9/27/09 - I’ve already got a couple projects on the needle. I’m actively working on a cardigan for Jeffrey. And I love the yarn I’m using on that cardigan. But my Springvale Bulky showed up yesterday, and I’ve already got it wound and ready to cast on. My heart said, “I must knit this beautiful, soft, snuggly yarn now!” My head said, “You know…a bulky weight cardigan will knit up nice and quick, and it’s getting cool out.”

I was outvoted.

9/27/09 (later) - Well, that didn’t take long. I haven’t even knit a gauge swatch yet, and I’ve already changed my mind about the pattern. I want a hooded cardigan for Jeffrey, but those patterns seem hard to come by, at least in child’s sizes. The only one I really found was a pattern from Lion’s Brand, but the more I looked at it, the more I didn’t like the look. It was a raglan sweater, but knit bottom up in pieces and then seamed, which to me defeats the purpose of a raglan. So I decided to give the Incredible Custom-Fit Raglan recipe a try. I’m pretty sure I can add a hood to it on my own.

9/27/09 (even later) - Cast on! The recipe gave me some difficulty, but after doing some searching through the Techniques forum (there are a lot of posts about this pattern) I learned I was reading it wrong. I think I’ve gotten the calculations right--I’ll know tomorrow after I’ve knit a-ways and can measure against Jeffrey. His measurements for the record:

• Neck: 10.5”
• Raglan-length: 6”
• Body-length: 12”
• Sleeve length: 12”
• Wrist: 4.75”
• Gauge: 3.2

Knit for a neck size of 11.5”, since this is going to be a zippered jacket with a hood, not a snug fitting pullover.

9/28/09 - A funny thing happened on the way to the raglan…

The yarn I’m using is my September Stash Menagerie club yarn from Three Irish Girls…except, upon further review, I’d actually ordered the other colorway (Seacoast). I’d realized there’d been a mix-up before I wound the yarn and cast on, but I just couldn’t send this yarn back, even if Sharon could replace it with the other colorway (the yarn base is not one of her standard offerings). This gray-with-touches-of-blue is just too beautiful…

…in fact, I realized, it would be gorgeous with Lexie’s blue eyes--but this yarn was intended for Jeffrey. So I decided to take a chance and see if Sharon had any more of the base, and if so, if I could place a second order for the Seacoast colorway as initially planned for Jeffrey and keep this yarn for Lexie. Sharon immediately offered to replace the yarn at no cost to me--stellar customer service, as always--but I finally convinced her I really wanted to keep the “wrong” yarn and buy some more. Some might call it a mistake--I call it serendipity!

So, now this yarn is intended for Lexie. Measurements, take 2:

• Neck: 9.5”
• Raglan-length: 5”
• Body-length: 10”
• Sleeve length: 9”
• Wrist: 4.5”
• Gauge: 3.2

Knit for a neck size of 10.5”, since this is going to be a zippered jacket with a hood, not a snug fitting pullover.

I’ve already frogged and have begun knitting again!

(Note: to avoid holes along the raglan increases, go back-to-front (M1 from the back on the first one, and from the front on the second).)

10/01/09 - This really is going together so quickly! I’ve got the body and one sleeve done, which I finally managed to try on one little girl who seemed to think I’d invented a torture device just for her. Once I finally got it on (to test sleeve length) she seemed to be distracted by the soft pretty yarn--at least she stood still enough for me to check length!

For the sleeve decreases, I knit 14 rows and then k2tog on either side of the underarm “seam” on row 15 and every 5th row until row 35. Row 36 was knit normally, and then I reduced to 16 sts in row 37 before beginning the seed st border.

10/02/09 (early morning hours) - Have I mentioned how addictive knitting this is? It’s not just the yarn and the colors now--it’s seeing what comes of the pattern I’ve created from the recipe. So far, I’m absolutely loving it. Tomorrow…er, later today, it gets interesting--it’s hood time.

10/03/09 - And the hood is done. I did increases on the right side the first several rows because I wanted a nice deep hood. I’ll probably forgo those on Jeffrey’s, depending on how deep the hood turns out once I add the 5 rows of seed stitch edging. But the hood was very simple, and I’m quite chuffed with how it turned out. The part I’m most excited about is the top--instead of binding off and seaming (because I really didn’t want a seam down the middle) I opted to try Kitchner stitch instead. I’ve never Kitchnered before, but Knitty’s tutorial was a breeze to follow. The end result was almost perfect. I pulled some of the grafting stitches too tight, but that’s it, and you really can’t see where I did the grafting unless you know where to look.

Now it’s time for the most tedious part--picking up stitches along the entire front!

10/04/09, 2:15 am - Knitting complete!

It took me a lot less time to cast on all 157 stitches for the front band then I thought; usually I use a crochet hook, which takes time to transfer to a knitting needle (and then usually they’re all twisted the wrong way) but this time I was able to do it with the needle itself. Then 5 rows of seed stitch and a bind off…and I’m done!

Later today, I’ll need to buy a zipper and sew it in, and then Lexie’s cardigan will be complete.

10/05/09 - Did I say the most tedious part was going to be picking up all the stitches along the front band? I mean that the most tedious part would be whip stitching the zipper in by hand. I also didn’t get the kind of zipper I wanted, so the bottom’s going to have to stay closed. Lesson learned there. But I should be able to finish the sewing today.

10/05/09 (later) - Zipper done! I didn’t have any difficulties with the technique of sewing it in--it just took a while. But now that it’s done, I could not. Be. More. Chuffed. Lexie’s just adorable in it!