Husband's Sweater- The Home Stretch

Well, between holidays and all the other days, my pace on my husband's Men's Ribbed Sweater slowed considerably after those first few days of furiously fast knitting. It is almost done- all the pieces are complete, the sleeves are seamed and waiting to be set in, then all that will remain is the neckband and the blocking. If I don't get to that sometime today, well knitting shame on me...

This past week much of my knitting time has been eaten up with another pattern testing knit this quick before we head off to convention for Blue Sky Alpacas. Here's a sneak peak at an upcoming design- looks pretty basic so far- it's the upper bodice where a little designers' flair comes in- you'll have to wait for the rest.

The piece looked great on the model, but then, my old shower curtain would've looked great on her... It's worked in Blue Sky's Alpaca Silk, which though lovely in the hand as well as on the needle, knits much slower than the worsted I've been flying through. The contrast is so great that I should probably knit on something sport weight in between just to ease the transition a bit. You know how slow 55 mph feels after you've been going 70 mph on the interstate for a while... well, knitting on much smaller needles with this silk, and all that ribbing to boot, is like pulling right onto a 45 mph road right from the interstate... and well, with 220 sts in the round, and 9 rows to the inch, I wouldn't recommend knitting this piece with only 2 weeks to work with... something this pretty and luxurious (I mean silk is just so silky...) should be savored and enjoyed, like a beautiful lace shawl. Some things were not meant to be knit in a rush- it kinda sucks the joy out of it, but the bright side in my pitiful tale is that it puts a little cash in the coffers. The things a mom will do for some spending money...

Check back for another contest (or two!) to be announced on Monday!

Until then,

hapy knitting-

ali