Down on the Main Spring Listen to the Tick-Tock

The Green Chill sweater is coming along so quickly that I haven't had time to write a series of repetitive "I've got three more inches now!" style posts--the first front was done on Monday (I started it before the Spring Training trip), the second front was done on Wednesday, and the sleeves are well underway. I'm knitting both sleeves at once so that the increases will go on the same row for sure--for some reason, I wasn't worried enough about the fronts to do both at once, probably because there's not a lot of shaping to keep straight.

I'm hoping to get this finished before it gets too warm for a wool cardigan (though this may not happen for months yet), and before I start another new sweater. This project has come along so well that starting a new sweater feels imminent--even though it would make more sense to go back to sweaters that are already started.

The biggest issue that I forsee with finishing this sweater is that I keep mentally picking out buttons for it, even though the pattern calls for a zipper--I may end up adding button bands, or if not I will need to find the right zipper and install it (or have it installed) which could take as much time as it's taken to knit the thing! Opinions, advice? Buttons or Zipper? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Note in the photo above a guest appearance by the Hulk Smash socks, which I've been wearing around the house all week. They turned up when I was packing for AZ, and as soon as I put them on I ordered more of this yarn (Cashsport String by The Yo Yo from the Loopy Ewe, this time in a pretty light blue) because it's so comfy. I'm hoping that it arrives today--it's my birthday (which one? It ends with a zero, and it's not 30) and if I want to start some birthday socks I will. Startitis has free reign today--I'm hoping it will quash the urge to buy a sweater's worth of yarn when I'm in the big city later today, but I'm not convinced that it will.


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Down on the Main Spring Listen to the Tick-Tock: "New Amsterdam", Elvis Costello. This video version is poor quality but hilariously "of it's time" (while the song itself holds up really well)

Two Toe Tuesday: Hulk Angry! Hulk Smash! edition

It's been a really, really, really long time since I finished a pair of socks in less than two weeks, and I have to say that it's a pretty nice feeling to have finished these Hulk Smash (Rav Link) socks. The yarn (CashSport String in Hulk Smash) is super cozy, and since it's a sport weight it knit up quickly and will be warm. The cashmere content makes the yarn super soft, too. I only had one skein, and wasn't so sure how far it would go, but there was plenty for these short socks. I used about 85% of the skein, which was fine by me--I prefer not to start freaking out about running out of yarn when I'm knitting a new pattern or new yarn, and the length of these is very comfortable as-is.

I know that I've been over this before, but the pattern is Berry Season (Rav link) from the book 2-at-a-Time Socks. The pattern was very easy to follow (although it took me a while to memorize the stitch pattern, because I was spacing out instead of looking at the very very simple chart). I am relieved that I now have an offline source for clear kitchener stitch instructions--I'm so tired of having to kitchener in front of my desktop computer while reading the directions in Knitty. Seriously.

A big problem with living in the Seattle area this time of the year is that the days are dark--on a rainy day like today, there may have been a 15 minute photography window at some point, but if there was I didn't see it. As a result, the color in the photo above is a little dull, and doesn't lend full credit to the socks. It is more accurate than the super saturated version below that really makes me think of the Hulk, and reminds me that I need to start running more if I'm going to run this year's St. Pat's Dash:

Some Hats May Have Been Started

Too late in the evening to blog . . . . but I may have started a couple of new hats.

Maybe one that's knit from the top down, and will hide an iPod and headphones . . .

(it's a lot bigger now, but hard to photograph).

. . . and maybe one from the cover of this collection of patterns, that if finished & mailed quickly will keep a Southern baby warm when he visits Germany in January:

(I started this yesterday, so I should get it in the mail maybe this weekend).

So much for working on the same projects all the time . . . although I'd like the record to reflect that the progress on the Hulk Smash socks has been significant. I've finished the gusset decreases, and now it's a race to the toes. The pooling is a little weird in the photo, but the cashmere softness and quick pace of the knitting more than makes up for it:

You'll have to trust me when I say that these look a lot less busy in person (at least until they're finished & blocked).

I've Been Gambling Like A Fiend On Your Tables So Green

Ahhhhhhh . . . now that's better. A new project, using a new yarn. With cashmere! The pattern is Berry Season (Rav Link) from the book 2-At-A-Time Socks. It's a short sock with garter stitch, then ribbing, then a textured pattern. So far, so good.

The 2-At-A-Time Socks book is a good introduction to knitting two socks at once using the magic loop technique, although the construction of the socks is all top down. I would have liked to see some toe-up patterns, but I've also been using the 2-at-once technique for a couple of years so I'm already reasonably comfortable with it. I'm sure I could convert some patterns to toe-up, but for me the point of buying this book was to have patterns I didn't have to think too much about! Anyway, even though the construction is all the same, there are some beautiful and unusual patterns in the book as well as some solid basics.

I bought the yarn I'm using completely on a whim, and specifically because the color is called "HULK SMASH". It's Cashsport String by The Yo Yo, purchased at the Loopy Ewe, and as the name implies, it's sport weight. These are going to be some cushy socks, and hopefully they won't be too thick to wear with clogs (but they probably will be). This yarn (which is 10% cashmere) is really nice feeling, and there are a few other colors that I've got my eye on--but likely not until I've used up the Hulk Smash. Hulk Smash!!! I can't stop typing Hulk Smash!!!!!!



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I've Been Gambling Like A Fiend On Your Tables So Green: Wilco, Casino Queen