Tuesday, April 30, 2013

what a difference a few days make

Sunshine, 80+ degrees, a light breeze... the whole city of Chicago looks so much happier now. Our backyard now truly is showing signs of spring:

The flowering tree outside our back porch just burst into full bloom:
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I started packing away my winter sweaters, and realized that there were no photos of my finished Aidez cardigan yet. Time to remedy that!
pattern: Aidez, by Cirilia Rose
yarn: Cascade Eco +, summer sky heather (9452), 2.4 skeins
needles: US 8 (5.0 mm) bamboo circs

notes:
I love this cardigan! It's so cozy, and I like the open front and mix of different textures. When I linked to the pattern just now, I noticed that Berroco has drastically re-formatted it, probably for the better. It's one of those patterns where you need to take lots of notes/counts to keep up with the different cable patterns, etc. It might be frustrating for a new knitter.


After perusing hundreds of Aidezes on Ravelry, I decided to make larger sleeves. Tight sleeves seemed to be a common complaint, as well as having a hard time seaming the raglan sleeves into the body. I took careful notes so that the second sleeve turned out pretty much the same as the first, but I think knitting the sleeves for the next size up would have a similar result. Otherwise I pretty much just followed the pattern.

I'm happy with my yarn choice, though it is pilling a bit already. I can't imagine using a much bulkier yarn (like the Peruvia Quick that the pattern specifies) -- the cardigan wouldn't have enough drape for my taste. I had to use much smaller needles, too.
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Pop Spots was in time-out for a bit, but is now back in the rotation -- perfect for knitting on the back porch. 

One of my favorite treats these days is a homemade iced sweet matcha latte -- I use Rishi's Sweet Matcha powder, which is quite sweet and probably not for the matcha purist. It is, however, great for those of us who care to indulge in a Starbucks' green tea latte or frappucino once in a while.
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We said good-bye to my old Jeep last weekend (sniff, sniff). She served us well, and actually was still running great (not to mention looking pretty awesome inside and out for being a 1998), but it was time. I loved that thing, and it's awfully weird to go from a two-Jeep household to a zero-Jeep household in the brief span of four months. My "new" (i.e., gently used) Subaru Outback is nice enough, but just doesn't have the same rugged charm.

9 comments:

Caffeine Girl said...

What a gorgeous sweater. It looks pretty hard -- but totally worth the effort. And that blue is so pretty.

Chicago has a lot more spring going than Madison -- although we are suddenly having summer heat!

Unknown said...

That sweater is beautiful!!!

Tracy Altieri said...

Love your cardigan. I find Ravelry so helpful when I want to learn more about a pattern.

Keya Kuhn said...

You get 80s in Chicago and our 80s turn to two weeks of 60s and rain in Georgia. It's enough to make a girl grumble. But your sweater is stunning and so are your cherry trees!

Keya Kuhn said...

Chicago gets our 80s and sunny and Atlanta gets Chicago's 60s and rain for two weeks. Grumble, grumble. But your Cardi is fabulous and so are your cherry trees!

Jennifer said...

Love your Aidez. It's so inspiring!

Anonymous said...

Weird reading this. In 2009 gave up the 12 yr. old mini van to the middle son and got myself a subaru outback hatch. (kids wont let me call it a stationwagon) and in fall we gave our 2002 jeep to the youngest (lucky kid) and my husband got a new 2013 jeep. Love both vehicles. So it's our second subie and second jeep. oh i also like to knit and we live in wis.

Hilary said...

Ooooh, pretty Aidez! And gorgeous blossoms! I thought it was spring here in San Francisco....but today is completely overcast and chilly. (This place is so weird.) Happy spring!

Sharon said...

I felt the same when I moved from my Mazda Tribute to my current trusty faithful ride, a Subura Forester - not nearly as pretty but oh-so-dependable in the snow.