I don’t have a whole lot to say, but since Thursdays are my “work at home” day, I actually have a chance to write on the blog, so I figured I’d take advantage of it. The semester is moving along at a steady clip, and I’m pretty much constantly on the edge (well, over the edge would be more accurate) of exhaustion. This is nothing unusual; it’s just par for the course when it comes to trying to maintain a more-than-full-time schedule with a chronic illness. C’est la vie. Things are going fairly well, at least! I just end up having no time after I get home for anything but dinner before I fall asleep, so my non-worky life is pretty boring at the moment.
But! I do have a small update for y’all on the knitting front. My Rhinebeck cardigan is inching ever closer to completion, and today I had the brilliant idea of trying to photograph it in front of our upstairs window, to let the light shine through the maple leaf lace motif. Alas, my first attempt was a bit of a failure, but I still like how it turned out, so I’ll share it with y’all:
![light. [365x2.98]](https://i0.wp.com/farm3.static.flickr.com/2479/3929214046_8ce97ee190.jpg)
(Why yes, I’m in my pajamas. Why change into real clothes, when working from home?) Eventually I was able to rig things up, threading the ends of my needle through the loops of the curtain, so that I could get a photo in which the maple leaves actually show up:
I am absurdly, inordinately delighted with how the maple leaves turned out. All that’s left to do is finish the neckline, and then pick up stitches for the buttonbands. Oh, and then…buttons. I am so terribly, horribly indecisive about buttons. I just don’t know what would look best. Wood? Pewter? Something plainer, like matching plastic buttons? I’m currently leaning towards these buttons, because I like how the motif almost looks a bit maple-leaf-ish, and the little nupp-like details, but if any of you lovely readers have a button suggestion for me, feel free to speak up, because I am pretty darn clueless about buttons.
whit::knits 
Would you have the pattern for the Tour de Gansey purple sweater you are making that I could adjust to make a baby afghan? The pattern is simply beautiful.
Oh, thank you! I am definitely planning to put together a pattern for that sweater, but it won’t be ready for awhile, since I have a lot on my plate right now, both school-wise and other-wise. I’ll make sure to post an update about it when I’m closer to having it done.
-whitney
Wow, I love those maple leaves! They turned out perfectly, congrats!
Thank you! I am so delighted with them…I mean, they looked like maple leaves in the chart I drew out, but you just never know til you see it knit up.
-whitney
I love the leaves too, this will look great when it’s done! For buttons, I picture i with wood (if you want contrast) or plastic… since it looks like a lighter weight pewter might be too heavy.
Thanks! You’re probably right about the pewter, since I didn’t knit this sweater at bulletproof gauge.
-whitney
Oh, I LOVE that leaf motif!
But I’m the same way about buttons so I can’t help you there. Sorry!
Thank you! It’s so sad…buttons can do SO much for (or against) the look of a sweater, but I am just utterly clueless about them. Oh well. At least I can ask the internet to think for me!
-whitney
these leaves are awesome. in the land of buttons, i might go with plastic — deep red? pale yellow? (wood buttons would be nice too for a more classic look.)
Thank you! I wound up going with pewter buttons, because I just loved the silvery color with the dark teal color.
-whitney
I think a pewter or brushed nickel type button would look beautiful with that color – although I would shy away from a shank button unless the fabric is fairly lightweight. If the fabric is at all bulky or thick or on the heavier side, a shank may lead to pulling the button placket out of line.
Good call on the shank-style buttons! I wound up finding pewter buttons with 4 holes in them, so I went with those, and I’m pretty darn happy with them.
-whitney
I think pewter would look lovely with that color, although it is possible that they’d be too heavy (hard to know without handling the sweater and buttons together, perhaps). Jessica at Rose-Kim Knits mentioned another pewter button maker recently, and I see they have little acorns … I know that’s not actually appropriate for maple leaves, but they were so cute, I had to mention them. http://www.danforthpewter.com/personal-buttons.html
I saw those acorn ones, too, and was SO tempted by them despite the fact that acorns do not go with maple trees! I wound up going with some pewter buttons I found that were fairly lightweight, and had holes in them rather than a shank, and they seem to be working out perfectly!
-whitney
The sweater looks so perfect! It must be nice to have a project come out so close to the glory you imagined. As for the buttons, I would put on something dark blue, in order not to draw attention from those beautiful leaves.
Thank you! It is so, so very exciting to see something that only existed in my head turn into something real.
-whitney
Wow – it’s gorgeous!
Thank you!!
-whitney
Oh my goodness! I LOVE those maple leaves!
Thank you! I love them too…I’m so so happy with how they turned out.
-whitney
Yet another gorgeous design, Whitney! The leaves are perfect; they are the exact essence of maple leafiness. Well done!
Thank you! I am so utterly delighted with how the maple leaves turned out.
-whitney
The pewter button pattern looks a little like maple leaves, but even more like fleur de lis (the Quebec symbol). So, a button which has a symbol that looks like a Canadian symbol and a Quebec symbol at the same time – hmm, interesting.
Ha, I hadn’t thought about *that* juxtaposition! I wound up going with a fairly plain pewter button that had actual holes in it, rather than a shank, and am quite happy with the result.
-whitney
The maple leaves are really breathtaking! Maybe it is the way you’ve photographed them but they really look lovely. I’m so excited to see this sweater finished because it is going to be a real work of art!
Thank you! The backlighting certainly helps to show them off, but I’m pretty delighted with how they look when the sweater is worn, too. It’s finished now, but I still need to take pictures!
-whitney
I hope that apparent hole on the right side of the sweater (in the picture) is an underarm seam that hasn’t been seamed yet?
Ha, yes, it’s just an underarm seam! There are only intentional holes in this sweater :)
-whitney
Those be-nupped maple leaves make me really excited about life. As for buttons, I think a round, blond wood button (carved or plain) would be stunning.
Thank you! The maple leaves make me pretty excited about life, too!
-whitney
Ooh, the maple leaves are lovely! I can see why you’re so excited about them — they’re worth some serious excitement :) I like those pewter buttons quite a bit, but there’s some part of me that also thinks either wood or horn buttons, a bit rustic, would look fabulous.