us out to one of my favorite restaurant. I got a nice card and present (so I can buy more yarn). I was treated to ice cream afterwards from Dairy Queen, I love their dip cones! I also got to purchase 3 skeins of wool yarn at .99 each and I bought 3 yards of some nice fabric. (I'm going to try sewing again and see if I can sew up a couple of shirts for myself). It was really a terrific day. I must not forget that the best part of all is that I have a beautiful and HEALTHY little girl.




I finished my Molly Ringwald today. I decided NOT to start the another project until I was finished with this! This was an overall easy knit. The issue I had with this top is the sizing. Even though I was able to get gauge on a size 5 knitting needle, the top still turned out about 4" too big on top. I had to do a lot of (crochet) decreases to get it to fit right. It's a good thing I can crochet, thanks to my mother in law! I used 6 skeins of Elann Sonata in Jade. This pattern was purchased through Ravelry byMichelle Rose Orne.





I love the length of this top and the overall design. The pattern was fairly easy to follow and I'm glad that I finally made it. If I was to make this top again, I would make it in a smaller size and really keep my stitches super tight around the ruffles.




I'm undecided on which project to do next. I'm a bit reluctant to start the feather cardigan. I'm worried that it's going to be a hard knit because it's done with a lace yarn. I have never knitted anything with lace and I'm worried that it will take forever! I like projects that are quick and that uses a worsted or bulky yarn. In the Spring/Summer, it gets so hot here so it's not really feasible for me to make a sweater or else I'd be making sweaters all year round! Anyways, I'm sure that I will probably start a project tonight if not tomorrow. I just love to knit!

My Knitting Adventures Continues

After 5 long months, hubby's finally off his crazy, insane work schedule. 7 days a week/12 hour days with maybe 5 days off total for my daughter's doctor appointments and company! Whew, it's been a long time! Hopefully, my life can get back to normal. I can sleep normal (no more getting up at 3:45am) and more time to knitting!

Looking through my yarn stash, I realize that most of my cotton yarn were green, various shades of green. Don't get my wrong, I really like green but 75% of my stash is green! For my next project, I am knitting the Molly Ringwald top by Michele Rose Orne. I'm about 70% done with the front. I have to say that I am not really enthused with it. It's not the pattern but rather the color of the yarn. I'm not thrilled with the green (jade) I'm using. I like the color but I think a different color would be a better choice for this top. So, I've been looking around for another project. (I know that in the past I would not start a project until I've finished the current one but for a while now, I've decided to abandon that idea)! I purchased the Day Flower Cardigan/Dress by Angela Hahn, which I LOVE. Unfortunately, I have not been able to download the pattern! I really wanted to start on this but I'll just have to wait patiently to hear back from the designer on why the file cannot be downloaded. I then decided to purchase the Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig. I'll be using the 2 skein of Malabrigo Lace Yarn I purchased a month ago.

I spent this morning trying to unravel the Malabrigo yarn ~ almost there! Note to self, buy a yarn winder! This will be an interesting experience since I have never knitted with a lace weight yarn. (I have crocheted with a size 3 thread but not knitting). I think the finish cardigan will be nice and soft! It's always good to try something new, to keep me interested in knitting! Wish me luck. ;)

Kelso Lace Cardigan DONE DONE DONE!!!

I finished knitting the Kelso Lace Cardigan on Monday. The cardigan was a bit small so I really needed to fully block it. I anxiously waited 2 days and finally my cardigan is ready! I'm so excited. This is by far the hardest pattern I've ever done. I started this sometimes in the beginning of March. I did not know that doing 5" of the neck shaping and attaching sleeves would take so long and be so difficult. I think it was really hard for me because I had to figure out when to do the decreases, especially trying to get the right and left front to match. Honestly, I'm a lazy knitter. I like pattern where everything is spelled out for me. I want to be able to zone and watch TV while I knit. But...I don't always choose the easiest patterns. I just simply love lace and I have to work at it. It's well worth the effort and I'm proud to be able to actually knit this!

As always, I'll be trying to decide what my next project will be. I already have a few in mind. It will probably be the Molly Ringwald or the Path Cardigan. I realize that I have quite a few pattern I purchased and I need to use them! I'm also trying to use up the yarn in my stash before I purchase more...but we'll see how that goes. I'm already itching to buy more yarn!

Here's a photo of my kelso cardigan: (You can see the lines from the shell underneath...I probably should of wore another shell but the color was a perfect match)!

Easter and Knitting Slump

It's been well over a month almost 2 since I last made an entry into my blog! Where has all the time gone? Easter was good. My mother in law and nephew were here. Jasmine and I had an Easter party with her preschool. We also did the annual Antelleum Easter Egg Hunt. She did fabulous this year. Last year she picked up about 5 eggs (with some help from MOM) but this year, she had about 2 dozen eggs! With her being older, she understands now that your suppose to pick up the eggs and put them in your Easter basket! It was a blast for us. I love spending time with her and doing fun things like that.

