30 March 2008

sweaters and garter stitch madness


Yay! I just finished the Vine Lace cardi (with a couple mods) from The Knitter's Book of Yarn this weekend. I was mostly knitting it just to use up stash, so am really pleased that I actually like the end result and find it very wearable. I am also so glad to have mostly used up my Debbie Bliss merino dk, since it is so splitty for me that I have to watch my knitting constantly even when just doing plain stockinette.


I've also got a picture here of my Salina. Sorry I am not wearing it, but it was a little too damp. This was its first real washing, but it has had a month or two of wear (and has the pills to show
for it, which is a shame since the yarn itself is just lovely for knitting and wearing -- Rowan Cashsoft). Salina is a great, easy to wear pattern, and flattering enough that I may use it as a template for other sweaters in the future.


I've finished some kids' knits here too: a rainbow cardi (own design) for my daughter made from Noro Silk Garden (stash again!). It certainly got much softer after washing.

And here we have an "old" Tomten (Mission Falls 1824 superwash) I made for my little girl two years ago that has been worn pretty constantly ever since and has grown with her just as EZ said it would. So, I have pulled out the needles and the yarn (Noro Kureyon-- from stash, go me :) ) to make her little brother one as well-- it certainly becomes clear how much knitting is in store when you lay a just cast on project next to a finished one-- yikes.


Next time, hopefully I will have a FO to show for my recent spate of garter stitch madness. I have been obsessed with using up my scraps and odds and ends since last I posted and have been making squares for an afghan holding together lots of bits and pieces and working on size 13 needles. Luckily, those hurt my wrists or the darn thing would soon be too heavy to pick up.
But, boy, does this churn through all those little bits one never knows how to use and I find it really interesting to see how the different yarns change the appearance of the whole. And you can see that Captain appreciates their squishiness and was a great help in figuring out the layout.

I've also got some Rowan Calmer shipping my direction. Anyone have any recommendations for a summer cardigan? I have only knit one summery thing EVER and want to begin to fix that situation...