Madison and Must Haves

I spent the 4th of July at my mom's and had a great time playing with my niece, Madi. She's 2 1/2 now, and while still tiny for her age is now really a little girl instead of a baby. She's so cute, and isn't shy of me after the first few minutes. She's in preschool now a couple mornings a week and loves to read and do crafts of various kinds. I'm just bidding my time for a little longer before I teach her how to knit! (If my posture looks a little awkward it's because I am attempting to sit on a child-size rocking chair that my grandmother gave me many years ago, and now my mother keeps at her house for Madi. Needless to say, I can't quite fit into it any more.)


The Must Have Cardigan is progressing very well. I now have the back done and most of the left front. As the sleeves are already done (hurray!) there's just the right front and finishing left to do. My fears of running out of yarn appear quite unfounded. I still have 2 full balls of yarn left, and the fronts are only taking 1 ball so I'll have plenty left for the button bands, etc.

I'm still deciding between two button choices - a plain silvery white mother of pearl (simple, classy, a bit shiny, I have 7 of them) or creamy beige and white antler buttons (simple, more rustic, a great colour match, I only have 5 buttons + 2 smaller ones). As I also have 2 smaller ones, I could possibly use them in some interesting way in combination with the other 5. The pattern specifies 7 buttons, and since I am making the cardigan longer by 3-4 inches, I might need more than 7. By the same token, the antler buttons (which I overall prefer just on looks) are more weighty in appearance and it might be fine to use fewer of them, just spaced farther apart. I think I'll have to wait until the body is all sewn together to look at my choices and make a decision.

Now I have a major decision to make. What project shall I take on my road trip to Seattle next week???????