First-Time Cardigan

 

Well I'm cutting my "garment" teeth on this delightful cardigan here. I'm knitting the navy cardigan in the main picture for my sister.

Yes, I'm aware it's a bloke's cardigan, however she wanted something a bit big and warm, kinda like a woolly version of boyfriend jeans. Her boyfriend will also likely benefit, because she might be less inclined to steal his sweaters once this is finished. 

When I first read the pattern, it seemed a bit daunting, but I'm making good progress with it and so far (touch wood) there haven't been any major disasters. Because the wool is nice and chunky, the size of the pieces increases quickly, which is a nice motivator - you can start to see the piece as part of the finished item, as opposed to knitting something with 4 ply and for ages it just looks like a random strip of knitting which can be almost soul destroying!

I'll post a full write up when I'm finished (hopefully not too far in the future) and I'll also put up pictures of the finished product!

If anyone's got any tips for making clothes, particularly for sewing all the bits together, I'd love to hear them!

Dogs need jumpers too......right?

Ok, so anyone who knows me will know that I'm certainly not opposed to dressing my dogs in fabulous jumpers. Some people (namely my husband and my father) may argue that said jumpers are ridiculous, however I vehemently disagree. Some dogs are very style conscious, and just love to look their best, well, either that or they're too passive to bother trying to chew their outfits off. 

My Cocker Spaniel, Bella, already has a variety of jumpers, a coat, and a bathrobe (laugh all you want, that thing is damn handy when she's just had a bath and is soaked). Last August, we acquired a new canine friend in the form of Lola, a half labrador - half bulldog, and she's grown up to be quite large, so there's just no way she and Bella will be able to share outfits. To that end, I went on Amazon and purchased the book above, so I can knit her a funky sweater. I ordered it today, so I can't wait for it to arrive! It'll be a nice side project to my log cabin blanket, and doubtless my husband will have hours of fun slagging me about knitting for dogs, so really it'll benefit the whole family!