It's Not Socks

I just finished my most recent knitting project: a sweater! Yes, that's two sweaters finished this summer. I suppose it is better to finish them in summer and have them ready for winter instead of the other way around. And this one is definitely a winter sweater. My first official pull-over!

I'm pleased as punch with this one. I did some major adaptions to this, starting with using a lighter weight yarn and smaller needle. Then I converted this to a v-neck, which was a tiny bit nerve-wracking since I had never knit a v-neck before and thus only logically knew how they were to be created instead of being experienced in having created one. But I think it turned out fabulously!

One problem that I did run in to was yarn - I ran out! I had plenty of yarn to make the sweater if I used the right needle but since I used smaller needles (and thus had to follow the directions for a larger size - I followed the pattern for the 49" bust to get a 35" one), I ended up running out of yarn right as I got to the ribbing on the second sleeve. Thankfully, a lovely Raveler had a ball of the same yarn (in the same dye lot) that she was willing to sell me, so I was able to finish it exactly how I wanted to. Yay!

And in the theme of knitting winter wear in summer, I'm currently working on turning one of my Alaska souvenir yarns into a lace cowl. It's qiviut yarn and, along with being ridiculously expensive, it is soft and lofty - like knitting a cloud. Or a Gidgie. The beginning of the project was a bit touch and go since I had a horrible time with the provisional cast on, but once I conquered that, I have been making slow but lovely progress. Of course, it's lace and lace is kind of thinky, so I've also cast on for a knit guinea pig to work on when I can't keep the lace pattern straight. Because everyone needs a guinea pig.