Making good progress on the cardigan, 7 inches or so into the back panel. I think I deserve some Americone Dream!

Lace cardigan in progress

I love the vertical eyelet lace. The stretch is awesome. I modified the stitch pattern (row 3) to make the eyelets perfectly shaped since the book's instructions weren't right. I'll share:

Cast on 12 stitches
1st row: k12
2nd row: p12
3rd row: k4, yo, sl1 p-wise, k1, psso, k1, sl1 k-wise, slip both stitches back to the left needle, pass slipped stitch over k stitch from left to right, slip k stitch p wise without twisting, yo, k4
4th row: p12
(repeat rows 3 & 4 ad infinitum)

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I haven't finished my pink raglan yet, but ever since I got the idea of making a lace cardigan in my head I can't stop thinking about it. So I figured it doesn't hurt to have two projects going at once. I can bounce back and forth between the easy worsted (chunkier yarn) and the slightly more laborious lace. I have a game plan!

So I cast on starting with the back using the tubular cast on. I've practiced it once before, and it wasn't too terrible to knit. This technique gives you a somewhat invisible edge. You begin using a single cast on with contrast yarn, you cast on half the number of stitches you expect to end up with. From there, you start the first row with your main yarn doing a combination of slipping, knitting, bringing the yarn from front to back and so on. It's not hard really.

Here's what it looks like several rows in:

Tubular cast on, pt. 1

At this point you can remove the contrast yarn, as everything is pretty well held in place. Once you do, you end up with ribs that have lots of stretch:

Tubular cast on, pt. 2

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Tweed raglan

There's lots on the needles these days. After ripping out the pretty red v-neck sweater I'd been working on since New Years or so, I was somewhat reluctant or sheepish or something about starting another sweater. To date, I've only finished a single wearable sweater, but I've come quite close (2...) on all but one of my failed attempts (...out of 3).

I really love Stefanie Japel's sweater-making style, so she's pretty much my inspiration. I'm not using a pattern for this piece, but it's extremely simple. There will be no fancy shaping apart from the raglan increases at the shoulders. I thought about working in some darts in the bust area, but that's a little too advanced for me right now to just wing it.

You'll notice a rich raspberry hank of Cascade 'Pastaza' lying there -- that will be for contrasting neck/arm/waist ribbing. The main yarn being a tweed has lots of little colored flecks, but more subtle are the fine, bright threads of almost fuchsia throughout. It's very pretty even though I'm not generally a pink/magenta-wearing sort of girl.

Vertical eyelet lace

Rust orange is also a bit of a departure for me color wise, but nevertheless I picked up a sweater's worth of Knit Picks' 'Gloss' in Pumpkin back in the spring to make Knitty's "Thermal".

I ended up losing interest in that pattern, so having seen a nice lace cardigan pattern named for the inimitable (try as some might) Katherine Hepburn I decided that was how I'd like to use this yarn.

Here you see the start of my lace swatch. It's called Vertical Eyelet Rows, and it's very easy. I am certainly capable of lace work, but I want to keep it basic for such a large project as this will be my first pattern that will require lots of seaming.

I will have to break down and figure out kitchener stitch it seems. I reeeeaaaallllly hate seaming, but for the look I want it is imperative that I learn. And how can I really call my self a knitter without properly knowing how to sew up seams? Of course, there will be a great many firsts for me on this project: shoulders and tubular cast-on to name a couple--both self-inflicted.

Crunchy baby hat

And to wrap up, I've begun a hat for my friend's 2-year-old son. The design is one she saw on Etsy, and since the seller had no plans to make more of the sold-out hat, my friend asked if I could make it for her.

It just so happened that I had in my stash the very yarn and colorway she wanted--seems fated, no? I love a yarn challenge, so I swatched to find the right stitch pattern (not all that visible in this pic) and the gauge for size 9 needles, sketched the basic arc of the journey, mapped out the decreases and have left the final bits to pure chance and experimentation.

It's such a pretty yarn the Noro 'Kureyon' with its various shades of peacock feathers. And with that I'll say bye-bye!

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