Back on track

Had the usual good time at the SnB on Wednesday night. Good company, good knitting, and my burgeoning belly was admired (and, in some cases, noticed for the first time). I'm starting to fret a little bit about how I'm going to keep going to these things when I'm on mat leave. Right now, it's just a short jaunt from work on a Wednesday evening, and then public transportation home when I'm done. Coming down from and then back up to the boonies where I live, however, is another matter, especially with a baby in the house. But I expect I will just need to take the car and my stubborn determination (and the baby, too).

Peacock Feathers Shawl for Mom

The reason I chose this week to get out to Knit Night was that the pattern for this project had arrived! I made sure to bring the yarn and needles needed for the project, then snapped the pattern up as soon as I got there, and cast on.

As always, Dorothy Siemens' patterns are not only beautiful, but extremely clear and easy to follow, and the charts are big. Moreover, the lambswool/camel down blend of yarn that I'm using is really lovely to work with. It's a good piece of knitting, this is.



And here's where I am now - 100 rows into it. This means, according to the shawl progress calculator from Rose-Kim Knits, that I'm 20% done the body. And that means that, at last, I have finished the task for the first week of this year's Schedule. Hooray!

Arabesque baby blanket for Alex Mendez

Happily, Amy was at the SnB on Wednesday, so I got to ask her (hopefully in a tactful, non-bugging kind of way) if she'd received the submission of this pattern for Knitty. She had indeed, and told me that she was unfortunately unable to use it. I was kind of surprised, since I'd submitted a baby blanket pattern on purpose, figuring it would be a great idea, since you hardly ever see blankets in Knitty. However, Amy let me know that this 'blanket dearth' is intentional, since a blanket is really just a rectangle (or a square), and anyone can go just about anywhere to pick up a blanket pattern. For Knitty to take a blanket pattern, it needs to have a real 'hook', something which makes it really unique and stand-out-ish, like The Hoover Blanket (a historical recreation), or Lizard Ridge (incredibly funky, and which takes advantage of the cool properties of a specific kind of yarn).

While this news naturally kinda sucked from my point of view, you have to admit, it really is great that Amy has such a strong vision for her magazine. She certainly doesn't slap just anything up there. I suspect this is one of the big reasons it has such a following.

So, I'll see what else I want to do with this pattern. I have to admit that, even if I submit it elsewhere and it's accepted, re-knitting it in a nice yarn for publication really isn't the sort of thing I have the time to do right now. So I might just make it available for free here and see whether anyone likes it. But I'm still a bit undecided, so stay tuned.

Elizabethan Jacket for MIL

I brought this out for a little bit during the SnB just for a little variety during the evening, and it definitely got noticed. (I can say that without worrying that I'm coming across immodestly, since it's the pattern that makes it so incredible, and I didn't design the pattern. I just do as I'm instructed...when I'm not screwing it all up, of course.) I also got some suggestions on how I could maybemaybe make the red yarn stretch far enough. Denny brought up the idea of 3/4 sleeves and a deeper neck. She pointed out that these might actually be desireable features since the stranding across the back of the work is going to make the cardigan super-hot...shorter sleeves and a deeper neckline might be the only way the wearer can stand it without melting. :) Another suggestion (which I think Megan made) is to do the red just for the body. I will certainly consider all these ideas, especially since it's looking more and more like I am really screwed, red-wise, despite Carrie K's assurances. I shall thank her, however, for that vote of confidence, by respecting her resolution to "Not.Look.For.It.Online.", and NOT telling her how to get the pattern. (But if you ever change your mind, lady, let me know. :)

However, aside from that, it's coming along very nicely. I'm getting close to the bottom of the armscyes. These will also have to be steeked. And I find I can bear the knowledge of more steeking to come with great fortitude. The lack of having to weave in ends for colour changes, in kelpkim's words, is certainly "GREAT!!!" More and more, I think whoever invented the concept was not a sadist, but actually a freakin' genius. So, on Wednesday night, when Fibersnob fretted out loud about the upcoming steeking she's going to have to do for an absolutely GORGEOUS baby cardigan she's working on, I was able to reassure her with great confidence and authority. Hopefully it helped.