stash, knit, repeat

I still feel like I’m so behind, but now that our houseguests are gone and Passover is over and there’s no business travel on the horizon, I should be able to catch up!

…at least until we move (in mid-to-late June). Riiiight.

Anyway, some of the secret knitting has been gifted so now I can share with you all. One of the ladies in our knitting group just had her second child, so 5 of us got together and all knit strips of a baby blanket for her. I seamed them all together and edged them:

We knit the blanket out of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK, in the lovely purple color you see. I was worried about gauge issues until the end, but it all worked out just fine. I wrote the care instructions on a little card, wrapped it up, and it was all ready for C.!

She really seemed to love it, which was a huge sigh of relief.

Also, while the past month has been extremely busy and not always fun, today the mailman brought me something almost special enough to make me forget all of it:

The final installment of my current Seasons Club subscription. Yum, yum, and yum.

I’ll spare you any more stream-of-consciousness posting and go knit on my very first socks for Jacob, now. (!) Next up: A completed baby beret/sock set, and the weirdest sock construction ever.

Business and super-secret life planning are likely to keep me super-busy for the next week, so please forgive me until I can sit in front of the computer for more than 10 minutes.

But until then:

Something just needs a ribbon, and

the postman is currently my favorite stranger, and

You should absolutely go make yourself some funny-shaped gingersnaps.

Hope you’re all well!

I finished the sweater for Jacob, but haven’t had time to get modeled pictures yet. I’ll save the FO post for when I have cute shots, but here’s a peek.

The sweater for the Damask is Tulip, from the most recent Rowan magazine. I’m planning on making the sleeves set-in and a bit longer, since cap sleeves just aren’t for me. I’m excited about it, but I’d hoped to wait until May to start it, but I may give in and swatch before then.

Not because I’m that impatient, mind you, but because nothing else is working out right! The koigu, which looked SO beautiful and springy in the hank, and wound up into a cake?

Well, charitably I could call it “splotchy” when knit up. Uncharitably, as in late last night when I just wanted a soothing sock to knit, it could be called vomit in sock form.

I’m so disgusted with it, and remember well how little I could change the STR pooling despite going to insane lengths. So, I’m not going through that again. First interested party who leaves a comment gets the yarn! Please, make it into socks that you love.

The other quick project I had in mind, another indoor cap for the hubby, won’t work either–he doesn’t like the color of 4ply soft I have in the stash and I don’t feel like buying more right now. Sigh.

So what’s a girl to do? Chart and swatch and cast on for Tulip, I suppose, but if anyone else has great ideas for quick projects, I’d LOVE to hear them. Because I’d really like to do something else small with the rest of April!

So, here’s the deal with the Friday Harbor sock. I did get one done, although true to form it’s too narrow for my (shapely?) foot/calf.

Jacob was a willing model, of course.

The real problem, though, was the yarn. Caveat: This is just my opinion! I know there are lots of folks out there in blog-land who love this yarn. If you’re unsure but would like to try some, let me know because I have 67g that I would be happy to send someone.

I had two problems with it. First, the 25% polyamide gave the yarn an unpleasant plasticy feel to my fingers. Keep in mind, reading this, that I am one spoiled kitten in terms of sock yarn. I’ve only ever used Lorna’s Laces, Schaefer Anne, Bearfoot, and Socks that Rock. The bigger problem, though, was that it started looking fuzzy/rough and pilling just from my knitting it. It’s hard to capture a picture of this, but here’s a try:

If the feel doesn’t bother you, I’d recommend it for a scarf, or maybe gauntlets, but if the yarn is visibly wearing without ever being *worn*, I would think twice before using it for socks. Maybe I just got a defective ball?

*****

Whatever the reason, though, 2007 is not the year of knitting with yarn I hate. So, out of the sidebar the socks go, and on to something new!

(Suggestions for what to do with a single sock are welcome.)

That’s the start to the Shaped V-Neck Cardigan, done top-down, by Knitting Pure and Simple. I’m knitting it in Berroco Ultra Alpaca, color “Rust”. It’s a joy to be working with this yarn again.

I really like the way the sweater looks in the picture, but I worry after seeing some others among the blogs. So I’m thinking of adding some pretty aggressive waist-shaping, and maybe some short-rows on the bust. I think this project may finally be the one that sets me over the edge on a dress form! Figuring out where to add it all without one is a little daunting. (To be honest, it feels a little daunting no matter what. I’ve never modified a pattern before in such a big way. But fear seems like a silly reason to put up with an ill-fitting sweater! So we shall see.) Does anyone have any recommendations or anti-recommendations on adjustable dress forms?