It occurred to me...

I haven't been updating much, as I am still pretty much slogging along on the same projects. Child's First Socks--finished the latest 10-row set, only to decide it's still not long enough, and started the next. Lang Yarns Viva sweater--still not up to the armholes. It is nice and soft and a pretty easy pattern so far. Still haven't blocked the skinny scarf; maybe I'll fit that in tonight.

I did knit a swatch of the to-be-felted hat; of course, I'd already finished it when I read that they recommend at least 20 rows of each color (I did about 6 of the main color, 4 of the contrast, and another 5-6 of the main color). I just went ahead and felted it. Bless its little heart, it only took 15 mins to felt up. I mailed it to Mom today, to see if she thinks they felted at the same rate. It's pretty close. The contrast is a tad looser, but I think it'll be OK. Cascade 220 sure felts easily. I shall have to WATCH IT with the sweaters I knit from it; otherwise, they'll end up on my son.

Anyway, it did occur to me that I don't always have to post about my knitting here. I can jot down patterns that appeal to me, etc. Like the Dollar and a Half Cardigan from the Spring IK 2007 issue. Well, it did appeal to me. Then I was redesigning it in my mind--first, the sleeves: how about making the stripes go *down* them rather than around? Shorter cuffs, and no bells? Then, the back--I need horizontal stripes like I need a mohawk. Make it like the front. So now, do I need to buy that pattern? I think not. I can certainly swatch the front, do some measurements, and make my own pattern up. Done.

I also like the Clementine Shawlette from the same issue, but it doesn't seem too complex to reproduce--it's nearly a rectangle, but with gently tapering ends. I like the foldy end parts.

And, in other news, Mom has said that although she doesn't want a shawl (I had bought 4 balls of lovely sand-colored cotton for something for her), she would love another wool sweater, a pullover maybe with a Scandinavian yoke. What fun! I'd nearly run out of folks for whom to knit sweaters (I still want to knit Chaos for G--upscaled, of course). Whee!