Cardigans and Writing Contests

I was in Gap yesterday, trying to find a few cardigans on sale, to go along with the long-sleeve t-shirts and bra I'd just bought (bra on major clearance, $10, score!), and getting frustrated because a) they had hardly any on sale, and b) the ones they had were boring. What I really wanted of course was to go to Anthropologie and buy some of their gorgeous cardigans, but that is so not in the budget right now. And I was getting more and more frustrated, until I had an epiphany. I can crochet. I am learning to knit. I can make cardigans for myself. How did I not figure this out sooner???

Of course, it does mean that I'll have to get by for a few weeks short on cardigans. But I think it might be worth it in order to have beautiful one-of-a-kind cardigans in the yarns I like that actually fit. Okay, the actually fitting part is maybe a bit optimistic for a novice sweater-maker. But I'll learn, right? And if they end up too small or too big, gifts! (Am I dreaming? Is something like this just going to be totally beyond my skills? Novice yarn-workers want to know...)

I also discovered yesterday that libraries have like, gazillion crocheting and knitting books. This is obvious in retrospect, but it took me a surprisingly long time to figure it out.

I finished Kavi's scarf yesterday (total working time, double-crochet, I hook, one hour), and one mitten this morning (half an hour?). No wonder people make so much stuff for babies -- it's fast! So much tinier than a grown-up scarf... I'm not thrilled with the mitten; crochet is a bit bulky for the purpose, and I think I should have switched to a smaller hook, to get a tighter weave. They're cute, but it's going to be tough for Kavi to pick things up when she's wearing them. Was tempted to pull the whole thing out and start over, but reconsidered, since mostly they're just to keep her little hands warm; it's not as if she needs a ton of manual dexterity when playing in the snow. Snowballs and snowmen are a ways beyond her skill level I think. Will make the other mitten this afternoon -- want to do it now, but have to go finish reviewing manuscripts for the final Wisconsin Arts Council meeting today. I get to help decide which writers get a pile of money. This is both happy-making and sad, because of course we have to turn down far more than we can say yes to. Ah well.