Knitting Diary . . .

So the snow's gone, the weather hasn't exactly improved & what am I doing with myself??? Well, besides data entry & shuffling paper, I've been knitting. Yup, knitting. The fronts are done, connected at the shoulders to the back & the collar back is sewed together for my Moss Stitch Blazer. I decided it was too much work to sew the sides together & then sew in sleeves so I just picked up stitches around the armhole - quite a few LESS than the pattern calls for I might add - & intend to knit them to the cuff - much easier in my estimation. I'm knitting them flat & will sew the sides all the way from the cuff to the hem in one fell swoop. One of the problems with the Moss Stitch Blazer is that its basically a rectangle with little shaping. The shoulders are too wide - you only cast off 6 stitches for the armhole!!!! & there's too much fabric at the top of the sleeve. So, I was kind of redesigning it as I went along. When I knit the next incarnation, I'll deepen the armholes & narrow the shoulders because I really do like this sweater. And I'll be wearing this one to the Fibres West shopping spree er show.

I've been wondering what to do with all that Briggs & Little Anniversary Twist yarn I bought with the intention of knitting a second Wonderful Wallaby for my former BT. The price was so good that I bought a LOT!! Could this be another case of the Boyfriend Sweater Curse??? Heh, I was only THINKING about it!! LOL Anyway, I bought enough to knit at least one more big adult & maybe a small kid's version as well. And that got me thinking . . . . I love the Wallaby & would really like a hoodie for myself but the design seems only to enhance my broad expanse of Boob & Belly. So maybe the answer is to do a zip hoodie or add some vertical interest. I have to think about it - don't want cables - maybe the answer is to do a seed or moss stitch border up the front . . . .

And then, there's the wonderful variegated purple Marble yarn I bought for myself - it would make a nice Kimono style sweater for the summer - I bought the KNIT KIMONO book & have fallen in love with a couple of the designs.
My Favorite is the Indigo Noragi which is knit in four pieces - a yoke, a lower back & two fronts. The yoke is textured & folds to become the sleeves & the top of the back & front. The fronts & lower back are simple stockinette. I love the simplicity of it's shape.
Another one I love is the Komon which is pictured on the front - this is the reason I bought the book!!! The simple open lace pattern really appeals to me as a summer sweater.
The pattern in the Fan Kimono is wonderful too but I'd have to make the sleeves a lot smaller for it to be functional in my world. Good thing it's knit in one piece so they can easily be adjusted!!
My final favorite is the Water & Sky kimono. It has a more western style to the shape & a lovely variegated or textured yarn such as the Marble might work with this one nicely.
Since I only have to knit socks for a couple of people right now & I'm also committed to children's sweaters for charity, I think this year I'll just knit mostly for me for a change.