But I Have Been Knitting

Well, I was knitting before I went back to work this past Tuesday. School is in and I'm busy as eff. The Saturday before the holiday, though, I sat in bed and almost knit an entire cardigan; all I needed were sleeves and a collar. Unfortunately, I realized it did not, could not fit once I tried it on. That joint wasn't even trying to pretend to work. It was looking pretty cute too. See:



It's knit from that Rowan Big Wool I got on sale. Good thing I have balls and balls cuz it's gonna take a couple more to actually fit. After I took it apart (and I didn't feel too bad about this; it only took one day's work), it looked like this (and yes, that is an Ebony, so what?):



So, I've started the process all over again. I guess I should note it's Twinkle's Best Friend Cardigan, but I re-wrote the pattern to have raglan sleeves cuz I hate the idea of knitting an entire body and then having to go back to do sleeves. Oh, and I also eliminated the reverse stockinette. I think I like the regular stockinette better. The alterations seem to be working out well. I just need to decide which buttons to use. What do you think?

New FO + New Yarns = Excitement

My title's terribly corny.

Now that that's out of the way, let us view my latest triumph over boredom. Remember that Stephanie Japel Bold & Bulky Mini Cardi from Fitted Knits? Yeah, well I finally finished it. The knitting of the body took no time. It was the picking up of stitches for the button band and actually finding the right sized buttons that was a problem.

Le Front


Le Back


Knit in Lion Brand Thick N' Quick (Pumpkin [MC] & Cranberry [CC])

I do love the shaping in the back and on the sleeves (sorry, no picture of the sleeves), but there is this terrible extra bulk right above the chest area that bothers me. It's not really noticeable when the cardigan's worn open, so that just may be my solution. Cute item, but I doubt I'll make another one.


New Yarn!!!!!!

As a beginning knitter, I've been awfully fond of Lion Brand's Wool-Ease Thick & Quick because it's aptly named and it's cheap. This is kinda funny, as I learned to knit in a store that carries nothing cheap and my first project was knit in 100% alpaca (that stuff was like 13 bucks a skein, whew!). Well, now that I'm convinced that I know what I'm doing, I'm moving up the scale of economy a bit. I like nice things. Why not pay for them? My recent purchases from Jimmy Bean's Wool and Roxy Yarns are moving me along. I'll be purchasing cashmere yarn in no time.



Good ole Big Wool from Rowan. Before, this stuff was out of my league. I bought Thick N' Quick if I wanted to make Twinkle knits without the Twinkle price, but I came upon a load of this stuff markeddown 50%(thank you Jimmy Bean's) and figured the knitting gods wanted me to have something that isn't mostly acrylic. I bought seven balls of this and plan on making them into the Groovy Sweater Dress. Apparently, this color is being discontinued. Too bad, I think it's quite nice.

















This is a brand I hadn't heard of until I found it in the store. This is Limari Multy by Araucania, and I love it. It's a blend of merino wool (soft), alpaca (warm), and silk (smooth), which means, of course, that it feels fantastic. I wanted to make Teva Durhams's Bobble U Neck out of this, but my bobble game is beyond sorry, so this'll probably be in the stash for a minute. There's no way that I'm using $17.00 a skein yarn for any ole mess. No, I must wait. Got this from my not-so-local yarn shop, a place called Knitting Workshop on Lincoln & Webster (right next to the Orange Julius/DQ, on the Lincoln side). If you're in Chicago, definitely go; they have a really nice selection of yarns.





Finally, there's my Cascade Lana Grande in colors I call Cookie Monster and Grouch. The first really is the exact color of Cookie Monster, but Grouch is actually a bit more vibrant (like the color of a perfect lawn). These, too, were on sale at well below their regular price ($3.50 a ball at Roxy Yarns), so I had to get them. These colors are a bit much, so they'll probably end up as vests or striped with something; I don't know.