Things have been a bit hectic around here recently. Between tying off loose ends for the wedding, starting studying for my next set of exams and my day job being busier than ever, you might be tempted to think that I haven’t had any time left for knitting at all. It turns out though that knitting is great stress relief for me so there has actually been quite a lot going on.
Friends of ours had a baby recently; the news of which coincided wonderfully with a long train journey to Scotland at the end of which I had this to send them:
In theory, there was going to be a pair of bootees to match but since we drove back from Scotland there wasn’t time. The top of the hat is stranded colour-work, i.e. the yarn for the colour that you’re not currently knitting with is ‘floated’ along the wrong side of the knitting. I was nervous about trying this since I was knitting the hat in the round and it can be easy to get the tension of the ‘floats’ wrong but it worked really well.
My Sahara is coming along nicely. The body is finished, except for the neckline and I’ve started on the first sleeve. I haven’t yet decided what length to make the sleeves so I think I’ll pause where I am on that first sleeve, knit the second sleeve to the same spot and then decide if I want to make them longer. I love the construction of this pattern, especially since it results in practically no seaming. I’m absolutely converted to knitting top-down in the round.
I also cast on for a new project: the Vino cardigan (Ravelry link). This is supposed to be a simple, bottom-up stockinette cardigan but given my new-found love of top-down in the round, I’m attempting to convert the pattern as I go along. Turns out that it’s not quite as simple as “just follow the pattern backwards” so I’ll probably post some hints and tips on how to do it once I’m a bit further through.
The yarn is Noro Cash Iroha in the Garnet colourway and it is absolutely gorgeous. It’s a thick-and-thin yarn so the diameter of the yarn can vary quite dramatically through the ball but, although it’s slightly unusual to knit, it is turning into a beautiful fabric.