WIP it good.

All my WIPs continue apace. I seem to be a little all over the place lately with my projects, but somehow, bit by bit, they're progressing.

This week I managed to get to the halfway point in the Hanami stole. I'm really happy with how it's coming along. I like that the beads have given it some heft (as hefty as seed beads can be on an alpaca/silk lace stole) and I think it's going to drape beautifully once it's finished. I hope I have some occasion to wear it. Maybe I'll get invited to a wedding. Or maybe we'll go to the ballet. Or something. Of course, I'm not sure I have anything to wear with it, so I'll have to get on that.

Knitting. Tasty, tasty, knitting.

I've also made progress on my Rafters cardigan. Just this morning I completed the front shaping and now I'm ready to get everything all joined up for some progress on the body. It looks a little small right now, but I think that's because so many of the sweaters I've made for myself have turned out too big. Even if it's a bit small now, I'm pretty sure that blocking will relax some of the tightness in the cables. So long as I get gauge on the sweater as a whole, I'll have about an inch of ease.

Since my last couple posts I've frogged the blue socks for my friend, Dan, and started a new pair for him. I'm doing the Scylla pattern again, this time with a skein of Mountain Colors Crazyfoot I've had in my stash for awhile. In the skein, the yarn looked a lot more brown than it's knitting up. In the socks, I'm seeing more jewel tones, but I think it's still masculine. I hope he'll be cool with it. This is my commuting-and-waiting-in-line knitting and it's moving right along. I've probably got another two weeks with it before it's finished.

Of course, with three projects on the needles (four, if you count my unfinished Halloween costume), it looks like I'm not going to be doing any Christmas knitting. There just won't be any time. I have a feeling I'm still going to be baking up a storm, but it's already too late to be in time for Christmas. I will, however, be scouring my house for just the right contribution to our family's Dirty Santa exchange.

On that note, I'll sign off for now. Until next time, Friends.

Stuck.

See that picture there? The one that looks like a nearly finished shawl? That's a picture of frustration. Of the heartbreak felt by the optimistic knitter. The one who read that bit in the pattern where the designer said she nearly ran out of yarn. The one who thought that a 100% cashmere yarn would have more yardage in its 55 gram skein than a 55/45 silk/cashmere blend.

The one who was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I'm three 300-stitch rows & a bind off short of a shawl. And I only have about 5 yards of yarn left. And another skein of this yarn will run me $47 + shipping. I am stuck but good.

What's most frustrating is that this project started out so well! Those first few charts just flew by! I mean, it's been a mere two weeks, and I could have had this thing finished, soaked and blocking by now. And it's such lovely, soft cashmere. That isn't yet a pretty lace shawl.

I'm going to have to set this aside for a minute, and think about what I want to do. I could rip back a bit and bind off where it might make sense. I could message a few people on the Rav to see if they're willing to let go of a few yards of their yarn. Or I could buy a whole 'nother skein. I can't think about this right now. I'm going to go start something else. I don't know what that will be, but I hope it's one I have enough yarn for.

Until next time, Friends.

Zipping right along

My Amaya sweater is really moving fast, mostly because it's stockinette stitch on size 8 needles, with minimal shaping. It's been a fast knit, so much so that I've already finished the front and the back. Why, as recently as Tuesday, I was halfway through the front and even though I left it at the office overnight Wednesday, I was able to complete the neck and shoulders last night. I'm saving the seams for Sunday, since that will be my next day off, and once that job's finished, I'll be able to finish the collar. After it gets a wash and a dry, I'll have a nice, new, Spring sweater - just in time for the comfortable weather we're finally starting to see.

Since I didn't have anything else on the needles Wednesday evening, in my desolation I decided (with a little prodding from a friend on the Facebook) to cast on Kirsten Kapur's Portico shawl. Mostly I chose it because it called for a mere 400 yards of laceweight that I could knit on size 6 needles from a skein of Jade Sapphire cashmere that's been in my stash since the Knit Nook closed. Decision made, I whipped through the first set of instructions before I went to bed.

The yarn I'm using is 100% cashmere, completely soft and very fuzzy, but different from the 55/45 silk/cashmere that the pattern calls for. I expect that my shawl will end up with a lovely halo, but without the nice smoothness and drape that the silk blend yarn will give. If I can finish it fairly quickly, I think it will be a light, airy layer to wear on the chilly mornings and evenings we'll have for a few more weeks. Otherwise, I'll likely have to wait until fall to wear it.

Well, that's all I have for tonight. Until next time, Friends.