ブルーベリーチーズケーキ (Blueberry Cheesecake)

One of my "gifts" to myself this year was this pattern as I wanted more "summer" tops. At first, I was going to use my Blue Moon Yarn Silky Socks in Denim for this other pattern but as I was winding the yarn, I thought it might be perfect for this pattern. Here's how my adventure went:

 

First, it took me forever to wind the yarn. For some reason or another, I just couldn't get my swift to have the proper tension with my ball winder for it to wind properly.

 

After that ordeal was over, I reviewed the pattern instructions and rewrote it in my knitting book to make it easier for me to follow along.  While writing out the "back" side, I started to worry if I actually had enough yarn.🤨😳😱😯 Instead of fretting over it, I decided that I would just "go for it" and see how far along I could make the sweater. I figured if I really ran out of yarn, as long as I had enough for the body, I could always use another "close enough" yarn for the neckline, hem and shoulders.🤔🤞🍀🧶👕🐥 So, I casted on for a M size and here's how the following turned out:

 

Back side: Followed the instructions and so far so good!👍🥳🎉🥰 Finished through nearly all of the armhole shaping (just missing the last three (3) rows but think I need to do (at least) 5 more repeats for a comfortable fit) on 08/15/26. I finished the last three (3) rows on 08/16/26 as well as reviewed and rewrote the rest of the Left & Right Fronts and joining the front together to get a better idea of how much I would need to modify if I  made the armhole depth longer. Thankfully, what I think I need to add on is either less or just about how much I would need for the underarm cast on anyways so, I think I'll be "safe" to do the adjustment.👍🤞🍀 So, I did five (5) more repeats on 08/16/26 before calling it a day. On 08/17/26, after having Hubs check how the back is going on my actual back, I did three (3) more repeats for a total of 100 sts then started working in the Left Front side.

 

Left and Right Front sides: On 08/17/26, with an 8" & 14" cables (knit with the 14" cable, put stitches on hold with the 8" cable), I completed both the Left & Right Front sides then joined the front side. Doing both sides was very similar to parts of the back.

 

Joining the Front: On 08/17/26, combining both my 8" & 14" cables, followed instructions on how to join the front in addition to the additional armhole increases I did for the back. Because I added eight (8) more armhole repeats, I'll only needed to cast on 4 sts for each side to connect the front to the back. Here's what it looks like so far:

Body: On 08/18/26, joined the front to the back by casting on 3 sts on each side and completed 7 rows for the body before calling it for the day. On 08/19/26, I did 12.5 more rows. On 08/20/26, I did 12.5 more rows & now, I have 10cm worth of "body"; I need 30 cm worth (at least) so, it looks like I'll be working on this for quite sometime!😳😱🤦‍♀️🤣. I did another 8 rows before quiting for the day. On 08/21/26, I did 34 more rows; yay! 22 cm done!🥳🎉🙌 On 08/22/26, I did another 28 rows to finish the body at 32.5cm.

Neckline & Hem:

I decided to do the neckline first before finishing the hem. On 08/26/26, I picked up the neckline (also using my Chiaogoo 3.5mm (US4) needles and 22" cables) and finished it before moving back to the hem; I ended doing 5 rows before using Lola's Modified JSSBO to bind off. As I've been loving split hems, I used the hem instructions as a guideline on how long to make my hem; using my Chiogoos 3.5mm (US4) needles and 22" cable for this portion, I did five (5) rows and used Lola's Modified JSSBO to bind off as well. I also finished the hem on 08/26/26.

The hem kept flipping up and I didn't think it'd block out so, I ended up ripping out the back half of the hem on 08/29/26 and the front half on 08/30/26. I redid the hem by adding two (2) rows of Slip- Stitch Selvage (using my  Chiaogoo 4.0mm needles) then redoing the hem (using my Chiaogoo 3.5mm needles) and bind off (again); I also finished this on 08/30/26. Here's the finished bottom (again):

Sleeves: 

On 08/29/26, using my Chiaogoo 4.0mm (US6) needles and 22" cables, picked up the right sleeve and followed the instructions to "test" out one side before commiting to both sleeves. While the cap seemed fine, the overall sleeve was a little tight so I added four (4) stitches back in the underarm area (total number of stitches after the short rows: 70 sts) to give me a bit more room. On 08/30/26, I started the left side to catch up. On 08/31/26, based on how much yarn I had left, I ended up with 30 rows for each sleeve before I decided that more yarn was needed.😳😱😞

On 09/08/26, after much deliberation and agonizing,  I decided that I would use my Malabrigo sock 806 Impressionist Sky yarn to finish off the sleeve. I did three (3) more rows using my original yarn then used the fade method from my Mottainai sweater for the Malabrigo yarn for nearly six (6) rows; then did another six (6) rows with just the Malabrigo yarn before finishing for the day. On 09/09/26, did another 24 rows of the sleeves; then started decreasing 2 sts every 5 rows for another 15 rows. On 09/12/26, finished decreasing for another 5 rows then did decreases on Row 1, 4, 6, & 9 (alternating the decrease from the center seam and the "top" of the arm) for the next 10 rows; then switched to my Chiaogoo 3.5mm needles and did decreased 4 stitches in row 1 (2 at the center seam and 2 at the "top" of the arm), four rows for a split hem, and 2 slip stitch rows before using Lola's Modified JSSBO to bind off.

