This is why we swatch
So every now and then, some lovely person says 'oh, all your knitting is so pretty.' And that's very very kind, but it's also totally not true. A fair bit of my knitting actually looks like absolute trash. It's just that I usually go through that stage while I'm swatching, not on the full project stage of things. See? Absolute crap. There is nothing appealing about this save the yarn. But the secret is, that's just a swatch. It's all of three inches across. That means I can keep going and keep experimenting and it's just not a big deal. [...]
And this is done too
I'm pretty sure this is cuter and more fun than should be allowed... Of course it's also unblocked and has its ends waving shamelessly in the wind. But we won't talk about that. How about we distract ourselves with the cute way the top of the hat folds over on itself instead, yeah? Or, failing that, we start daydreaming about how the third in the series should work...swatches soon (just as soon as I get the book off to the printer and sleep for 48 hours straight). [pextestim pex_attr_set="looking-for-this-pattern" pex_attr_autoplay="false"][/pextestim]
And done!
I'm calling this little patch of stitching done! That's the one I just did now, and just for reminders, here are the ones I did back in November. That's the one on the cuff. And that's the one on the front near the pocket. And here's the one on the back up by the shoulder. And here's where I'm super mean and say no, I can't really take a picture that shows them to you all at once (several people asked last time). That's because they're all over the place on the sweater, and you can't actually see them all [...]
Good Mail
One of the many lovely things about this job is all the good mail it generates. There are few things more fun to find in the mailbox than some yummy yarn. And when it's book yarn selecting time, you get a lot of good yarn in the mail! That's Merino DK by Hedgehog Fibres in the color Construct. And that's Meridian by Seven Sisters Arts in the color Silk Road (the bundle) and Citron (the big skein). They're both for Curls 3, which will be mostly speckles and gradients. I'm having so much fun tracking down fabulous yarns, and have [...]
Next…
This is just about ready for the decreases. Which means it's time to start figuring out what to do for the third one (the blue one here). Expect swatches soon...
One more round
Remember back in November when I had some holes in an old sweater? And I hated the idea of shopping so much that I decided to embroider over the things instead of buying a new sweater (you can follow along on the whole adventure over here if you're so inclined, scroll down...). Yeah, well the sweater got another hole (kittens...blame kittens). But once you're that invested in fixing something, you're not going to let it go for one more little hole. You're going to grab the same batch of threads you used last time and stitch on it some more. [...]
So when I say a set…
So when I say I'm thinking of doing a set, I'm speaking fairly loosely. We're not talking a hat and mitts and a cowl, we're talking a few pieces that all explore a similar idea. In this case, that idea is 'what if I start with a lovely, neutral background and a simple shape...and then pull another yarn in to do something a bit crazy with a funky stitch for some fancy texture?' So here you can see the first iteration of that (it's Entrapment, and it's already out on ravelry if you simply must have it). And here's the [...]
Because one is never enough
The hat continues to grow, and I continue to be hopelessly smitten with it. It starts out with the rows of doobly-dos all squinched up together, but then as you go along they spread out. I love having things taper off like that. It makes it feel like the hat is picking up momentum as you go along (because the fancy rows do take a bit more time than the plain ones). Yarn is Tosh Vintage in Smokestack (the gray one) and Tosh Merino Light in Alizarin (the pink one), and I'm loving the combo! [pextestim pex_attr_set="looking-for-this-pattern" pex_attr_autoplay="false"][/pextestim]
Just in time
This is growing, and I'm loving it. And apparently we're going to have one last snowstorm (oh please let it be this winter's last...I'm so ready for spring), so maybe I'll get some time to tuck in and finish it up. The wee twirly bits are going to spread out and become more sparse as we head to the top of the hat, so it should get even faster as I work along. And yes, yes I have already started day dreaming of what to do for the third in this 'gray background, funky secondary yarn' thing I'm playing with [...]
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