Any Day Cardigan (Red heart free pattern)

I've been a bit busy with my first garment.

Not my design, i found it here, and took a shine to it.

In my usual way, I just can't leave it alone however...the largest size in the pattern sheet was too tight on me, so I added some increases and modified the neckline to please my non-existent eye for style (it's a going-to-the-movies sweater anyway, so it's going to be worn in the dark mostly...who cares?),

and this is what I finally ended up with, after about a week of fussing over each and every stitch and frogging and defrogging and generally driving myself crazy...

May I present...my first garment made...well, almost; I still have the crocheted buttons to finish!

My sincerest apologies. I told it to keep still to have its photo taken, but apparently it's even more bashful around a camera than I am, because as soon as I got the light just right, the stupid thing turned around in a pout!

Please hop over to my Ravelry page to see it in it's full glory (or lack thereof, hehehe!).

Now, to finish off this cardigan, I decided to do a loop chain sort of button closure. I mean I simply made a loop of chain stitches from the buttonhole side and sc'd into the next stitch (by the way, buttonholes belong on the right for women, left for men), and sewed on the button on the other side of the cardigan. I couldn't find any nice buttons that I liked, so I crocheted some.

I had gotten shiny blue buttons, but they're so lovely, I want to string them together with something and make a necklace. So I decided to cover my boring black plastic buttons (which I'd bought to make a button coaster like this), and I think the crocheted version (next to the shiny blue plastic ones) is much nicer!

So basically I crocheted two circles, inserted an actual plastic button in between and single crocheted them together , like a button sandwich with yarn as the bread and the button as the filling, you see?

On the far right there is a tiny pouch I made on the spur of the moment. I'd just finished measuring for my buttonholes when my tape measure unrolled itself and ran under the dustiest, darkest corner under the bed.

I cursed, swore and scolded it, but it wouldn't come out.

What to do?

Of course I had to crawl under there and fetch the stupid thing! Daft tape, never knowing when to stop playing around at hide and seek! Just look at it up there, insinuating itself into my photograph! Attention whore!

Of course I had to come up with a workable solution for us both, so I made this tiny pouch for it to rest in. Now when I measure, I only bring out what I need and immediately fold it back into it's little home.

Happy tape measure, happy me!

Peace and blessings!