First, I'm sorry for my long silence. There's no good excuse for it, really. All I can say is, time passes before we're aware of it. Blink in December, and it's half through July. I plan to post at least once a month for the remainder of the year, but we'll see.
For now, let's talk about what I've been knitting. I did, finally, finish up the Christmas gifts! I made a pair of wool socks for my mother, and one for my sister. I neglected to take photos before I gave them to their recipients, however, and the yarn labels are buried in my stash totes. I believe the yarn I chose for Mom's is called Indulgence, and it goes from violet to palest pink to ocean-teal to other-colors-I-don't-recall-right-now. My sister's were made of self-patterning yarn, that turned into more autumnal-colored socks than I thought they would be. She likes them, though. I also made a baby blanket for a friend, whose son is now four months old, and socks for my husband. I used Cascade something-or-other, variegated in dark green and medium smoke blue, and they kept him warm all during that brutal winter. I really need to gather yarn labels before writing blog posts, apparently.
I have several things on the needles right now. I made a list of this year's Christmas gifts on Dec. 26, 2013, and I started some as soon as I could. I am making a pair of gloves for my husband (first gloves ever, and he knows he's getting them), and a pair of gloves each, in the same pattern but different colors, for my father-in-law (he knows), and someone else (who doesn't). Socks for my mother and sister (they know, but they don't know what colors or patterns). A snail cape to crochet for another pregnant friend's baby.
For myself, I have the Spoked Cardigan on my needles. I was working some long shifts for three straight weeks. I took some of the money I'd earned, and bought myself the yarn for the cardigan as a birthday present. I chose Noro Kureyon, colorway 332 (emerald, teal, olive, and jade), and I love the yarn and the pattern. The yarn feels like slightly rough velvet in my hands, and the colors are so luscious that I grin with pure joy when I work on it. The pattern is lovely, too, simple but clever. I did make some modifications. I removed the tabs on the arms and hips, and I lengthened the sleeves to wrist-length (my personal preference). I'm working on the second sleeve now. No photos, since it looks like an indeterminate mass of fabric right now. Once it's all done, I'll post photos of it, pre- and post-blocking and button-sewing. I also purchased more Kureyon to make myself a hat-and-fingerless-mitts set for spring, and will use stash Kureyon to make another hat-and-mitt set for fall. I've made the spring hat already, but it was too big. It needs to be unraveled and redone, but that can wait. I'll need the fall hat and mitts before the spring ones.
I hope you all enjoyed this post. I'll post again soon. Promise.
Peace and good knitting!
