Progress, finally

My much anticipated extra needles finally made it here last Thursday and a wet, slow weekend meant lots of knitting time.


The bottom ribbing and one sleeve are done. The sleeves are 3/4 length and the knitting went quickly. All it needs now is the other sleeve, the front and neck bands and a little finishing work. Although the thing is getting a bit big and floppy work on the seaming avoidance which knitting in one piece enables is worth it. There will be a good number of ends to work in, however.

So the cardigan will be done in the near future, but I won't be working on it exclusively. Though it goes completely against my usual knitting philosophy I have another large project started already. This arrived the day after the needles (it was a good mail week).


The yarn for deadline project number one, all the way from Canada. I have not yet decided how much of this project I'm going to blog. It's a wedding gift for my brother and his bride and they've been known to read here from time to time. I'm not giving away any secrets by telling you that it's an afghan and that the knitting is going to be a marathon. I know it will get done, the question is whether deadline project two will even be begun.

Once I've worked a few rows of the pattern I'll have a better idea of the time-scale involved, so far its all edging. At least today was cool - there is a good possibility that I am going to regret the decision to work and enormous wooly thing in the heat of summer.

We're still waiting for a few things here, but at least I'll have no trouble keeping busy.

Progress....and yarn

It's been a couple of weeks since I showed you the sweater that I keep claiming to be knitting. True there was the distraction of the grey socks, but I really have been working away at the thing and it is now beginning to resemble an actual knitted garment.


Well sort of anyway. The rows were getting soooo long before separating for the arms, but are now back to a much more manageable length. I'm in the 'largely mindless' portion of the pattern now, just stockinette back and forth and remembering to decrease every now and then. It is not the most exciting knitting, to be sure, but it's good for keeping the hands occupied when the mind is elsewhere (I really don't feel a need for more excitement at the moment). I am feeling the beginnings of the urge to cable, but so far it's in control.

Less in control, as a glance at the photo above suggests, is my tension. I'm still on gauge, but this knitting is less even that I'm used to. I think the problem lays, in part, with a difference in my knit v. purl tensions which I normally avoid by working in the round. The yarn is also slippier than I'm used to, which may be contributing. It's also only 40% wool, so I'm not too sure how it's going to react to blocking, which would normally be my first strategy with something like this. It's not bothering me enough that I'll be upset if it doesn't block out (and certainly not enough to rip it back).

I mentioned that I may have picked up some yarn while I was in Vienna.


Not too much damage, really. I have a great fondness for German sock yarns and knew going in that I wanted a few skeins for my souvenir of this trip. I visited three yarn shops in Vienna, all of which held many temptations.

The German companies seem to do the best self patterning yarns, so I was happy to bring a couple of those home. The pinky one is probably going to be socks for me. I almost never wear pink of any kind, but I do like the pink/grey/black combination and feel I may be able to put it on my feet. The greener one is what Adam picked out for himself.

The blue yarn there represents the only self-imposed buying rule that I broke. I didn't intend to buy any solid colours while I was away. There are lots of other, nearer sources. But I'd never seen this yarn (Lana Grossa Seta Cashmere) before and couldn't resist. It has an amazing sheen, which photos don't convey, together with a so-soft hand and a good hard twist. The actual cashmere content is only 4% (with 15% silk) but it's a nice luxurious little touch. I don't regret picking this up at all.

My dearest also gifted me a little yarn while we were there:


Regia sock in a colourway incorporating my favourite purple and chartreuse combination (yes, really) and designed by Kaffe Fassett, no less. Squee. I'm thinking these will be Monkey socks for me, one of these days.

My largely theoretical (and clearly completely delusional) knitting schedule had me finishing the vanilla sweater by the end of this month. Doesn't seem likely, does it? And with two more must-finish projects coming up before the beginning of July it may be a while before I get to start a pair of fiddly socks for myself. One of the great things about yarn? It'll keep.

Grey, grey, grey

Grey weather and grey socks are suiting my grey mood at the moment. Actually the sock yarn is great to work with and the pattern is diverting yet speedy. Already well into the foot of the first one.


And finally there is something to show on the french vanilla sweater. Not much progress, I know, but a start. I haven't had a lot of time to work on it yet, but I've enjoyed it when I have. Working top down in one piece means that the rows get long fairly quickly - I'm heading towards the shoulders here and if uninterrupted I can get in about four rows in an hour. Its been a while since I've worked at sweater scale.


I think my favourite thing about this project so far is the chance to use my new(ish) Knit Picks Harmony set. I love these needles. They're perfect for wrangling this very smooth yarn and the points are the best.

The grey mood does not allow for meditation upon the queue at the moment. I'm hoping that my soul will be soothed by a week of yarn and yummies in Austria. Blogging as connectivity allows.

First time for everything

For one day (and one day only) I really wish I were in Toronto. This whole scavenger hunt thing is going to be Big Fun and I'm bummed that I don't get to play along. The city isn't going to know what hit it. Perhaps I'll see if I can't stage a few of these pictures here in Grenoble. We have a hockey team.

As hinted in my last post, I really am starting a sweater. Not a first, but certainly a rarity in recent years. I have decided on a light cardigan which I'm hoping will provide for use in a few seasons. The yarn is a wool/synthetic blend and superwash no less. Not something I probably would have considered at home, but when in France.....


I love the sheen and softness though as well as the colour, which is a lovely soft neutral vanilla.

It's not quite the weight the pattern calls for but it's very close. I got gauge no problem in my swatch. Suspiciously easily in fact: on my first try. This worries me slightly (it shouldn't be this easy) but I did a good size swatch, no cheating or stretching. We'll see. I was slightly consoled when I realised that achieving gauge on this needle size meant that I did not have with me the needles I will need for the sleeves or the front band. So perhaps having to order those to be shipped to Canada and then sent on to me will be vexing enough to appease the knitting goddesses and save me from a gauge incident later in the project.

Tomorrow I cast on. To add another first, I'll be using my harmony interchangeable needles for the first time. I think I've finally found a big project I can get motivated about.