Auqa Summer Cardi

I love this cardi as it had turned out so well. I am so happy with it as it's a 1st time for me knitting a cardi top-down without a pattern. The start of the cardi took me a while as I had to cast on a few times to get the right neckline as I wanted a wide one. I also had to keep trying it on when I was doing the raglan increases for the sleeves. After separating the stitches for the sleeves, it was smooth knitting for the body & it got a little boring with the plain stocking stitch. But in the end, it fitted perfectly ......

It's gorgeous & I love the yarn too - it's Cleckheaton 4 ply Bamboo - has a lovely & soft feel although it can be splitty when knitting with it. This cardi only costs $21 as I use 6 balls of the bamboo - it's a bargain. Now I am just waiting for the weather to cool down so that I can wear it.

I sew on 2 plastic press studs on the inside of the collar band & then on top of that, I sew on a glass bead for decoration .....

..... I am so pleased with the finish & now that I have done a cardi top down, I am sure I can knit another & have a different stitch pattern for the collar or long sleeves or...... my goodness, there are so many variations !

Remember the Green Scrunchable Scarf that I knitted for my niece ? As I showed the scarf to the ladies in my knitting groups, we came up with the idea of a neck warmer using the same stitch pattern & so during the weekend, I found some leftover sock yarn & cast on. About 4 hours later ......

...... I just can't believe how fast this knitted up. It's so easy & will make a great present. This neck warmer measures 80cm x 10cm & fits nicely around the neck. This is a really great stitch pattern & I love it, it's so easy - cast on 23 sts (the stitch pattern is a multiple of 3 sts with 2 end sts). With yarn in front, slip the 1st st purlwise, (k2, p1 for 7 times) & knit the last st. Repeat this for every row until you have the required length.

I knit mine with 6mm needles with 2 sock yarn together. A great way to use up the left over sock yarn !