WIP Wednesday Update...

... and boy do I have WIPs! I've gone a bit WIP-crazy over here, starting new projects, knitting a bit, then reverting back to older WIPs, then flitting back to the newer ones. Occasionally I finish something, like the handspun hat for boy#3, but mostly I'm starting things. At this rate it'll be months before any of them are finished because that would require me to, you know, not start new projects but actually stick with what I've got for a while. 

That said, it's fun, this Starteritis, and since all the yarn is coming from stash it gives me a huge sense of satisfaction - all those different wooly treasures are finally finding projects that suit them!

My needles for Owls arrived the other day, so I'm back on track. I am a little worried about the thickness of the yarn. The first ball of yarn seems, to me, to have a different thickness to the rest of the pack, meaning that what initially looked like something between aran and bulky now looks much more like a normal aran-weight yarn... Since this project calls for bulky to achieve the density of fabric that will make the owls look good this is obviously not such a good development. I'm continuing on for now, but I am a bit concerned... :/

The brown v-neck raglan on the other hand has been an unexpected delight.



Look how far I've come! (sorry about the Skylander who snuck into the picture. He was on the table when I took the pictures but since he matches the orange yarn so well he was permitted to stay).



I've really enjoyed knitting with this yarn - it's as soft as it is indifferent in looks, lol. Since all of you seemed to agree that I should go with orange for the contrasting yarn that's exactly what I did. I've finished the body and have started the first sleeve.

I've also done a swatch for yet another cardigan. It's Amy Christoffer's Acer Cardigan.



I'm knitting it with Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere in black. I cast on for the swatch yesterday, using 4 mm needles, and hit gauge immediately. OK, the swatch is perhaps 2 mm out, but I'll take that! ;)  It feels curious to knit with the cotton cashmere - it behaves so differently to the wool that I normally knit with, but I like the evenness and drape of the fabric and I think the cables of the cardigan will add some interest to the plain black, while the black will give this project quite a classic, classy look. I'm hoping that keeping it neutral will ensure that it'll be versatile - the kind of cardigan you can wear with a dress or a skirt, to work, or with a pair of jeans when taking the kids to the park. 

And finally, what am I reading right now - D and I finished The Luminaries a few days ago, and rooting around for a new book to tackle I became intrigued with a very different kind of novel. It's To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris. It's so unlike The Luminaries that when we started reading it it took us a while to leave the world of the 19th century New Zealand gold rush behind and shift our attention to 21st century New York! The two novels are so unlike that in fact, the only thing they appear to have in common is that they were both shortlisted for the Booker Prize, which isn't entirely incidental - every year D gives me the Booker Prize shortlist for Christmas. :)

This is the blurb from Amazon:

"Paul O'Rourke - dentist extraordinaire, reluctant New Yorker, avowed atheist, disaffected Red Sox fan, and a connoisseur of the afternoon mochaccino - is a man out of touch with modern life. While his dental practice occupies his days, his nights are filled with darker thoughts, as he alternately marvels at and rails against the optimism of the rest of humanity.

So it goes, until someone begins to impersonate Paul online. What began as an outrageous violation of privacy soon becomes something far more soul-frightening: the possibility that the virtual 'Paul' might be a better version of the man in the flesh . . ."

The reviews on Amazon are pretty mixed. I only skimmed them because I don't want to spoil the plot, but I can see where both sides are coming from. It's such an unusual read, it could go either way... 

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A Year of Projects

Keep Calm, Cast On

Yarn Along

Stitch Along Wednesday