FO - The Garter Yoke Cardigan

Two FO Fridays in a row! This hasn't happened in a long time!

The Garter Yoke cardi is finally finished. The buttons arrived this week, were sewn on, and I've even already worn the cardi. :)

This cardi has been soooo long in the making. Seriously, there were moments when I thought I'd never finish it, lol. It's not that I didn't enjoy knitting it, and the pattern is great, but those sleeves really got to me. With that DK yarn it just seemed to take ages, you know?

That said, I'm really happy with how it's turned out. I ordered these buttons for it because I thought it might be nice to go for some yellow ones to complement the yellow flecks in the yarn. The alternative was wood, but I wanted something a bit more eye-popping than that. I was going to order some normal round ones when I spotted these elongated ones. I wasn't sure it was going to work but seeing it all together now I think it does!

I can already tell that this cardi is going to get a lot of wear this winter because it has long sleeves (hurrah for not giving up on those) that are going to keep me warm, but with the dk yarn it's not heavy and bulky but instead drapes really nicely and will fit under my slim-line coat.

So there you go the Garter Yoke cardi is finally finished - tadah! ;)

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A Year of Projects

Fridays are for FOs!

Yes, yes, they are!

It's been so long since I've been able to show off any finished projects on a Friday, and I'm so very happy with this project.

The Scheepjes Mystery Blanket has been finished for a little while now, but I never seem to get round to photographing it because either I'm at work, or it's in use, or it's too dark and dreary to get good light...

But anyway, here it is, in all its glory:

And another one for good measure... 

And from above... 

And if you haven't had enough now, here are some detail shots... 

I added the squares together with a single crochet stitch, which works quite well I think, because it adds a little raised frame around each of the squares but it is simple enough not to draw attention away from the individual squares. After some contemplation I added a plain single crochet border. I was going to make it wider, but D convinced me that it was good as it was and I was pretty sick of border crocheting by that point, so who was I to argue? ;)

Again, I deliberated for a while but in the end decided on a simple border because i didn't want anything too busy that would compete with the crochet squares. I really like how it's turned out and it's definitely been a success with the family, boys and cats and all - it's almost constantly in use, in particular as boy #1 seems to have kidnapped my granny square blanket for his own personal use in his room. Yesterday when I snuck up there before I went to bed he was all snuggled up in it. Much as I'd like the blanket back to keep in the living room I just don't have the heart to take it when he clearly likes it that much. Maybe I'll have to make another one...

I'm still waiting for the buttons for the Garter Yoke cardi to arrive, so I'll have to leave that FO for another post... 

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A Year of Projects

Happy Monday

Well, happy Monday, everyone.

Despite a rather so-so weekend including a trip to the 7-day surgery because of my body's rather excessive reaction to a red ant bite (my whole arm basically became one of those balloon animals) and further exciting adventures in summer colds and sinus infections, my Monday was actually quite happy. I went into work and was quite content to be in my office, tinkering and getting things done, and this evening D went off for his Banjo lesson and I went up for an early bedtime. Boy #1 pounced on the chance of some mummy time (a rare commodity in a household with two younger brothers) and is snuggled up next to me, inspecting my knitting.

Which gets me to the image for today - the first tentative beginnings of the Garter Yoke Cardi! I cast on this weekend and have been knitting slowly but steadily. Even so, since this picture was taken I've already managed to misread the pattern twice (!), but I'm not ripping. I think both mistakes are sort of fixable/hideable, and the thought of ripping out all these hundreds of stitches (because this is a top-down cardi there are a LOT of stitches) fills me with despair. I'll just have to try and hide the mistakes.

Anyway, here is is, next to some more flowers from the garden. It looks innocent enough, just lying there... ;)  So flowers + new knitting project + pretty yarn = happy thoughts for a happy Monday, right?

Back home...

I'm exhausted. Somehow holidaying with the kids is less like a relaxing holiday and more like some kind of boot camp inclusive of hideously early mornings and random drills throughout the night. Ugh. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but I'm, well, a bit in need of a holiday now. 

