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:

Lacy Ruffled Cardigan

Once in a while, I must admit defeat. I attempted to make the Lacy Ruffled Cardigan from the January 2009 issue of Creative Knitting. It looks cute, form fitting. I thought it might be kind of a flattering cardigan to wear on special occasions. I had been dragging my feet on this project because there was so much sewing involved! The sleeves, sides, collar, cuffs and ribbons all needed to be sewed together. I hate sewing because my seams always looks so sloppy so I had been putting it off but I finally force myself to do it. (And on a positive note, my seams looked a lot better)!



I was very excited to try it on. It was not a pretty sight! Hubby said it looked terrible! He's always so supportive of my knitting so I knew when he said it looked bad...it's bad!



If I had seen this sweater at a store, I might be tempted to try it on. The design is nice but it's just soooo unflattering on me. The cuffs are way too big and the collar is too puffy. Oh well, you can't win them all! Now, I can finally move on to my next knitting project!

Here's a photo, and no I'm not wearing it! ;) Happy Knitting!

Happy Chinese New Year and Mrs. Darcy Cardigan

Happy Chinese New Years everyone. I must admit that I'm not cooking anything special today. With hubby working such long hours, I decided we'll just do a simple dinner. Otherwise, I would of made him take me out for a great chinese dinner. Oh well, I'll have to take a rain check!

It feels so good to finish a project! I finished my Mrs. Darcy Cardigan. It's from here: http://ndieknits.wordpress.com/patterns-2/patterns/. I had to knit this because I LOVE the movie, Pride and Prejudice. It's one of my favorite. Anyways...I really enjoyed knitting this. I guess I'm kind of a simple girl. I like sweaters to knit that are simple. I like projects I can knit that relaxes me and not add more stress! I followed a fellow Raveler's modifications mostly (dharmabum), with a few modifications of my own. I didn't like how narrow the front was so I did 3 less decreases on the neck line. I also added one more button as an afterthought. I'm thrilled with how it turned out and it feels so warm! The sleeves are a bit long but honestly, I like it. It's a great sweater for a day like today ~ drizzly, 50ish degree day! (That's one of my pet chickens in the picture with me).

Happy New Year!!!!!

Ribbed Cap

I have always wanted to try the NORO yarn. I finally bought a skein with my order with the yarn I needed to finish the shalom cardigan. I received a free pattern from Vogue Knitting that require 1 skein for the ribbed cap. Perfect! I casted on a few days ago and went to knitting. Half way through, I started to wonder if I would have enough yarn to finish. My gauge is probably off, since I rarely check gauge. I decided to go the 5" instead of the 6" before starting the shaping. Following their directions, my ribbing would not line up so did some slight modifications. It's a very easy hat. I think I would of prefer to do it in the round. The fit is disappointing, too small for me. However, it fits my daughter just fine. I love how the different colors play out on the hat.

Shalom Cardigan

I didn't realize that it's been over a month since my last post! December was a very busy month. We visited our families in New York. It was a short trip but during that trip, we saw a ton of snow. I had to drive during one of the snow storm! Boy, was I nervous. It's been YEARS since I've driven in the snow, or seen that much snow no less! Thank god for 4 wheel drive! I even got stuck going up a small hill but putting in low gear on the 4 wheel drive got the car moving again. Being such a short trip, I didn't get a chance to spend a lot of time with all the family we have there.

When we got home, I came down with the dreaded stomach bug. It was a terrible way to spend my Birthday throwing up and feeling so achy, just plain lousy. By the next day (Christmas), I was feeling better! I even put up the Christmas tree.

Jasmine went back to school today, after 2 1/2 weeks off! The teachers said she had a great day. I was very excited to hear that. She truly is such a blessing! I received these photos of her today. They were taken sometime in November at her preschool. I thought the photographer did a great job.

My knitting has been on the back burner. I don't get to knit as much. Some days, I even go without knitting, which is unimaginable for me! I finally finished the Shalom Cardigan by Meghan McFarlane. It was a very, very easy knit. The yarn was a bit hard on the hands. I used a size 10 needle and 4 skeins of the Brown Sheep bulky yarn. It would of been finished sooner but I ran out of yarn. Our LYS doesn't have the bulky yarn so I was able to order it from WEBS. I'm happy to report that it arrived fairly quickly. The weather has turned cool again, so I'm happy to report that I may get some wear out of it yet!

I showed hubby my cardigan and he said "wow, that's really nice." I was thrilled that he gave me such a nice compliment! ;)

Happy New Years!

Finally Finished and New Hat

I'm finally finished with the Lush and Lacy Cardigan from Sweaterbabe. I honestly don't know why I dragged my feet on this. After an discouraging start, things started to go smoother. Then, I think I got bored with it and started a few projects in between. I finally decided to pick it up again only to find out I don't have enough yarn to finish it. I called the LYS but they didn't have the right color! Darn, but wait...don't I have another skein in my stash? Yes, I do! So, my goal was to finish it by Thanksgiving but I'm a day over. That's okay. This cardigan is sure worth the wait. It's absolutely beautiful and I love it. It's a good fit and I love the color and design. I used a size 9 needle to knit this cardigan and a little over 3 skeins of the Cascade Superwash in violet. I wish that the photos came out better! Here's a few more photos:

And the back:

On my short road trip today, I decided I was going to "crochet" a hat for Jasmine. Something quick and easy. I measured her head and with my size N? hook in hand, I started to crochet away. I basically did what I felt like it and ended it when I thought it would be big enough. I'm glad to say, it was a success! It actually fits her.

And....

Now...I have to search for a new project to do! Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!