A Classic Baby Cardigan... and some big news

You'll have to read to the end for the big news, I'm afraid...

I can't believe it: Again I'm forced to put my WIPs aside for a cute little personal handmade new baby gift! What a shame... ;-)

I was NOT going to make another hat, sooooo boring after a while. I love making baby blankets, but the little girl is already here, so I compromised for a cardigan!

(The pattern is Lisa van Klaren's Classic Baby Cardigan)
I just love the softness that ensues when using a 4mm hook on fingering weight yarn! It'll be perfect for a baby.

I'm also still working on the striped skirt. Can't wait to wear it!

AND: The knitted scarf is coming along, too. And I think I can see fewer and fewer mistakes in the more recently knitted rows...

And now for the big news: We are currently preparing for our biggest move yet. We'll be leaving the cold of Germany for Raleigh, North Carolina! So all these projects are actually just to keep me sane during the completely insane process of getting my visa...
But by now it's almost completed and my husband has finally been able to tell his boss, so it's not secret anymore as this topic used to be. What a relief!

And now, head on over to Kristine's and see what everyone else is doing!

WIP Wednesday

So I rethought the colors of my skirt again. I did end up switching from horizontal to vertical stripes and I it seems to harmonize with the pattern much better. I guess it was kind of against the pattern's nature to try and force horizontal stripes on it!

And while I was thinking about the whole matter and waiting for people to voice their opinion (in the end, I listened to my husband, who thought the vertical stripes would be more flattering...), I needed a small project to give my mind some rest. So I started making this cute little needle case. The crocheting was done quickly and I blocked the acrylic to help it lie flat. Now I "just" need to sew in some fabric and get felt for the part that holds the needles...

And I finally caved and dabbled a bit in knitting... The (Danish and very cool!) dollar store had bamboo knitting needles for 1€, it's all theirs fault. They also had a hook size I didn't have yet for 2€... and some bulky acrylic in an awesome color! Well, it's really low quality, you can pull it apart with your bare hands and it wasn't as cheap as the needles. After painstakingly casting on some stitches for the first time and twisting my fingers until midnight, this was the result:

But I have to admit, it wasn't half as hard as teaching myself the first steps of crochet. I guess that's because this time I know how to hold yarn, control the tension of it, know what all those number on the yarn and needles mean... it helped a lot to know a somewhat related craft when starting a new one!

And now, head on over to Kristine's and see what everyone else is up to! Also stop by Sara's!

Free Pattern: Granny Sleeves

I made this beautiful wrap for my Mother's birthday

and the yarn was just soooooo yielding I figured I could make something for myself! And because I just love the look of the cluster stitches on the wrap I went for something with granny squares. I was going to come up with my own pattern but then I realized that I was combining two patterns: Nina Leon's Ribbed Sleevo Scarf and Suzetta Williams' Granny Scarf.

But I'll still give you a pattern for what I did, I call them my Granny Sleeves!

And you can also wear them as a scarf if it's too hot for long sleeves! So, here's the pattern:


Yarn: dk weight (I used just under 400 yards, but I'm tiny...)
Hook: 4mm (G)


Gauge is not important, you'll be working with the actual measurements


Colors: A = beige, B=pink, C=green (Just letting you know what I used, pick whatever you like!)


(1) 
In color A chain multiples of 4 for the length of you scarf. Keep in mind to subtract quite a bit since you'll keep adding to the length with each round. My foundation chain hung a little lower than my elbows and produced a full length sleeve. Guesswork, no formula, sorry...
Add 2ch and then 3ch for turning chain


(2)
dc into 4th chain from hook
dc in next 3ch
[ch1, skip 1ch, dc in next 3dc] repeat along scarf
dc into last 4ch
fasten off color A


(3)
attach color B in space between last two dc
ch3, 2dc,ch1
[3dc, ch1] 3 times into same space you attached B
[3dc in ch-space, ch1] repeat along scarf
[3dc, ch1] 4 times into space between last two dc
[3dc in ch-space, ch1] repeat along other side of scarf
join with sl into top of ch3
fasten off color B


(4)
attach color C in next ch-space
ch3, 2dc, ch1, 3dc, ch1 into same space
3dc, ch1 into next ch-space
[3dc, ch1, 3dc, ch1] into corner space
[3dc in ch-space, ch1] along the side of your scarf
work corners as described
join with sl into top of ch3
fasten off color C


(5)
Continue to add rounds as in (4) until the scarf is wide enough to wrap around the very top of your arm. If your yarn stretches take that into account, you'll want the sleeves to be pretty tight fitting at the top of your arms so you won't loose them!
Leave a long tail to sew first arm.


(6)
Fold scarf lengthwise and sew arms closed from the ends to the middle. Mine are 17" long, but again, I'm tiny...


(7)
Weave in all ends. Wear it!


Btw, I'd love to hear your opinion on how you like your patterns written. This is only the first one I'm actually writing down. Do you prefer brackets over asterisks? Do you like more line breaks and paragraphs? How easily can you follow the instruction?... Things like that...

Thank you so much for reading and your feedback!

WIP Wednesday

And it's Wednesday again!
I'm kinda between projects and I need my husband to take some pictures for me...


I have been working on a shrug that is mostly just sleeves and can also be worn as a scarf. Here's a brief glimpse:

Did you recognize the yarn? Yes, those are the leftovers from the wrap I made for my Mom's birthday! I loved the way the yarn looked in the cluster stitches, so I decided to make something with granny squares. This not entirely my own pattern, though; but I typed it up anyway. I'll be uploading it as a free pattern soon. (At least I hope it's going to be soon...)


And guess what? There's still some yarn left over! I'll try to make a matching hat for this little thingy...


Alright, now head in over to Kristine's and see what everyone else is doing: