WIP Wednesday: Progress, Progress

I know it's been a while (I feel like I'm all or nothing when it comes to projects to post about), but I have managed to make some decided progress :)

 I finished the first sleeve on my Emelie cardigan! I actually managed to finish it on Saturday, which was National Knit In Public Day :) I went to Seaworld with my family and finished the sleeve on the way.

Here's a close up - I had to fudge things a bit since I wanted my sleeves shorter than the pattern calls for. I had to decrease very quickly at the end, and I actually ended up with a line of decreases on the underside of the sleeve, but it feeds right into the ribbing so no one will notice it but me. It looks like a sudden dip when it's flat, but when it's on my arm, you can't even tell. I'll take it :) I also managed to make my whole sleeve cap in church on Sunday and start on the actual sleeve itself. I can feel how close this is to finishing now so I'm trying to work mainly on this.

As far as my Outfit Along Briar cardigan - it hasn't even been started. Ugh. The Fibranatura Cotton True is sold as "sport" weight yarn, but it is more like fingering weight in person. I've tried several larger needle sizes and I still can't even remotely get gauge even when the stitches are so big that you can basically see through the knitting completely. Rrrr... Oh well. I have to figure out something else, but I may just use my Emelie as my OAL sweater. We shall see. It feels like I haven't had much time at home over the last few weeks, so I haven't been able to delve into my stash and figure out a new plan. 

In other news, My mom knitted something! My mom was always told she could never be taught to knit because she was left handed. Even her mom wrote her off as hopeless when she was young, so she just gave up on the idea. When I taught knitting at my church back in May, my mom was one of my students. She has stuck with the washcloth project, and worked on it little by little, asking me questions periodically, and she just finished binding off yesterday. I'm so proud! (sniff)

I did finish a fairly complex sewing project this week as well - a Colette Beignet skirt. I posted this pic on Instagram last week when I hammered out the buttonholes. It came out really great, and I'm super proud. I just have to take photos and whatnot, so stay tuned for that :)

I'm also knee deep in listening to A Tale of Two Cities along with a friend  of mine. Oddly enough, I've never read this book, and I never even knew what the story was about despite this being required reading in basic 12th grade English in my state. I took AP English, so I didn't have the same required reading, and this book just never crossed my path. This book is always in the top 5 of Books To Read Before You Die lists, so I've wanted to read it for the last year or so. My friend Taylor suggested the two of us read it at the same time, so it gave me a great excuse to finally mark this one off my list. I'm about 1/3rd through it, and I'm liking Madame Defarge already :) Gotta love a fellow knitter and revolutionary.

So that's it for me this week :) Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what others are up to.