So now it's really done.

OK, it really is done now! I finally got the bias strip knitted, blocked, sewn around the cording, and sewn onto the pillow, and the ikat pillow is at long last finis, done, all over. I thought I had knit about 6 inches more of the bias strip than necessary, but ended up needing to knit about 4 inches extra to make the ends meet, but that was quickly done, especially since I had perfect knitting TV going on - football's Super Bowl. I find sports, especially football, to be excellent knitting TV and I do like to watch football anyway, so I get a lot done when there's a game on.

So what am I up to now? I'm still working on the multi-stitch, blue cotton cardigan but haven't taken pictures of it yet. The sleeves are done to the armhole, and the body (which I am knitting in one piece) is about 1/3 of the way to the armholes. It's a great project for the ferry so that's going along well, as I have 2 hours per day to knit on it.

I am also planning a major project in the form of Norah Gaughan's Hex Coat from her Knitting Nature book. Thomas gave me the book for Christmas a year ago, and this year gave me a generous gift certificate to my LYS (Benicia Knitting Circle) so I am spent a long time there yesterday looking for the yarn I wanted to use. The pattern calls for Lopi Lite, and since I am not fond of Lopi I wanted something else. I've swatched with Cascade 220, but it's too lightweight to get gauge.

I did find a new yarn - Cascade Pastaza, which is 50/50 Llama and wool, which comes in gorgeous colours. Upon swatching with a few needle sizes I find I can achieve the appropriate gauge, but the yarn makes a dense, heavy fabric that would make more of an outerwear coat then the lighter indoor cardigan I am after. So it will be back to the drawing board there. Normally I have little fear of adjusting patterns to suit the gauge and yarn I want to use, but given the complex hexagons and shaped fronts in the Hex Coat I am less secure than usual. It appears that much more swatching is in order on this one.


And last but not least, my Knitting/Spinning group has taken up the felted Bunad Mukluks as a new challenge project! The pattern, from Folk Style, is a great one to adjust to one's own taste and personal style so it will be great fun to see what everyone ends up doing with the pattern. I am using Cascade 220 (there seems to be a theme in my yarn choices, lately!) and as the colour in this photo is atrocious, it will be in a heathery light turquoise and black, with a little marigold colour as an accent. I had toyed with using stranded colour patterns in my first pair and have decided to go with that this time around. Not sure yet what the design will be, but I'm looking forward to playing around with some ideas.