Knits In Progress

In February I came across the pattern for Cassis and I knew right away I had to knit it. It was exactly what I wanted - something long and cozy, loose yet flattering, and not too bulky. After spending a bit of time lamenting the fact that I couldn't possibly afford to knit it in Madelinetosh, which many other knitters have used to produce some gorgeous, subtly-variegated garments (like this), I suddenly had an "ah-ha!" moment and chose Ultra Alpaca.

I could sing songs about Ultra Alpaca. I could write poems about it, make a shrine to it, take it out for dinner and a movie. We're talking serious love here, people. It's so soft and warm, and yet not too sheddy and totally durable. The colour I chose isn't heathered exactly, but it seems like the alpaca content is green and the wool is blue, resulting in this amazing teal. (Unless that fits the definition of heathered? I got the impression from Brooklyntweed's recent series on yarn mills that it's more complex than that.)

I cast on March 14th and I've been busily working on it ever since. It's knitting up a little faster than I expected, considering the length... although I have to admit that I'm starting to grow a tiny bit weary of knitting it. My wrists are starting to hurt and I'm impatient to wear it!

I've also started a sock project, in an attempt to achieve better knitting ergonomics and prevent repetitive stress injuries. Though, in truth I'm a very project-oriented knitter and working on two things at once is just totally counter-intuitive. I'm not devoting enough love toward the socks, and when I do I feel like they're standing in the way of sweater completion. I keep having to remind myself that they're promoting happy hands. And wrists. (And feet!)

The pattern is Skew, but I don't have an in-progress photo just yet. I cast-on in some Malabrigo from my meagre stash, and got about 70% of the way through the first sock before realizing that A) I'd made a counting error and B) the yarn was pooling pretty badly and C) I didn't really like the yarn at all, actually. (Why on earth did I buy so much red yarn in 2009? I'm really more of a blue/green kind of girl.) So I frogged it, and was completely thrilled to find Koigu on sale for 30% off at one of my LYSs, in a colourway I'd almost bought two months ago!

I've been dying to try Koigu because I love sock yarn with a tight twist... the way the yarn starts to look almost like a strand of pearls... love that. So far, it's wonderful to work with, too! Once I've gotten a little further, I'll take a photo to share.