Digging Up The Daylilies

You know I don't need any more knitting projects in my life right now. The Optical Illusion cardigan is stalled out on the back yoke, the camel colored socks are a sock and a quarter after about 2 years. Mom's top probably needs to be ripped out and started over (and it's only about 2" deep on a top-down pattern). Aunt Julie gave me yarn for a pretty Jo Sharp cardigan, which I realized too late will not flatter me. And I have plans for a green Pi R Squared shawl from stash that I haven't had time to start.

But still, I was reading Knitty this afternoon and there are 2 sweaters calling my name. Jaden is like the best tops from last summer; a fitted bust that releases into lace. And Marjorie is classic in a way that suits me really well. I'd love to knit them for myself. If I had time. Or I made more time for knitting.

ETA Revelation:
I was just looking at Jaden again. That's very much like the neckline that my MIL was looking for last fall (I think). I was going to knit Grumperina's Picovili, but it's a very customized pattern knit from the top down. Instructions read along the lines of "Try it on. Knit until you reach x point on your body.". Not doable with my MIL in Virginia and me in Wisconsin. But if I refit Jaden with cap sleeves, I might just succeed. And then I can use the yarn she bought me to knit Marjorie instead of a copy of Mom's shell.

I cannot believe I said "yes" when my MIL asked me about knitting a simple shell for her for Lindsey's wedding. I have one month. Me. Who takes over a year to make a pair of socks. Yep. So I went to Lakeside Fibers after work, but they didn't have any patterns that fit the request (ballet neck, short or cap sleeves, dead easy, maybe in garter stitch so it flows over middle aged curves).

Mom had a top she liked that was like this, but it was in acrylic and itched (anything that started out life as a dinosaur itches her).
As you can see, it has little cap sleeves and it's in garter stitch worked sideways. The hem is slightly curved. The sleeves are separate pieces. The neck is more of a scoop than she'd like, so I'm supposed to aim for a wide scoop, a ballet neck (not boat). I found some great cotton/rayon blends that I might use.

Any ideas? I need this to be really really easy, so I don't have time to work up the pattern on my own.
Thanks!

First up, I have to announce that thanks to the charts that sunnyhunny pointed me to, I was able to work out the kippah pattern this weekend. I'm not sure that my design, which turned out as a black circle winding out into a black & white spiral, totally looks like a yin-yang. But it's close enough. And it was fast and easy! I bought the black wool on Saturday and started crocheting Sunday morning while sitting in bed listening to Says You. Put it down to clean the house, bake bread, etc. Picked it up around 3pm while waiting for lireavue to arrive for a little knitting instruction. She and Chris stayed for an hour or so, which got me a long way along the kippah. I finished it while watching TV last night! Pictures to come just as soon as I get home tonight.

Second. I was just reading Knitty, and there's a great article about cool stuff for beginning knitters to make that are not the dreaded garter stitch scarf. Not that there's anything wrong with them, it's just that after a foot or so they can be boring. Lots of links in this article. Go read. :)

[edited to fix appalling typos]