Why I Love April

It's finally Spring around here. Although it was much, much cooler today than it was last week. That can't last, right? We were finally able to emerge from our house-cave and enjoy the patio last weekend. Believe me, sitting in the sun knitting for several hours on a Saturday does wonders to shed the winter blues.

The NHL Playoffs began last night. I watched two whole games (or I would've if I could wrest the remote away from my wonderful wife) between teams that are NOT my hometown Wings. I LOVE playoff hockey. The intensity is palpable and every game is entertaining. So many story lines will develop over the coming weeks and it started with Pittsburgh's decisive shutout of Ottawa and Calgary's upset win last night in San Jose. Even better, Game 2 in that series is already tonight and starts at 10 p.m., right about the time the Wings game will be over. By far the best part is the first two rounds when there are multiple games on every. single. night.

This is really more specific to April this year rather than every April, but I began knitting a swatch last night for my Wings sweater. It's going to be my NHL Playoffs KAL project. If you're interested, head on over to the Puck This! group on Ravelry and join up.

Good News, Bad News
Good news: My yarn order from WEBS came on Monday.

Bad news: It turns out red yarn I thought I was ordering is actually a very reddish orange. It's hard to tell and I only realized it because the invoice listed the color as 'Sunset Orange'. I cannot in good conscience knit a Red Wings sweater with orange yarn.

Good news: I get to go to an actual LYS tomorrow to find the right color to make an exchange with WEBS.

Bad news: I'll probably end up buying some yarn there. (Shhhh don't tell)

Good news: Cascade 220 Superwash is surprisingly soft.

Bad news: How can you find bad news about that?

Good news: Two skeins of Malabrigo were in my order on Monday.

Bad news: I don't know what to knit with the blue skein. (The orange skein will be a Koolhaas for me.)

Good news: I have several blog topics rattling around in my brain.

Bad news: I hardly have time (or motivation to be honest) to blog said topics.

Good news: It's spring!!!!

Bad news: The dogs will be constantly dirty for about two months while it rains every other day. Oh well, that I can handle.

Uh oh...

Thanks to this, I just ordered enough of this to knit this. Maybe I can knit it all during the playoffs. I also ordered my first ever skein of this and I am so totally stoked. Heaven help us all.

This has since been frogged, so big thanks to all for these. This will now be used to knit this instead, and this will be maybe turned into one of these.

This is getting old, so I'm out.

Conundrum

This wee sweater and I are at an impasse. You see, there's not enough brown yarn left to knit a normal length body. Whoever on Ravelry labeled their sweater as only using one skein of Cascade 220 was lying.



I've narrowed it down to the following options:

1. Knit cuffs and hems to match the length of the yoke and call it an avant-garde sweater.

2. Finish the sweater with normal cuffs and hem and call it a cropped, short-sleeve sweater. Or maybe a shrug. Do babies wear shrugs? I don't think mine will...

3. Frog it and knit a yellow sweater with a brown yoke. I have two skeins of yellow, so no yarn shortage worries there.

4. Frog it and knit a completely yellow sweater with no brown since the brown is ugly and no baby should be caught dead wearing said color. Burn brown yarn. Have I mentioned that it's actually a brown/black tweed?

Help me out here people, I have no fashion/design sense. Is the brown yarn honestly ugly? I think it looks ok...but I'm not sure. Right now I'm leaning towards option 1, with options 3 and then 4 close behind.

Dr. G's Memory Vest swatch

We are not as orange as our photo suggests

This is the second go round swatching, I got way too many sts/in with size 8 needles. I'm a bit concerned that the finished product will end up less sturdy than I anticipated, but I got this yarn (Cascade 220) specifically for this pattern, so I'll carry on. I am interested to see how the swatch behaves once I wash and block it.

Spring my ass...

FO: Fibonacci Ribs Sweater

Pattern: Fibonacci Ribs Sweater - Queenie Sisters Designs
Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style in Asparagus
Needles: various size 6 needles
Started: November 2005
Finished: February 16, 2008
Modifications: none
What I learned: Knitting a sweater takes a long time! This was one of the first 'real' projects I ever started and yes, it took me 2 1/4 years to finish it. The most important thing I learned was to choose a sweater design that is appropriate for the recipient. Looking at a pattern book and getting a "That one looks nice" response does not mean it's the right design. This has a pretty deep set-in sleeve which made for a lot of fabric bunching in the armpit. I may take it apart and attempt a re-knit at some point.

This will be a sweater to remember though, if not for how much use it gets, then definitely for what I'll recall happened while I knit it. I worked on it at my desk during lunch at my first real job, it traveled on the train to Toronto the weekend I proposed to my wife, to IKEA in Pittsburgh (from Michigan) to get the first furniture for our new home and got shelved for fear of destruction when we adopted our first puppy, Lola. A lot has changed in our lives while this one was on the needles.

I held off blogging this while I searched for more progress photos, but they seem to have disappeared on me, so you only get the finished product. This won't be the last sweater I make, but I think the next one I knit for my wife is going to have to be a lot better or she won't let me knit for her any more!

I have another DWFO* yet to post, but I'm holding out for another modeling session. I've also re-started progress on the Sorta River Rapids socks and making excellent time. I don't know what it is about that pattern, but it goes really quickly. I may finish by next weekend, just in time for a belated St. Patty's party we're going to. Once those are done, it's back to the Carbonite socks to finish those up. I must say, knitting 3 pairs of socks one at a time works wonders for second socks syndrome.

*Dear Wife Finished Object :-)

FO: Cat in the Hood Socks

Pattern: 2x2 rib, afterthought heel, sewn hem cuff
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare - Merino Wool Fingering Weight, dyed with Wilton's food dyes
Needles: Knit Picks DPNs size 1
Started: Janurary 18
Finished: March 6
Modifications: none
What I learned: I have a deep heel so knitting a 'toe' for a heel doesn't work for me. Love the sewn hem for a cuff, it's totally stretchy and way easier to get right on the first try than casting off with larger needles. I think it looks nicer than a regular sewn cast off and gives a firmer edge too. I don't mind pulling these on just holding the hem. A pint glass makes a great knitting tool. How to dye self-striping yarn; and I love it.

I'll be wearing these quite often the rest of the winter. They're the perfect thing to brighten up a dreary day. They just plain make me happy.