My First Sweater!

Yay!!  My first "official" sweater complete!!  And I love it!  The yarn worked out a little wacky, but I still love it anyway!  

I found this super-duper easy pattern over at "Dances with Wool".   It worked up beautifully.  I made my cardigan a little longer, and also the arms and cuffs are a little longer too.   It is a raglan knit from the top down.  I find the medium size to be dead on.

You can actually see the way the yarn worked up.  Believe it or not, this is actually one yarn!!  It looked like a completely different yarn when I got to the end of the skein.  

What I learned from making this:  

• It would be easy to custom this to a larger size.  You can try it on as you go to make sure it fits right under the arms.
• It would be very easy to make a standing collar by doing several rows of k2, p2 ribbing before you start the increases.
• Also the placket for the buttons could easily widened for larger buttons.  
• Stripes would be pretty or using two shades of yarn every two rows!
• I used a k2, p2 ribbing on the sleeves and cuffs, I prefer the look.
• Once you have made one, you will have to do another!!

As you can tell I loved this.  I have always wanted to make a sweater, and it actually be something that I would wear!  And this pattern has giving me knitting courage to try more complicated ones.  

It will definitely be my "go to" sweater!

I also wanted to share pictures of the shawl I finished up awhile back.  

I used the flower loom to do the flowers and then crocheted them together using some black crocheted cotton I had on hand.  

It took more time than I thought it would, and I started to get burned out before I finished it.  Joining the flowers got a little monotonous and something that required more concentration than I had.  If you look close you will see little places where the joining is off.

It would  be pretty over a black turtle neck.  I am thinking I may put this in my etsy shop.  

So, now I am in full sweater mode, and have already begun another!  LOL!  I am so ready for fall and sweater weather!

Before I go, here is a picture of me in my sweater!!  Isn't it cute!

I'm off for now.  Have tomorrow off for Labor Day so I have a whole day to do what ever I want. Who can guess what that will be?   LOL!