WIP Wednesday

I've been making slightly more knitting progress lately, but not by much.

First up, we have the Chroma Striped Scarf.  I'm using the Noro Striped Scarf pattern, but since I am really not a fan of Noro, I'm knitting it up in Knitpicks Chroma Worsted.  I picked the colorways Midwinter and U-Pick because they complement each other well, but have enough of a contrast to really make the stripes pop (also, the U-Pick was on sale).  The pattern calls for two balls of each color, but I'm still on the first of each and I'm pretty sure I don't want it to be over twice as long as it is right now (almost 5 feet!).  How long do you guys think a scarf should be?

This scarf is taking me a really long time to knit because I'm using it as my travel knitting.  It's a little bulky at this point, but it's nice to have something that I don't have to think about at all when I can get interrupted at any moment, and 1x1 ribbing fits the bill.

When I'm at home, I've been working on the cowl from the Knitpicks Luxe Accessory Set in Knitpicks Aloft in Blush and Knitpicks Capra in Velveteen.  It's knit flat sideways, then the ends are grafted together to make the cowl.  It's been a little frustrating, because I somehow seem to keep dropping stitches, noticing several rows later, and then having to frog back.  It is not easy to frog 75% mohair yarn!  It is nice and soft, though, and I can't wait until it's done.

Last but not least is my Girl Friday sweater.  The pieces are done and have been for awhile, but I didn't get around to blocking them until last night.  As you can see, I chose not to bind off the top of the pieces.  It seems silly to bind off when I'm just going to have to pick the stitches back up again!  I unpinned just before taking the photo.  After this, I will need to seam, then knit the button band and collar.

Maddie, of course, was extremely helpful through the photographing process:

"I can help, Mom!  Just let me tug on these strings for you..."

FO: Sparkly Cowl

For the September Montly Color Swap, we got to choose which color to use. I was thrilled to hear that my swap partner loves teal, because it allowed me to use Loops &Threads Dewdrops yarn. It's so sparkly and pretty; I've been dying to make something out of it!

I decided that a cowl was just the thing. I chose the Kunterbunt* pattern because it required the right weight of yarn and was simple enough to really let the yarn show off.

The pattern was great- very easy to understand and knit up really quickly. I was not, on the other hand, thrilled with the yarn. It was really splitty and hard ot knit with. part of it may have been my problem, since i'm not really used to knitting with SuperBulky weight anymore, but I thin that part of it was also the yarn itself. Additionally, I'm not sure that this was the right choice for a next-to-the-neck garment, as some of the sequins ended up the inside, making it kind of scratchy. When I was done, I had to go back and try to poke them through to the outside.

Pattern: Kunterbunt

Yarn: Loops &Threads Dewdrops

The Verdict: It worked out okay, and yielded a pretty cowl, but I really cannot see myself using this yarn again.

*Does this name sound dirty to anyone else, or is my mind just in the gutter?