A sock cure.

You know the best project when the mojo is low...socks. Of course, this required a trip to Shall We Knit for some solid coloured sock yarn.
I have this problem with sock yarn. I see so many pretty colours and colour repeats...sock eye candy. I buy it, bring it home, cast on a pair, then rip. I love looking at those pretty sock yarns, but always lean toward knitting textured socks. The two don't mix, I've tried. So the sock yarn stash needed a little enhancing. I picked up some lorna's laces Shepherd Sock in "Cookies Deep Dark Secret" a gorgeous purple/blue, perfect for Cookie A's textured sock patterns.
Lynn had to show me the Berrocco Ultra Alpaca Fine in this beautiful green...had to go home with it.
Lastly some local Shelridge Farm soft touch ultra in a Peacock Blue...perfect for Mom's birthday socks.

Time to dig out some sock knitting books. It seems that everytime I open up the Socks from the Toe Up by Wendy D. Johnson, the "On Hold" socks call out to me...so I knew I was casting on;)



(It's overcast today so the picture doesn't do the "peacock" colour justice. They look too grey here.) I love the lace pattern up the front of the sock, it is just beautiful. They're knitting up quickly, and good thing because the parental units will be coming back north just in time for Easter...that gives me a couple weeks to complete them. I don't see a problem there!

Also on the needles is a little teddy bear sweater.



It is another steeking project, that will hopefully inspire a class in the upcoming future!

Pod of Cetaceans Cardigan

Thank you all so much for the congratulatory comments...I needed a little of that. Glad to see I am not the only one who has such a spread between children...or am doing this at a "later" age in life:)

Let the parade of baby knits begin!

First up is the Pod of Cetaceans Cardigan

I wanted to be sure to stick with neutral sex colours. I know, it's blue, but many girls look lovely in blue...I consider blue and green neutral colours. If the baby is a girl, I'll adorn this little cardigan with the some little flower buttons.



Started: Feb. 21, 2010
Finished: Feb. 27, 2010
Yarn: Cascade 220 2x2404 (blue), 1x9430(green) and 1x8010 (cream). I have plenty left over for a matching hat!
Pattern: Pod of Cetaceans cardigan by Elinor Brown. I knit the 12-18 months.
Adjustments: None. I knit it as written. Steeking and all!

I was originally going to knit a 6 months size, but couldn't get past the worsted weight yarn for such a small garment. Also the steeking hems would be pretty thick on the little cardigan, so I decided to go with a size for the next fall/winter, 12-18 months.
Cascade worked out nicely. It is not the "hairiest" of yarns for steeking, but it did the job.

I used some 4 ply in the stash for reinforcing the steek area. I am not the best at crochet. I wish it was more even looking...but it does the trick just fine.



Using a red to baste the steeking line was of great help when crocheting.



Not so scary!



I used an overcast stitch to tack back the steek hem. There wasn't a perfect colour in the stash, so I simply seperated the plys of the cascade main colour to sew it down.



One thing that bothers me are my weaved in floats. With the cascade being so big in gauge you need to weave in every 3-4 sts. I might have left 5 here or there but that is quite a long float. With the whale's body length you need to weave in on the body...and I can see it puckering a bit. Not a big thing, but something to think about when using a worsted weight yarn for colourwork.

I love this little sweater! It now awaits the sex of the baby before I add buttons. No need to rush...still plenty of time to put them on.