And, here's the completed sweater:

 

Front

Back

Inside Back 

 

Side 

Cuffs 

Overall thoughts: 

Overall, this top was quite easy to make and relatively quick too (it took me 12 days to finish this sweater). The instructions were very clear and the pictures provided were helpful (although I wish the initial back pictures were actually on someone's back to give you a better perspective).  Also, measuring the back to one's self is nearly impossible so, it's really a two (2) person job unless you've made the pattern before and know your gauge is spot on. Other than that, I would totally recommend on making this pattern as it's a good basic "top" pattern and can at least be a three (3) season sweater depending on the type of yarn used.

My Little Gansey (マイ・リトル・ガンジー)

Remember when I made Hubs a gansey sweater? Well, I also wanted one for myself but in a lighter weight yarn. So, I picked up seven (7) balls of Drops Fabel yarn in colour 300 (a heathery chocolate) and proceeded to follow the pattern instructions for a M sized sweater (hopefully, it won't be too loose on me!😳😯🙇‍♀️). Using my Chiaogoo 4.0mm (US6) needles and a 37" cable: 

 

On 07/21/26, I finished the back yoke.

 

On 07/22/26, I finished the first repeat of the back armhole chart.

On 07/26/26, I modified the repeat where I only did Rows 11-14 twice while doing the increase in the 1st 11th & 13th row to meet the stitch count. I also finished the right & left shoulders and joined the front (using a 14" & 22" cable). Finished the initial 6 rows for the front (using a 22" cable).

On 07/27/26, I finished the front chart as well as repeated Row 11-14 of chart twice while doing the increase in the 1st 11th & 13th row to meet the stitch count. I also joined the front to the back (using the 37" cable I used for the back).

On 07/29/26, I completed 1.5 patterns within the chart pattern (FYI: there are 4 patterns within the body chart pattern). Up to this point, I used 2 balls of yarn and am on my 3rd ball of yarn. On 07/30/26, I finished the rest of pattern 2 and 1/4 of pattern 3. On 07/31/26, I finished pattern 3 and started pattern 4 before I realized that I was oddly off by 1 st so, it was time for me to "rest my eyes", especially since I had counted and double checked my stitches four! (4) times!😱😞😭🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️ I had also finished using my 3rd ball of yarn right as I had 26 sts left to finish on the 1st row of the 4th pattern (using 4th ball now!). On 08/01/26, with rested eyes, I finished the half of the body; I was just so exhausted that day, I couldn't finish the rest of the body, including the ribbing like I intended to. On 08/03/26, I finally finished the rest of the pattern, including doing Chart Rows 1-5.  Then I realized that I needed to repeat pattern 1 again as my sweater was very cropped. So on 08/04/26, I finished pattern 1 (Rows 6-16, including the repeats). On 08/05/26, I finally got to the ribbing (which I changed to a split hem with a 3 sts overlap instead of a "regular" ribbing in the round & switched to my Chiaogoo 3.5mm (US4) needles (& 22" cable) which I did for 14 rows before working a double knitting (2 rows) and finishing with an Icelandic bind off. I managed to do the "front" ribbing. I finished the "back" ribbing on 08/07/26 as well as started on my 5th ball of yarn.

On 08/08/26,, I picked up for the neck edges and finished the neck ribbing (using my Chiaogoo 3.5mn (US4) needles and a 22" cable). Then, I picked up the sleeves (using my Chiaogoo 4.0mm (US6) needles and a 22" cable) and completed pattern 1 (of 4 patterns) for the sleeves; I also did the first decrease on Row 4 instead of after the first pattern since the sleeves were quite roomy already for me. On 08/09/26, I finished  pattern 2 and while working on pattern 3, I realized that because I did a decrease early, it threw off my stitch count for pattern 3.😳😱🤦‍♀️😞 So, to "fix" it, I didn't do a decrease in Row 24 and replaced it in row 35; and to get the stitch count back to a multiple of 4, I also did a decrease on Row 38. Finished pattern 3 on 08/10/26 as well as started on my 6th ball of yarn; also complete pattern 4 on the right side and half of pattern 4 on the left side. On 08/12/26, I finished pattern 4, repeated pattern 1 again and did additional decreases in Row 67 & 60, ending with 60 sts for the ribbing. As I started the ribbing (using my Chiaogoo 3.5mm needles & 22" cables), I  tried on my sweater again and realized that the sleeves were just too short. So, I did pattern 2 again (through Row 76) for 8 repeats as suggested as well as decreased 2 sts on each of the "break" rows to reduce my stitch count to 50 sts. I wanted a more fitted cuff so, I did 2 more break rows to decrease a total of 6 sts (purl row = 4 sts decrease & knit row 2 st decrease) for a total of 44 sts. Then, I saw someone's sweater where the cuffs were split and I thought that would also be a great idea for this sweater!😊🥰 So, I did the ribbing just like my bottom ribbing where I picked up 3 sts on each side and ribbed for 10 rows before doing the double knitting rows and bound off using the Icelandic bind off method. I finally finished the sleeves on 08/14/26 (and I just had an itty bitty bit of yarn left from my 6th ball!)

