Progress

I have made a little progress on the Printed Silk Cardigan. Other things have prevented me from working on it much, including an impromptu quick shrug project (more on that later), but I have worked on it a bit.

Wanna see pictures? You know you do... (Ignore the wrinkles, it was wadded up in my bag. Definitely will need blocking and maybe ironing when I'm done.)

Whole piece so far:


Stitch definition:


Artsy! (Looks long, doesn't it? It's only 16" right now and should be about 18" once washed.)


I should also note that those pictures have not been touched at all, as far as post-processing goes, so the colors may be slightly off. But they look pretty close on my screen.

(Photos and project notes are also available on Ravelry.)

At this point, I am a few rows past the first decrease row. I spent some time figuring out how many times and how often to decrease to get the fit right. I'm going to be doing a lot of math to make this sweater work. But Mom's worth it. And this much of the math is already done, and it'll be the same for the front, so ... looking on the bright side ... I'm nearly halfway finished with the math! Most of the measurements are in inches, not row counts. I should be okay.

Speaking of being halfway done. There are six inches of waist-shaping decreases in this sweater! But the good news with that is that once I finish the decreases, I'll be almost up to the center ribbing, which I'm supposed to begin once my finished piece reaches 10.25". I worked 3.75" before starting the decreases. Do the math. That only leaves .5" -- about 4 or 5 rows -- of stockinette between the last decrease and the center ribbing. And after the ribbing, I get to start the fun part. I say fun. I mean potentially complicated, as far as math goes. But at least it'll be interesting. I think.

So yeah, now I just have to plow through the 51 rows of waist shaping, and everything will be just peachy. I think I've worked 6 of those 51 rows so far.

Oh yeah, and my impromptu shrug project. Long story short, I have a dress that I really like but am uncomfortable wearing. I think I'll be more comfortable if I have something to wear over it. (Basically, the top is loose and flowy and not my normal style, and I think I'd prefer something more modest.) This is the dress I would like to wear to a friend's wedding at the end of the month. So, 3 days ago, I found a simple pattern, dug out some stashed yarn and started a shrug. Two days ago, I finished all the stockinette and started the ribbing on one sleeve. I was almost finished. But I left it in someone's car and can't get it back until tomorrow evening. I'll post pictures when I get it back. It may be finished before I get the chance to do so, but hey ... it was a quick project.

Last thing: remember, the Printed Silk Cardigan is a birthday gift for Mom, so please don't spill the beans!