I made this little cardigan in about an hour and a half one evening last summer when I realized I really, desperately needed something lighter than my corduroy jacket to wear over sundresses to work. I wore it a lot but never photographed it.

It's made from a yard of cotton jersey that was in the stash and a swing cardigan pattern I've used once before. I didn't have nearly enough fabric and I remember there being a lot of careful pinning and planning before anything was cut out (a careful search of my photo library revealed three very non-illustrative pictures of my process - why?); all the edges were left raw to save both time and fabric. The cropped length turned out to be just right.

Just in case anyone is wondering: I didn't make this sundress. It was a vacation purchase. Super cute, cool and comfy and gets bonus marks for having just the right teal in it to go with my cardigan.

A generous donation to the Emergency Measures Food Bank for Mosquitoes was made during the taking of these photos.

When I checked the weather at the end of last week the forecast for this weekend was really cold. The sun would be out but we were going to be dropping down into the thirties. Since Rob and I both felt the beginnings of a cold we decide it would be best to have an completely indoor weekend. I did the grocery shopping on Friday night and we have not unlocked our front door in the last two days.  I have been outside only once - to fill the squirrel feeder for continued dog entertainment. Abby was, of course, outside pretty frequently but never for very long at a time and she was usually trying to stand on as few feet as possible by the time she came back inside. I shuddered everytime I had to open the door for her.

To compensate for the cold weather I have a new, cozy cardigan. I finished it Wednesday night and wore it to work on Thursday. It's amazingly comfortable and makes me feel just a little bit sophisticated. I used this set of instructions from Burda Style to draft my own pattern pieces based on the Lydia pattern I've made up before. The drafting was pretty easy - as long as I took my time - and the sewing was even easier than the basic tee. The longest part was pressing down my hems. I added about an inch of extra length to the sleeves (I probably could have added two) so my wrists would not be chilly. The bit of collar at the back of the neck is a really nice touch. The fabric is a bamboo jersey I got from The Workroom - I love the drape and feel of this fabric.

The "wings" reach nearly to my knees (especially if I slouch) but also reach all the way around my back to tie out of the way. My office was especially cold on Thursday afternoon and I found this a very cozy way to wear my cardigan.

ps. sorry for the blurry picture. I took 17 photos with my timer: three were in focus and in one of those I was moving.

pps. When I checked the weather this morning it was -32 Celsius with a wind chill of -40. Fortunately we are supposed to be getting quite a bit warmer this week.