Sweater progress

I've made a good start on the Emerald Cardigan:



The color in the photo is a bit off but it shows how the yarn is shading. This is certainly a good pattern for that kind of yarn. The body (fronts and back) is knit in one piece. I've begun increasing above the waist while decreasing for the v neck. It takes a bit of concentration (and some notes) to keep it straight, but it's coming along well. We're having the kind of damp, windy weather that makes me want to finish this right away and put it on!

More about the hat, and a new project

I've cast on for a new sweater project. This time I'm making a cardigan, using the Knitty pattern called Emerald. I'm using a rusty tweedy boucle acrylic that I got in trade for some of my wool. It's unlabeled and wound into balls, so I'm not sure what it is or exactly how much I have, but I'm told it was originally purchased for a large sweater for someone larger than I am, so I should have plenty of yarn. The pattern is written for 5 sizes (XS, S, M, etc.) and I'm combining the directions for the small and medium sizes. I want it nicely loose but not too long. It has big stretches of stockinette, so I'm hoping it can be a mindless subway knit, in spite of the bulk.

As for the hat: I solved the hole-in-the-head issue by casting on only 4 stitches and increasing briskly. But I experimented with seed stitch and don't like it with this yarn, so I'm going to begin yet again--stockinette or reverse stockinette will be better, I think.

Top-down hats

I'm trying to start a hat, using the top down no swatch method. With very bulky yarn, it seems that the difficulty lies in getting off to a good start without a hole in the top. Supposedly, if you use Emily Oecker's method of casting on, you end up with a loop of yarn whose tail can be pulled to tighten everything up. It hasn't worked for me so far. Maybe I should practice with something other than a double strand of slightly lumpy cotton...

Amy-friendly!

I got so excited about the news that the Amy's Vintage Office colorway Lorna's Lace's made in honor of Amy Singer was available in an Amy-friendly non-wool version that I ordered a whole sweater's worth from Jimmy Beans. I was somewhat relieved to learn that it is back ordered while Lorna dyes another batch. I want to think of something fabulously artistic to do with it--something that takes its innate stripy-ness in multiple directions. It's a sophisticated look--charcoals and teals--and I want to support "amyfriendliness" on principle.

Baby Geometry

While traveling, of course I started another knitting project: the cloyingly-named Heartbreakingly Cute Pilot Cap from the new Mason-Dixon book. It's cleverly knit as a flat piece with zigzagging edges:



By sewing the zigs and zags together along the edge that's on the bottom in this photo, you get something head-shaped. Then you attach i-cord ties.
The original yarn was something subtly shaded in wool. This is Plymouth Dreambaby in, obviously, solid red.

So now I'm wondering if I could use the sewed-up zigzag method for the crown of an adult-sized hat with a ribbed cuff. I think I need to start with paper and scissors...

Finished: the Top-down Raglan

I finished this last week while visiting my parents. I was glad to have finished it but also happy to leave it behind to await my next trip north. It's toasty and soft, but the neckline creeps up and the yarn must be kept away from velcro.