I've been in a slump with my knitting. I started the Kelso Lace Cardigan (a pattern purchased from Ravelry by Suzanne Frary) in the beginning of March, March 3rd? I knew it would be a slow project because of the lace. I'm always to careful with lace because I have this fear that I'm going to leave out a stitch! I always go back and count my stitches after a set of lace to make sure I have the correct amount of stitches. What I didn't realize was that this was going to be such a hard pattern. I would of never imagined that the 5" of neck shaping would give me so much trouble. After a few times of frogging what I've done, I do what I normally do! Start another project. I decided to make the little lace cardi from the April 2008 issue of Creative Knitting. Little did I know, I would have so much trouble with that too. I think my confidence was down so I was having a harder time. I had to write out the pattern because there were soooo many decreases and I was getting confused with decreases I've done! I'm happy to say that there is a happy ending to this and I actually finished it last week.

It was a great feeling to actually finish a project. With my confidence up, I decided to pick up the Kelso Lace Cardigan again. (By the way, the designer was great when I emailed her with questions about the pattern. She also had suggested using a life line). So, even though I was still unsure of if I was doing it right, I decided to proceed. I didn't want to bother the designer again. After another few rounds of frogging, it just kind of made sense what the pattern was saying! I finally get it! Wow, I put in more life lines and plunged ahead. I've made some modifications along the way but I'm almost done with the neck shaping. I'm so excited and thrilled. I just had to take a photo and post my progress. I'm glad that my perseverance is paying off. I can't wait to finish this. This is by far the hardest project I've ever done!

Snow and The Cap Sleeve Tee

On Friday, it was 70 degrees. What a beautiful day so on Saturday when hubby said that it might snow on Sunday, I was skeptical. On my way home from church, it started to snow, and at times it was so heavy I thought I was back in New York! It was very beautiful and I didn't mind driving in it since it wasn't slippery at all. I had to take a picture because snow is very rare in Georgia!

After finishing my Garter Yoke Cardigan, I was looking for an easy project to do. I wanted to make something in turquoise. I saw a beautiful top at the mall in that color and I knew my next project had to be that color. So, I used the yarn that I had bought as a valentine's day gift to myself. I had purchased this pattern last May, it's called the Capped Sleeve Tee by Sirdar. The pattern is fairly easy. It actually went quite fast until I started the neckline. For some reason, probably stress, it took a lot longer. For me stress +knitting usually = disaster. That's what happened here. I had to redo and tear out the neckline countless time. Finally, I thought I was doing it right but it wasn't. I ended up going with the rev st st instead of the garter st as the pattern indicated. I also had a really hard time trying to get the gauge. I figure I would rather have it less "clingy" but even in this size, the top is still very clingy! You can see every bump! Humph! When I thought I was finished, I tried it on. Ugh, it was horrible. The neckline was hanging off my shoulders. It was going into the ugh pile. After a day away, I thought I try to make it work. I decided to do more rev st st and do some decreases. After approx. 7 rows of decreases (with purls between the decreases), I was happy with the results. The neckline has a ruffled look to it which I think it gives it some character. One draw back is that it is form fitting and you can see every line and bump in it! I'm still very happy with the end results and I'm glad I didn't give up.

Here's a photo:

Garter Yoke Cardigan

I've started going to church at the beginning of the year. I've been talking about it for so long that when my friend, Carolyn invited me I decided to take her up on her invitation. The church is over an hour away but I don't mind the drive (especially with hubby working on Sundays). Why go to a church over an hour away? Mainly because Carolyn goes there. I've known her for a few years now. I also admired her as a person. She is not judging, kind, sincere, warm and has great family values. Everything to admire in a person. Church has turned into a good thing for me and also Jasmine. I get to enjoy hanging out with Carolyn, make new friends and at the same time get "something" out of the sermon. As an added bonus, Jasmine likes the nursery/daycare there and that's a big plus!

You may be wondering why I even brought up church. It does have to do with my Garter Yoke Cardigan. My goal was to finish my cardigan by Sunday and wear it to church. (Though people are very "dressy" at this church, I figure what could be better than wearing a sweater I made with love for myself)? I'm happy to report that I did finish my sweater last night around 9pm.

The Garter Yoke Cardigan is from the winter issue of Knit.1 magazine. It's an easy knit but I did have trouble on one part of the direction. I just wasn't sure if I was interpreting the directions right. Anyways, it was a pretty fast knit. This was also the first time I used double pointed needles to knit (the sleeves). I'm very happy with the way this sweater turned out. Here's a photo of me I've taken this morning before church and a photo of my beautiful Jasmine in her new dress!

me:

and my beautiful daughter:

Update on my lacy ruffled cardigan. I did remove the cuffs/collar and ruffles on the bottom. I also shortened the length. I like it a lot better now. I ended up giving it to my mother-in-law while she was visiting. Here's a photo of the final cardigan: