Chevron Cardigan - Finished!

Well, it's been a l-o-n-g time between posts, but I am here now, and very excited to share the news that my cardigan is finished and is a "wearable"!  And, therefore, a success!

My cardi getting blocked

The sleeves worked out in the end; I pulled out the one that was flared and tried again.  At first it all seemed to hard and I put the whole project aside for a while.  But it was while reading a discussion on Ravelry, (from a CAL back in 2009!) that my problem was revealed to me.  Someone wrote about their pattern repeats: Hmmm. I count 4 sets on one sleeve and 5 on the other…..  This simple comment, written way back in 2009, but stored in Ravelry (Ravelry is AWESOME!) showed me the light.  I had another look and saw that, indeed, this was the problem.  So I had to fudge the start of the sleeve, continually referring to the other one, until I had managed to create a round with 4 pattern repeats, and a joining stitch that matched the other side.  (I don't think where I joined the rounds was quite the way it was explained in the pattern, but it worked, and was the same on both sides, so I went with it!)

After that, it was plain sailing!  The bodice went very quickly.  I changed to a 6mm hook for the waist/below the bust area, and after that changed back to a 6.5mm hook so it fitted more easily over my hips.

And I think it looks great!  And it feels great on - I love wearing it!

So, do you want to see?  Okay, here goes...

Ta-da!

 

The trim was another tricky point.  I read up on other people's projects (I'll say it again: Ravelry is AWESOME!) and I saw one that I really like (see it on Ravelry here) used slip-stitches instead of single crochet on her edge/trim.  Now, that might sound simple, but a quick Google search on slip-stitches revealed to me that there is a whole world out there of slip-stitch crochet, and really interesting stuff it is, too.  But that's for another post, another time, me thinks.  :-)  You see, there are all different ways to do slip-stitches, which left me unsure what to do on my cardi; what did this lady mean by "I just did several rows of slip-stitch"??  I finally decided, after trying a few things, to simply slip-stitch the "normal" way - through both loops - and after about 6 (?) rows, I was happy with my edge.

Then the buttons... I'm still not 100% sure about these... I'm thinking of changing them to a simple black... what do you all think?

But it is DONE, it fits, it is wearable, it doesn't look too granny-ish or hideous.  And I have even dared to wear it in public.  I am out and proud with my crochet!  :-)

I am so glad I have finally found some time to hop on here, type this, and share this with you.  I have missed my blogging very much, but paid-work and life-in-general crop up an awful lot at my place, and get in the way of my blog.  I hope you don't all mind too much that I've been away for so long.

As you might have noticed (!), I am a big fan of Ravelry, and I'm finding myself over there more and more.  It is a great way to share projects quickly and simply.  So if you're ever wondering what I'm up to, look for me over there as I am going to get all my projects updated on Ravelry very soon.  (My profile name is NeverKnew.)

But I still love my blog and I do want to keep it going (as well as being on Ravelry). I am going to try and not over-think my posts too much (I tend to do that) and try and keep them quick, brief, simple.  Hopefully I will be able to share with you more often, then.

Because I do have a lot more crochet to share.  Oh, boy, do I ever.  I haven't had time to blog lately (sometimes not even time to read other blogs I love! *sniff!*) but I always find time to crochet.  Even if it's just 10 minutes before bed, I try to crochet every day.  I need to crochet every day.  This is why my blog is called Never Knew.  I Never Knew that crochet would become such a huge part of my life, my daily zone-out wind-down, and also such a trigger for creativity.  I don't know (now) how I ever lived without it.

So I will see you all soon, with more crochet to share.  I would love to know what you think of my cardi; your comments are always welcome.  :-)

Till next time, have a happy, hooky day,

Caz :)