A Stitch in Time

As fall quickly approaches Northern Indiana, I've been scouring the consignment shops and secondhand stores for new additions to my wardrobe. So far, my darling husband has been the genius in that situation, scoring 2 skirts and 2 blouses - 50% off too! - at our favorite little shop, Twice As Nice in Goshen, IN. She takes in the 'good' stuff - names brands, barely worn more than once, etc.

And on top of that, as it's getting to be sweater season, I decided that I needed to stitch myself up a nice little cardigan. I do more than just crochet baby booties and afghans you know!

I caught sight of this pattern on the back of a Crochet Today magazine that I picked up at (where else?) Walmart. (I do not condone shopping at Walmart, but when they're right across the street from work, and you need yarn quickly, where else ya gonna go??) It was a free pattern available from redheart.com, which I have conveniently linked you straight to. So go download it, quick, and then come back and finish reading what I have to say!

This cardigan pattern was listed as being for advance/experienced crocheters, but personally, I would have labeled it intermediate. It really only has two types of stitches - half double crochet and single crochet. The 'tricky' part, if you want to call it that, comes in the HDC F&B pattern. Half double crochet front and back. In other words, you work your HDC in the front loop or the back loop (alternating) of the row you're working in. There is quite a bit of increase and decrease as well.

I will warn you that there is an error in the sleeve pattern. You have to increase on BOTH sides of the sleeve when stitching the increase rows. Otherwise, it will come out increased on one side only and pretty wonky and ugly, resulting in the tearing out of 3 hours worth of stitches. (Experience speaking here.)

The yarn is Red Heart Sparkle, which is a pretty acrylic yarn, probably not ideal for wearing right against your skin, but soft enough. The names come from a single strand of sparkle that runs through the yarn. I chose chocolate brown - boring banker color - rather than lime green as the pattern suggests. Any of the Sparkle colors would be more than appropriate though. It all depends on your tastes. I am hoping to add blue, black and magenta to my wardrobe over the course of the winter.

I usually purchase my yarn from knitting-warehouse.com, who seem to have roughly the best sale prices, usually $1 or more cheaper than the stores, depending on what you are purchasing. This pattern only requires 4 skeins, so it's also inexpensive and economical to make. I put about $20 and a couple days worth of work into mine - minus the 3 hours of stitches I had to tear out. :)

Anyway, I'll post a picture this afternoon, when Alex comes home and can weild the camera for me. I don't find pictures I have taken of my reflection in a mirror to do justice to something I worked so hard on. Ciao for now!