One F/O, plus two WIP's

I know, winter's over, but while it's still a little cool, I want to get some of my Fall/Christmas wool knitting on the go, so I'm not too overwhelmed and find myself on Christmas Eve, frantically trying to finish off projects to gift!

This is the Foliage hat from Knitty, knitted in Malabrigo Worsted , in 'Sunset'. I followed the pattern exactly ... no modifications of any sort. I'm NOT modeling it, as I look absolutely ridiculous in beanies of any kind! I did try it on for size and found that the hat is quite roomy, so you might want to go down a needle size to make a slightly smaller hat, if necessary. All in all, it was a fun knit! I used just over 1/2 of one skein, so am thinking I may get a child's hat out of the remainder. This yarn is a dream to work with and the colours are just so vibrant, without being too harsh or offensive. Love it!

On to the Spring knitting! I have started the Lutea Lace-Shoulder Shell { Scroll Down}
from Interweave Knits Summer 2007 and I'm using Sirdar Just Bamboo from my stash. I was given 3 balls for my birthday last year, and I picked up another 4, just in case I might want to make a top, rather than a scarf. I'm really glad I did, because it's perfect for this pattern! I'm not crazy about the rolled edge on the bottom ... I may block it so that only the very edge rolls, and not the first 1 1/2"!!! I don't need any belly peaking out :) I may have enough yarn to lengthen the torso a bit ... I'll have to see how it goes.

I haven't worked with a flat ribbon yarn before, so it has taken a little getting used to, but I'm really liking how it knits up. It's not hard on the hands and knits up beautifully on my Clover Bamboo circulars. The stitches are surprisingly uniform and there's a lovely, subtle sheen to the yarn. It looks quite 'dressy', so this may not end up an 'everyday' kind of top, as I was originally thinking. The pattern calls for a yarn that is 50% cotton and 50% microfibre, in an aran weight {not unlike Rowan All Season's Cotton}, but having had some experience with this type of yarn, I was concerned about the 'stretch' factor, hence the substitution. It's 'bang on' for gauge, and seems to be sufficiently stretchy, while having memory, so I think it's going to work out perfectly. I'll keep you posted!

I had this Lion Brand 'Cotton Ease' in 'Stone', 'Lake', & 'Taupe' shades lying around in my stash since last year and actually had another pattern in mind when Danielle (thank you very much! Check her's out ... so cute!) brought this one to my attention. It's a top-down cardigan, with absolutely no seaming ... bring it on! I detest the whole seaming/finishing process, so this was perfect for me. I've omitted one stripe section and have gone straight into the solid chocolate portion. I didn't want to have to change to another colour at the top of the sleeves. Is this ever a quick pattern! I started it last weekend and would likely be finished it by now, if I hadn't got hooked on the Lutea.

I like the colours of the cotton ease, but found it a little hard on the hands while knitting. It just doesn't seem to 'glide' along the needles. I guess that's pretty typical for cotton.

I love my Denise needle set ... I just slide all my 'on hold' sleeve stitches onto a cable, add buttons on the ends so the stitches don't fall off, and I'm good to go.

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate all the lovely, encouraging comments that you leave.