I'm still here!

Hello out there! Apologies for my recent disappearance. The holidays were busy, I was sick and then the January workload set in. Anywho, you're all here for knitting, right?

Before the holidays, I finished up a pair of mittens for my friend Jen.

Pattern: Druid Mittens, Vogue Knitting Fall 2008
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine, less than 1 skein

Here was Jen's reaction when she opened her gift.

I think she liked them! She's a knitter, too, and appreciated the work (and love) that went into making them.

I also knit up some Baltimore Ravens hats for my brother and my dad. I didn't really follow a pattern; I just measured their heads and used that and my gauge to figure out how many stitches to cast on. I found cool iron-on patches on eBay and just pressed them on the finished hats. I used about 1 1/2 balls of Valley Yarns Superwash in black for each hat.

And, last but not least, I finally finished my Ribbon Trim Cardigan.

Pattern: Ribbon Trim Cardigan, for Blue Sky Alpacas.
Yarn: Blue Sky Melange, in Relish. About 13 1/2 skeins.

The actual knitting part of this was finished in early December, but I had a hard time picking out a ribbon that I liked. I ended up going with a pattern called Flora Earth by Patty Young. I then matched it up with a lace ribbon from Joann's for the edging. The sewing on of the ribbon was tedious, but worth the effort. With all the cold temps we've had this winter, getting outside on a sunny day has been a challenge, too!

I really love this sweater. It's really cozy, and the alpaca is stretchy for comfort, but retains its shape. I would definitely use this yarn again. Besides the ribbon, the snap band was time consuming and tricky, but I am really happy with how that came out, too.

I have started some new projects, and will get some photos and share those with all of you soon. A lot of spring patterns are out, which is giving me major spring fever. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping the Ol' Groundhog got it wrong today!

FO: Grannie Smith Cardi

Slowly but surely was the name of the game in getting the Grannie Smith Cardi done. Technically, this WIP had been in the works since summer 2006, so over 2 years later, I'm glad it's done!

Pattern: Grannie Smith Cardigan, by Melissa Wehrle [Ravelry] [Web Link]
Yarn: 10 balls (with not an inch to spare) Elann Baby Silk in Cedar

Modifications: I wanted long sleeves on this, so I cast on fewer stitches and worked even increases up to the sleeve cap.

Verdict: The sleeves came out a little short after blocking, and I ended up knitting one of the sleeves twice, but I really love this little sweater. It's light and airy and not your typical handknit. I also realized that the trick (for me) to this pattern was to learn how to read my knitting. I started this project initially in Kid Silk Haze and ended up frogging it because I couldn't get the pattern right. After working some easier lace patterns (like the Leafy Lacy Cardi), I learned how to tell what to do on the next row by what my knitting looked like on the row below.

Since I finished this a few weeks ago, I've been working on the Ribbon Trim Cardigan, my exciting fall project. I've got the back and 1/2 of one sleeve complete.

I also bought 2 different ribbons. Not sure which I like better. The green lacy one is pretty and would result in a monochromatic look. The other ribbon is textured and detailed and I would probably put a cream lace ribbon underneath of it the way they do in the pattern photo.

Decisions, decisions!