The Kitty Cardi

I've decided to knit Alana's cardi first because her present needs to be shipped across the country to New Orleans. 

With the yarn already picked out, I just need to make the correct gauge.  The stated gauge of 6 stitches per inch was easily achieved with US4's and I cast on the correct number of stitches.  The pattern instructs you to knit the cardi from the top down and I was on a roll until I got to the underarm at which point you are instructed to switch from stocking stitch to the lace pattern.  I didn't think much of it as I've successfully knit plenty of lacy items.  I just kept on knitting as instructed and 3 rows into the lace pattern I thought it a good idea to count my stitches.  The desired number of stitches is 209 and I managed to acquire over 240.  Oh dear, this is a problem.  I tinked the entire last 3 rows I had just knit and re-knit the lace row.  Having learned from my initial mistake, I counted my stitches after I finished the row.  207.  I ripped it again and re-knit that same row.  Again. 

The lace pattern isn't all that hard. Knit 2 together twice, followed by a yarn over knit one combo which is repeated 3 times, yarn over, and knit 2 together twice.  The stitch count remains constant with 4 stitches being decreased and 4 stitches being increased.  Like I said, the pattern is pretty straight forward and yet I was still unable to knit it correctly.  After the fourth try, I knit that lacy row successfully! 

All in all the cardi is a fast knit and I'm quite pleased with the results.  The only modification I would make would be to add sleeves, which I plan to do for my girls' cardi's provided I have enough yarn.

Revised Christmas Knitting Plan:

My family:
Ray: socks
Karolyn: Kitty Cardi
Sydney: Kitty Cardi

My sisters' family:
Mary (my sister): slippers
Alana (niece): Kitty Cardi = complete
Bryce (nephew): Pembroke Vest = complete
Jacqueline (niece): Clara Dressy = complete

My brother John's family:
Trenton (nephew): Pembroke Vest = complete

Raglan Cardi

Signs of spring are all around us here in Michigan. The birds are chirping, the snow is all but gone, and the weather is upwards of 50 degrees F most days. With this said, we are working our way into what I refer to as Spring Sweater Weather. Spring Sweater Weather is when we wear our sweaters that are still made of wool but perhaps it has some cotton blended with it and its full of pastels and lighter colors as opposed to the warm and complex colors of the Fall Season.



I've been working with Elann.com's Peru Soft quite a bit lately and just love this yarn. I'm a bit disappointed that it is currently discontinued but grateful for the 100+ balls I have stashed away. The yarn is quite soft and makes for a fast knit because of its bulkyness (is this a word?) but more importantly its machine washable. With 2 very active little girls this is a desirable quality in a yarn.



I decided Sydney needed a Spring Sweater and chose to knit up a quick and simple raglan cutaway. This is a personal pattern and while I did not take notes of any kind, its just a variation of a generic raglan cardigan that is knit from the top down.

Generic Raglan Cardi

Start out by casting on one or two stitches for the front right, place a marker, one or three stitches for the right sleeve, place a marker, enough stitches for about 5 - 6 inches (for a child) for the back, place a marker, one or three stitches for the left sleeve, place a marker, and then one or two stitches for the left front. Knit one row even and purl back. On the next right side row, increase one stitch before and after each stitch marker, a total of 8 stitches will be increased in this row. Purl back. Continue to increase 8 stitches every right side row until the armhole measures about 5 - 6 inches (for a child). At this point, place the sleeve stitches on some waste yarn (we will come back to them later) and knit only the right and left fronts along with the back. Knit until the garment reaches the desired length and bind off.

Return the sleeve stitches to your needles, join in the round and place a marker to indicate the end of each round. Feel free to use whatever method you find easiest for knitting in the round on sleeve stitches. I find that using 2 circular needles works best for me. Knit 3 rounds even and on the next round decrease 1 stitch at the beginning and end of the round (a total of 2 stitches will be decreased this round). Decrease 2 stitches every 4th round until the sleeve is about 4 inches around (approximately the width of the arm). Knit even to desired length and bind off the sleeve stitches loosely. You can easily add a 2x2 rib or a simple lace pattern for style at the end of the sleeve if you so choose. Repeat for the other sleeve.

At this point, I picked up stitches all around the garment and did a simple knit 2 purl 2 rib for about 2 - 3 inches and then loosely bound off all my stitches.

PS. See that pillow that Sydney is cuddling with? Its Betsy's and it matches the blanket we made her!