Instead I am coming back to hundreds of work emails and various urgent work commitments that I will have to attend to this week. Today, though, I'm taking it easy. I am checking on the really urgent stuff, but we only got back yesterday, and one of the less lovely things that I've brought back from Germany is a nasty bout of summer flu and a hacking cough that keeps me up most nights. It's great stuff, really. So I'm on a sort of sick leave today. 

Which does give me a little bit of time to check in on the blogging world and post an update. 

Despite all the tiredness and exhaustion and illness there were lovely moments this holiday that I won't forget. My dad got married, 15 years after my mum passed away and it was such a lovely and joyous event. The boys threw flowers after the ceremony, which they were both exited and baffled by ("why are we allowed to throw flowers on the floor?!?"), and we even managed to squeeze in a few days of camping with just the 5 of us after the event. For once it didn't rain and we all had a fabulous time.

I even managed to get a bit of sock knitting done!

Still, I'm happy to be home now. Next on the (non-work) agenda is the Garter Yoke Cardi. Did I mention that I finally found a yarn with which I get the correct gauge? It's my trusty Rowanspun DK, this time in a dusky olive colour. 

I so love this yarn and the way it knits up (my Tea Leaves were knit with Rowanspun in burnt orange colour), so I'm more than happy to have another project on the go that allows me to use this yarn.

FO - Tea Leaves Cardigan

It's finished!! 

Pattern: Madeline Tosh, Tea Leaves 

Yarn: Rowan, Rowanspun dk

The Rowanspun DK was perfect for this project - it's warm and cozy, but not too thick, making it the right choice for a nice lightweight summer cardigan. With that in mind (and because I wanted to finally finish it!) I decided to omit the long sleeves and go with short ones instead. I made the garter stitch hem a little thinner than the pattern suggests because I thought that with the short sleeves it might be too overpowering. Because I was using very large buttons I also made the button holes slightly larger. Otherwise this is knitted as per pattern. 

I'm so in love with this cardigan. Have already been wearing it this evening, despite the fact that it's not even blocked. I can see myself making another one, this time with long sleeves.

You can take the girl away from the crafting but you can't take the crafting away from the girl...

... or something like that.

I've been quiet these past few years. A busy family life with three little boys, a husband, two cats and two chickens, and an equally busy working life will do that to you.

That said, I've not been completely idle on the crafts front. Granted, it's taken me a while to finish even small projects, but the littlest monkey of the clan is 2 now (Already! How did that happen?!) and is showing signs of becoming ever so slightly more sensible and less prone to totally random and erratic behaviour, and boy #2 has joined boy #1 at school now, and it feels like there is a little more room to ... breathe, craft-wise. I've been going to a lovely spinning group, the Beretun Spinners in Barton. The group meets once a month on a Saturday for a whole day of spinning and crafting goodness and although I'm not able to go every month it's been so inspiring to see such wonderful crafters and spinners. Plus of course the sheer luxury of having a few hours off and just to myself once in a while.

Plus, I've been knitting. For far too long now I've had this project on my needles:

It's the Tea Leaves Cardigan (there is a link from Ravelry but I can't be bothered to look it up!!) and I'm knitting it in Rowan's Rowanspun DK in burnt orange. This is a discontinued yarn (sadly, as it's fabulous), but I have a good stash of it. It knits up beautifully, but with this and that, the project has still been languishing in the knitting basket for absolutely ages. I've recently picked it up again and apart from the finishing rows and button holes along the front edge and the adding of a couple of nice buttons it's complete! I can't wait to wear it!

All encouraged by the prospect of finally finishing a WIP I've also picked up an ancient sock project again. I can't even remember what this was supposed to be, because i never got beyond the cuff of sock #1, but I've decided that the pattern is so cheerful that I'll just turn this into a really simple pair of stockinette socks.

Well, here's to more crafting once again. I can't wait! :)