My WIPs

For those of you who aren't crafters, WIPs are works in progress, and I have several going at the moment. I thought I'd share a picture of what I'm working on. (These are separate from the three blankets and whatever else I made while my foot was healing, and I need to have them all finished by Christmas -- with the exception of one I'd like to wrap up in the next week or so.) I know they're not very clear; my only camera is on my phone and, while it takes pretty good pictures, it doesn't allow me the array of angles I'd like to work with. Also, the evening sun was coming through my bedroom sheers and made the light uneven. I'll tell you what each one is, top to bottom and left to right.

On the top left is a sweater for my four-year-old granddaughter. This one is complete except for tucking a few threads and adding some buttons. I love the ruffle! Next to that is the beginning of my other granddaughter's cardigan; I'm doing it in the same yarn but from a more grown-up pattern. It will be cute, but it won't have the ruffles. I actually got off to a good start on this one, but I needed stitch markers. The pattern is complex and I haven't worked a lot with holding/marking stitches. I bought the markers over the weekend, so I'll get back to that one soon.

The striped thing is a baby blanket that a friend sort of commissioned me to make. One of her friends is having a baby next month, and my friend wanted to give her something unique. Those braided strips to the right of it (not sure how well you can see them) will be woven into the top and bottom border when I finish. I did a similar one for my youngest granddaughter using pink, cream, and brown. I really like this pattern.

To the right of that is the almost-finished back of a double-breasted cardigan I'm making for one of my sons. (Yes, he's very thin.) You can see the curved parts at the top, which will eventually be armholes. I love the picture of the sweater, but the pattern is horribly written. When I started it following the number of stitches as directed in the pattern, it was twice as big as it should have been. Through measuring and lots of trial and error (and ripping out), I was able to get it right. I always joke about that son having the wingspan of a pterodactyl; when I measured for his sleeves I found that his arms are a full two-and-a-half inches longer than his brother's -- and several inches longer than the pattern recommends. I'm really glad I measured or the sleeves would have ended at his elbows!

At the bottom, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't show up well, is a cardigan for another of my sons. That one is done as a single piece from bottom to top (so far, I've done the bottom band and a few inches of the actual sweater) with sleeves sewn in later. I love the color, but it's turning out to be a heavier weight than I had intended. As accent stripes, I'm going to put a band of lavendar and one of peach near the front edge. He told me recently when I asked him if he needed any new cardigans (without telling him I was making one) that he could use a blue, purple, or peach one. I decided to work it all together.

What I didn't say, but you might be able to see from the picture, is that each of these items uses a different stitch and hook size. Changing back and forth gets confusing, but maybe it will help to keep my mind sharp. I get tired of working on one and move on to another one, or I'll do a few rows on the blanket in the evening when I'm tired. (That stitch is the easiest.) There are two other sweaters I'm hoping to make for Christmas, along with a few pair of "comfy pants" for my oldest son who would rather die than be seen in a cardigan. (That's what motivated me to finally take the sewing class.) Christmas is creeping ever closer. I should get back to work!