Supe

My HLM laughed when he saw the zipper I chose -- he said the colours look like Superman's costume. I reminded him that he helped me to choose the yarn colours, oh so long ago. Needless to say, I've been hearing the theme song periodically for the last couple of days. Fortunately I am totally okay with having a Super Cardigan. (FYI I am squinting in all outdoor photos because I am a mole person and the sunlight makes me cry.)

So I am pretty ecstatic with how my Super Ribby Cardi turned out. It fits perfectly and is warm and not itchy... The zipper makes the colour scheme pop just exactly the way I'd hoped it would. It is comfortable at all ranges of zippiness, but I like how it looks, casually open at the neck like that. Mind you, it displays some horrible-looking hand stitching on the back of the zipper, since I had to use blue thread and the zipper is red. Yikes.

I used Elann Peruvian Worsted Wool, as I probably mentioned before -- I had enough left over to make another charity scarf, which is nice. I can understand why this knit has been a popular one for first-time-sweaters, since it's totally easy and very flattering. I'm sure I will get lots of use out of it, and am considering another one, which of course will have to wait a while until I make some more progress on the queue (and the stash.)

I have been working on a little lacy hat in the meantime, for a coworker who doesn't read the blog, and am gearing up for a pair of socks. It's been nearly half a year since I had a pair of socks on the needles, and considering how crazy I went with the Knitting Zone's Leap Year sale -- c'mon, Koigu KPPPM at 29% off? How could I not??? -- I'd better start working on the sock yarn stash.

Progress

Well, as expected, things have slowed down somewhat, but not to a standstill -- I have several inches done on the fronts of Ribby Cardi. I'm doing both fronts at the same time, on the theory that it will be easier that way to make them match without having to think too much about it. I will most likely do both sleeves at the same time, as well. The colour in the photo is so off, despite my attempts to make it more accurate -- it is more of a periwinklish blue, and not so bright and garish. Trust me, it'll be great.

Bits and bobs

After I had laid Thermal out to block last week, I picked up some leftover wool I had sitting around and started a cute little 2x2 rib stripey scarf. I finished it Monday night. I love the colour combination -- a cool grey-green with a light icy lime. I had one full ball of the lime and two partial balls of the other. Worked perfectly. You can see below it another scarf -- garter stitch in red wool -- which I had from frogging a vest a while back. The scarves are part of my charity knitting plans this year. Rather than panicking during my holiday knitting and struggling to get something made for the local Knit for Charity program, I have decided to make a little project (i.e. scarf, hat, mittens) out of leftover stash bits between every major project I finish. This will kill three birds with one stone (not that I'm really into killing birds, mind you):

1. I will have lots of charity knits done, and won't have to rush during the holidays.
2. I will use lots of leftover stash yarn, which I am otherwise incapable of parting with.
3. I will get the instant gratification of doing many small projects, which will keep me motivated to work on the bigger ones.

See? Brilliant.


Next, we have the fabric I got for laundry bags. I'm modifying the pattern in Amy Butler's In Stitches. By "modifying" I mean that I am too lazy to make it as fancy as she does, and too cheap to buy the Timtex for a project of this sort. So they will be a mere shadow of what they could be. But they will be easier and cheaper, and they will do the job. I know a picture of the fabric isn't very interesting (that's the wrong sides, btw) but I thought if I blog it, maybe I will be more motivated to finish them. Whether that will work, remains to be seen.


Then we have the completed back of Ribby Cardi. Yes, it's true. I cast it on yesterday morning and finished it this afternoon. Wow, is it ever different knitting worsted weight after the fingering-weight Thermal. This thing is flying off the needles. Mind you, I've just had two days off work. Now I have to go back, which will invariably slow my knitting down. (Damn work.) It is out of Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool, which I've had for (literally) years. When I rediscovered knitting a couple of years ago, this is one of the first things I ordered yarn for. Then I got distracted. A lot distracted. Two years distracted. Having rededicated myself to stashbusting, I dug it out. And I'm still digging it. The body will be in a bright blue; the sleeves (and collar?) in a lighter blue. I am making a 40/41 size, which is several inches of negative ease, but so far I am really convinced it is the right size for me. Nothing worse than a big old boxy cardi that doesn't show a girl's curves, right? Right now I'm thinking of a cherry red zipper that really pops... what do you think?

Lastly, here is a little pic of a pincushion I "made" a while ago. It's an adorable teacup I got from a friend, which I put a little pillow into. So cute. The fabric is the sweetest pink with little coffee cups and cursive "Coffee" all over it. Me, to a T. I love how it looks like a cupcake with sprinkles. It is the sort of project that takes no effort but gives so much reward -- perfect.