Peterborough

   I am never taking this off.  Never.

  I'm always kicking myself for not finishing things that I end up really loving, sooner.  In the case of Peterborough, I had to deal with the yarn (it's lovely, but primarily cotton), worrying about running out of yarn, and the possibility that it might not fit once I've gotten all the pieces knitted and sewn together (as with all seamed sweaters).  Eventually all of these things had to be overcome, or really, I just had to quit being lazy and dragging my feet.  Thankfully, a Raveller sold me a couple of extra skeins in the same dye lot, so no issues with running out of yarn.  In fact, I only used 22% of one of those extra skeins, which is surprising since I had to add an inch in length to each sleeve.  That cable pattern up there was downright addicting, and of course this made the long sleeves (that I foolishly knit last) incredibly boring.  Add to that the length of the cardigan made for some really long seams to mattress stitch together and 50 gram skeins = millions of ends to weave in.

   But after nearly 10 months on the needles with a lot of down time in between it's done!  And it's perfect.  

     

   It's the perfect weight for a multi-seasonal piece.  The cotton/silk is heavy enough to be warm and cozy, but cool enough that I will most likely wear this all the time.  Bonus is that the sleeves are the perfect length.  I've never owned a store bought sweater or long sleeved top that actually fit as long sleeves on me, so it's always nice when I can custom knit something to fit to my liking.  

Pattern: Peterborough, by Norah Gaughan

Yarn: Mirasol Yarn Wach'i

Colorway: 1512 Cream

   Another plus is that this finish means I can now move 1765.5 yards of yarn out of my stash!  Even if the knit skeins were already out of my actual stash storage, that yardage is now officially removed from my stash yardage total.  

   This has been a big week for knitting FOs.  I think over the weekend I'm going to commit to getting Santa's House stitched.  If I don't finish over the weekend I at least hope to get it mostly done.  

handknit wardrobe

Otherwise known as what I wore today or look what I made.

Pattern: Nespelem, Berroco: Norah Gaughan Vol. 8

Yarn: Berroco Pure Pima

Colorway: 2263 Caneel Bay

   Today I'm teaching and although I don't need to dress formally, I'm close in age to my students.  So I try to look a bit more put together than jeans and a t-shirt.  Today however, is pretty casual for me.  I'm wearing Nespelem, designed by Norah Gaughan and knit with Berroco Pure Pima.  This pattern came from the same collection as Peterborough (of which I'm still working on the last sleeve) and is one of my favorites.  I knit this more than a year and a half ago and I still love it.  It probably doesn't get as much use as it should, especially since it's such a versatile piece.  I should change that.

weekly WIP progress report

  Here's a look at what I've been doing this week.

Peterborough

Pattern: Peterborough, Berroco: Norah Gaughan Vol. 8

Yarn: Mirasol Yarn, Wach'i

Colorway: 1512 Natural

   Peterborough is well on its way to completion.  The body and one sleeve are finished and I'm nearly done with the ribbing on the second sleeve.  Knitting 4" of ribbing with a (primarily) cotton yarn is no fun, but I managed to CO my second sleeve right after finishing the first.  Trade secret: always CO immediately following the BO on the first piece of things knit in pairs (i.e. socks, sleeves, mittens, etc.) to avoid the nearly unavoidable SSS (Second Sock Syndrome), or in this case SSleeveS.

   I've been panicking about not having enough yarn to finish this cardigan, but I got another 2 skeins of yarn (from the same dye lot!) from another Raveller in the mail this week.  I'll have plenty of yarn to finish this up.  No more excuses for this WIP.

  

Miss BB

Pattern: Miss BB, Chic Knits

Yarn: Mirasol Yarn, Sawya

Colorway: 1800, Black

   This week I also spent a bit of time with Miss BB.  I've got nearly 6" of the back done.  The yarn is gorgeous and wonderful to work with.  No regrets about adding 17 skeins of it to the stash, except maybe not snagging another sweaters worth when I had the chance.  Once I get Peterborough squared away I can devote 100% of my time to Miss BB, and I'm sure that time will fly by.

  Here's a preview of another WIP I've been working on.

Pattern: February Cottage, Country Cottage Needleworks
Fabric: stitched over 2 on 35 count linen from Wichelt - lambswool
Floss: DMC and Crescent Colors

This morning I spent an hour or so putting a few stitches into my February Cottage and its nearly finished.  Look for an update soon!

a change in the weather

  Through the summer I was in a major funk.  I picked up and put down various WIPs and had numerous starts, but not many finishes.  Not even the Ravellenics managed to motivate me.  That's right... absolutely no finishes, not even a cotton dishcloth.  It must have been the heat.  My only solution was to trade my knitting needles in for q-snaps, fabric, and floss which was a worthy substitute.

Fall is here: the view on my run yesterday afternoon.

  But things are changing.  Since, I'm surrounded by fall colors here in Nebraska, it's only right to pick the needles and a long-hibernating WIP back up.

Pattern: Peterborough, Berroco: Norah Gaughan Vol. 8

Yarn: Mirasol Yarn, Wach'i

Colorway: 1512 Natural

   Hopefully, I get my rhythm back.