Cast on while waiting in the parking lot for my truck to get fixed! I was only able to pick up two balls today but I think I’ll need five all together (after calculating yardage I’d need five for either size I am contemplating).

11/2 - Picked up remaining 3 skeins I needed from Fancy Tiger. I also finished knitting through the first skein! It’s coming along well. The gauge is a little loose but I know the yarn will bloom & should full in to just about right. Very excited with my progress & how the fabric looks. I LOVE the color & tweed.

11/3 - Started in on second skein & making progress through the easiest decreases. This is my favorite kind of knitting, a mindless sea of row after row of stocking stitch in a beautiful yarn that fascinates me with it’s color changes. I also get excited knowing that soon I’ll have a beautiful soft squishy cardigan to snuggle up in.

1/7/14 - So I think I’m about to where I want it length-wise but I am having fears of running out of yarn (I think it’s from my Chunky Options Hoodie trauma) so I decided to knit the sleeves first then I’ll know how much yarn is left for the shoulders. I don’t really have a good size 5 DPNs so I picked a random set that is smaller than a size 6 but larger than a size 4. I cast on using the awesome cast on I learned from the Chunky Options Hoodie, again I feel like it’s burning me in my chest as I type, but it may really be called the Norweigen something? I’ll look it up when I get home. It’s from the most awesome book ever, “Cast On, Bind Off: More Than 50 Methods for Beginning and Ending Every Knitting Project Perfectly” by Leslie Ann Bestor. Seriously, buy that book. It is worth every penny. It is so well written & organized, I love how it gives you explanations of the pros v. cons of each method plus when to use each one.

1/18 - Finally made it down to Fancy Tiger & bought the last two balls left of the tweed they had left (which should be MORE than enough to finish & add pockets).

2/7 - After knitting up about 6” decided the sleeves were way too wide. I know that’s the whole concept of the pattern, to not increase the sleeves, but I think it will drive me crazy. After finishing my silver summer swing sweater, plus a few others, I’ve decided if the body has a lot of positive ease & drape, it’s best if the sleeves are fitted. For my body shape & fashion style it just makes it look cleaner, more tailored. If I have a saggy sweater with loose sleeves I look sloppy. Cast back on 44 stitches & will increase as needed to get a snug fit.

3/4 - Restarted on the sleeves after a sick-of-looking-at-this-mess-of-a-project break. Knit 20 rows of ribbing & started in on the sleeve. I need a lighter cardigan. It’s now warming up a little & I realized ALL of my handknits are extremely warm & are not made for weather above freezing. This will be the perfect weight cardigan for spring.

3/11 - Finished the first sleeve on the bus ride from downtown this morning & cast on for the second. Now that I’ve made the first one & have good notes on shaping, the second one should go by much faster. Plus now I’m motivated to get it done!

3/20 - Finished all the increases on the second sleeve. Now to just knit the 50 straight rows & I will be ready to join & do the final shoulder decreases! I may be able to finish this over the weekend.

3/24 - I decided to finish my midnight hoodie over the weekend instead. Totally cool cause the weather was surprisingly sucky so I needed the hoodie more than this cardigan. However, I did get the sleeves joined to the body. If my calculations are correct, tee-hee, I should be ok on using extra small sleeves with a medium sized body while doing shoulder decreases.

3/26 - Knitted up through the first few decreases & everything seems to be ok. I’m doing the first five decreases per pattern (mirrored decreases at raglan sleeves every four rows) then I’ll try it on & assess the fit. I may only do decreases across the back so the sleeves don’t get too tight plus my pet peeve is to have the shoulders too wide & then it slides down my back. I HATE it when stuff does that. But I’m progressing quickly & hope it’s done soon. I like this part of my project cycle, where I’ve got a dozen projects that are mostly finished & I get like 6 things done in a month. But then I go 6 months without finishing anything (bi-POLAR!!!).

3/30 - Well I didn’t get as much done as I wanted but I did get about half way through the shoulder decreases.

4/3 - Finished decreases & bound off neck. Tried it on & it will be perfect after blocking!!! I bound off the neck tight because I HATE it when the back gets loose & sags. I also seamed the underarms & wove in all the loose ends after knitting a few inches of one side of the collar (I can tell this part will not be my favorite). I also started seaming as I went, which is what I did when I joined the sides of the hood on my midnight hoodie. I like doing it that way because then I know EXACTLY how long to knit to join to the finished side. It can be hard to eyeball especially when they naturally go off in different directions like this one does. Plus it gives me a better feeling of accomplishment & I don’t have to go back later to do a lot of seaming. By the time I get to the end it’s already done! Instant gratification!

4/30 - Finished the first half of the collar! Looks lovely & I put the middle stitched on a holder to graft. Started on the second half, not long now… I accidentally started grafting on the wrong side but realized it creates an extra row of chains that creates a really nice definition along the neckline. It started right at the raglan so I continued on with grafting the wrong side & I’ll mirror the look on the other side. I’ll graft right side to raglan seam then graft wrong side to make the chain line match up with the other side. SUPER EXCITED to be done!!! Side note: Colorful Yarns is now also carrying Geilsk Tweed!! They have a bunch of colors. YAY!!!

5/2 - Finished the collar! Put it on & it fits perfectly!!! The sleeves are kind of long, but I like them that way. If I fold the ribbing back they hit right at my wrist. I have a few more ends to weave in but I’m calling it done. I do still want to make pockets so that will happen at some point in the future, but until then I can wear it the way it is now. Yay! Love the mods, the tighter sleeves particularly, it’s JUST the right length & the perfect amount of ease. This will be an excellent addition to my wardrobe.
*Note to self: make afterthought pockets!