Another Wednesday and the WIPs and FOs

I’m really enjoying this weekly prioritization of projects. As I commented to Anne, it has helped me to focus on what I need to do and instead of jumping around from one project to another and not really getting anything done, I have goals.

As you saw from my last post, Ariann is complete. I found some great buttons at a place I used to take sewing lessons. Apple Annie's has good quality fabrics and one of the best button collections I’ve seen around here. Of course, as I was nearing the end on Ariann, I will admit that my mind began to think about what sweater is next. I have a few ideas which I will share in time, but the best idea is probably to get out the pieces of Ribby Cardi and continue on with that.

My daughter now has a new pair of fingerless mitts from this pattern of anne’s and she has already worn them to school. It has gotten so warm this week that we didn’t have to worry about freezing little fingers. The yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca sportweight and I think it is a great partner for this pattern. Alpaca is so soft and cozy.

And the Tulip baby cardigan is nearing completion – one cuff left to go and the finishing around the neck. It was a great idea to take breaks from the knitting and weave in the ends as I’d hate facing them all at once. So, this will be complete by next week if not today. For some odd reason, I have an irrational desire to finish this sweater exactly 2 weeks from the night I started it. Hmmm… we’ll see.

Now this leaves me to consider what is next.

I’m pulling out Ribby Cardi as I said above – the back, fronts and sleeves are complete and now need to be blocked. Then I better get to looking for a zipper – maybe ordering it online is the way to go since I’ve read of a few people doing that. Any suggestions or help with where to get the zipper and how to put it in will be appreciated. I'm a little worried about measuring to order the correct length for the zipper. When I was sewing clothes, we would always just shorten a too long zipper by cutting it and folding the top over while sewing it in - couldn't I just do that here also if I need to? Claudia has an excellent tutorial about putting in a zipper and I loved Julia's explanation of knitting in a facing.

I also want to start another baby sweater so that I have a few in my stash. It never hurts to be prepared and I have some yarn that I had ordered from Twisted to start another sweater. Shannon and Emily even sent along some buttons so I have everything I need. I think this should keep me busy until next week, don’t you?