And now ... it's done!  I have my very own light weight gansey!🥳🎉🎊😁🙌 Unfortunately, now that I've completed it (and altered the sleeves), I'm not sure if I really liked what I did.😔😳😱😭🤦‍♀️🙇‍♀️ In some ways, I really liked how the cuffs fit; but ... Between the last pattern and the actual cuff, there was a 16 sts decrease over the course of 7 rows so, there's a little bulging part now. It's not super noticeable but, I noticed it.😔😳😱😭🤦‍♀️ And while looking it over, I also noticed that I had dropped a stitch quite a way back on my left sleeve so, there's a hole now!😔😳😱😭🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ So, I took a few weeks to let it "sit" to see if it would be something I could "live with". In the end, on 09/01/26, I ended up ripping back the entire sleeve (both sleeves) and using my Chiaogoo 3.75mm (US5) needles (& 22" cables) did eight (8) decreases on Rows1-4, completed Pattern 1 & did another eight (8) decreases on Rows 11, 12, 14 & 16 before stopping for the day. On 09/02/26, completed Pattern 2 & did eight (8) decreases on Rows 20, 22, 24 & 25. On 09/03/26, completed Pattern 3, did eight (8) decreases on Rows 45, 36, 38 & 40, completed Pattern 4 & did eight (8) decreases on Rows 56, 58, 60 & 61. On 09/04/26, finished Pattern 1 through Rows 72 with no decreases. On 09/05/26, finished Pattern 2, ending with repeating Rows 68-72 & followed the decreases this time (total stitches: 44 sts). On 09/06/26, switched to my Chiaogoo 3.5mm (US4) needles and started the ribbing (just like on my original sleeve) for 5 rows. Then I decided to try it on only to discover that my sleeve was too long!😳😱😞😒🤨🤦‍♀️🤬 So, I gave up for the day. On 09/08/26, I ripped back both sleeves so that there were only 6 repeats of Pattern 2 and did the final decrease on the final row of repeat 6 (instead of Row 68) then re-did Rows 69-72 again (on my Chiaogoo 3.75mm (US5) needles), switched (back to) my Chiaogoo 3.5mm (US4) needles and finished off the ribbing (again as well).😞😒🤦‍♀️ Finally, my sleeves are D-O-N-E and look so much better now!😊🥰🙌🥳🎉🎊

Front

 

Back

 

Side

 

Cuffs

Here's my thoughts on the making of this sweater:

• I definitely like how it's much thinner and lighter than the original sweater I made for Hubs. I feel like I'll be able to wear it more frequently and not have another "travel" sweater.
• While I had expected to get a smaller gauge due to the lighter weight yarn, as expected, I still managed to meet the gauge despite using a thinner yarn (on the same recommended needle size). Here's what it looks like compared to Hub's sweater:

• Like all sweaters made with finger weight yarn, it often felt like forever getting through the pattern, especially in the body section. However, in reality, I'm quite surprise on how quickly I was able to start and finish this sweater. Amazingly, it only took me 17 (well, really, 24 since it too me forever to redo the sleeves) days to finish this one! 😳😱🥳🎉🎊 
• I oddly found the Fabel sock yarn that I was using wasn't as consistent as the original yarn I used (& purchased from Canada). It was more splitty and seemed to be slubby in some areas while in other areas, it was thinner than sock weight yarn. It could be just this colour way though (although I haven't used the other colours I bought yet so ... 🤔🤨).
• I found that even though the colour wasn't really "dark" (like navy or black), it was still dark enough that I needed a lot of light (and glasses) to knit with this colour to make sure I didn't miss stitches (or drop them!).😳😱😭🤦‍♀️🙇‍♀️ Despite all the extra light and glasses, it seems that I still managed to drop stitches!🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️
• I really like the 3-stitch split hem (instead of the 5-stitch hem I did for my Mottainai sweater) as well as how the hem is actually completed before binding off (where you slip stitches for two (2) rows). It seems to give a "firmer" edge. I will try to remember this "tip" for future sweaters!🎗🥰