All About Sweaters

Life has been busy here. With my travels coming up soon, I've been working, seeing our parents, trying to finish a project for a show.  And, most importantly, trying to set up travel knitting projects! Even summer vacation is busy.

I have finished the cardigan for my daughter, Rachel, with just over a week until I fly to Florida. I'll give her the sweater then -- and hope that it fits!

It's the Windchill Cardigan by Melissa LaBarre. The pattern is easy and well-written. I used Valley Superwash DK, which was lovely to work with and is a good value for the price. I really like the waffle-weave edging.

With that done, I have tracked down my Vodka Lemonade sweater, which I'm knitting in Cascade Sport-Weight. 

I was able to slip it on today, and I think it's going to fit. I have broad shoulders, so I added some length to the raglan shaping. It's a very sweet little pattern, but I'm not sure it was smart to make it in wool. It's more of a summer sweater. 

Maybe I'll make a second? I don't know. That seed-stitch collar took forever!

Fretting about a Sweater

I've been working on the Windchill Cardigan that I'm knitting for my daughter. The whole issue of fit is what freaks me out about sweaters. My daughter is quite slender so I thought this would be easy: Just make the smallest size and then hope it's not too big.

But now that I'm working the arms, I'm worried that they are too small in circumference. I could email her to measure her biceps -- she works out -- but at this point, I'm just going to keep going.

I do like the waffle-weave border!

If it doesn't fit, I'll follow Elizabeth Zimmerman's advice and find someone who fits the sweater. That would be a bummer and I'd still need to knit a sweater for Rachel.

I've started embroidering my knitting doll. As you can see, I make up the color scheme as I go. It's more fun that way.

In other news, Seth got news this week that he passed his Veterinary boards! This one huge stressor off his plate. He'll continue on rounds through graduation in May. In mid-February we should know where he'll be for his internship year. So far, hospitals in Louisville and Miami have told him they are interested. His sister in in grad school in Miami, so that would be a great place for him.

And this is the boy who barely did enough work to graduate from high school. They surprise us, don't they?

In for the Long Haul

 I seem to be picking up long-term projects both in knitting and reading. Maybe it's the frigid temperatures that have settled over the Upper Midwest. We are looking at high's in the single digits this week.

Both the biography of Virginia Woolf by Hermoine Lee and the Modern Jewish History by Howard Sachar are incredibly well-written. I've been skipping around the biography and reading out of order. However, when it comes to history I'm a huge believer in chronological order. There are history books that go by topic, not timeline, and they drive me insane.

I try to knit a few rows each day on the ZickZack scarf, but I am more focused on the Windchill Cardigan, which I'm knitting for my daughter. I got quite a bit of the body knit yesterday while we watched the movie Woman in Gold. Cardigans don't look like much at this point!

And I'll leave you with a photo that shows how obsessed Kola is with food. We are worried we'll accidentally trap her in the refrigerator.

Joining up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.

Just Another Weekend

 With Thanksgiving coming up, I should be doing more cooking and cleaning. But other things are so much more fun -- not to mention relaxing! Keith and I are now watching The Roosevelts on Netflix, which is perfect for easy sweater knitting. I'm making the Windchill Cardigan for my daughter. I think it's a pretty easy pattern, but I'm worried about size with her in Miami and me knitting in Wisconsin. She'll be home for T-giving and Winter Break, so I'm hoping to be able to make any adjustments.

On Saturday, I joined some friends for the Wisconsin Book Festival. Much to my surprise, I was hooked by the author of The Storm Before the Storm. Mike Duncan, the author, created the podcast The History of Rome. As much as I love history, ancient history has never interested me that much, but this guy is good! I'm going to listen to the podcast -- all 189 episodes -- one of these days.

It turns out that he is a Madison resident and his book just debuted on the NYT's Best-Seller list at No. 8. 

And I'm still loving this cross stitch. Kathy wanted to know how to get a hold of it. The company is Satsuma Street, and the Etsy store is here.

Some of the patterns are digital downloads, but others are also available as printed copies, which I prefer. I bought the hard copy of this one, which is called Happinest.

I hope you had a lovely weekend, too!