Sweater Events

I know I've read before about these "events" that occur in the creation of a sweater. Casting on, waist shaping, working the neckline, and so on.



I think, apart from casting on and casting off, there are few sweater events I enjoy more than splitting the sleeves from the body of a top-down raglan. It feels like such definite and specific progress, and it breaks the seemingly interminable increase rows into much more manageable sections.

I've been slowly knitting here and there on my Featherweight Cardigan all month, and I finally finished the increases and split the sleeves the other night while watching Madama Butterfly on TV.



I switched from M1 increases to kf&b, which I'm happy about. I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying knitting with laceweight yarn, even if it's slow-going at times. I expect there will be quite a few more laceweight tops showing up in these parts soon.

Whispering Along

As much as it feels like I haven't been knitting, I've been making quiet progress on my Whisper Cardigan.



I'm about to finish the second sleeve, and I have to say, this is going much faster than I thought it would. I'm encouraged that one day soon it will simply slide off the needles finished like a sigh.



The fabric created is so lovely. Using a fingering weight yarn makes it feel substantial, but still airy and light. I think this is going to be really pleasant to wear.



I think this is true love.

One Glorious Inch

I got out of lab early on Wednesday, and I was determined to parlay my unexpected free time into relaxation. I probably would have benefited more from catching up on work and preparing myself for the rest of the week... but I opted for napping, watching a wonderful documentary with my mom, and knitting.



Yes, you read that correctly, knitting! I cast on for the Featherweight Cardigan and knit the first few rows, a whole inch. Working with laceweight yarn on size 6 needles makes for beautiful, airy fabric, and I am fanatical about this color.

The merino/silk blend feels lovely in my hands, which are so happy to be at this again. I have a feeling this is going to become one of my all-time favorite projects, and I'm looking forward to enjoying every stitch!

An abundance of light but nary a stitch

In the winter, I complain that my knitting photos are thin on the ground because there is insufficient light or lousy weather. Here I am surrounded with gorgeous spring light and ample opportunity to photograph knits... and I've been too busy.



The end of this past semester was incredibly demanding. I spoke at a science & art symposium, which required weeks of preparation. I postponed my thesis and graduation until the fall. I took a trip to Boston. I got a new sailboat (early graduation gift from my parents) and I have been pretty obsessed with getting it ready to take out on the water (and learning to sail). I attended a conference for a week in Los Angeles (didn't even bring a knitting project - what is wrong with me?!). It's just gone on.



And now that I'm back, I've been taking an Organic Chemistry class at the university down the road. It's a 6-week intensive course with lab, meeting all day every Monday through Thursday, with hours and hours of homework, reading, and lab reports every evening. It is no exaggeration when I say I've had barely any time for anything else. Oh, but I'm trying to stay on top of work projects and my art history thesis too. It is exhausting.

The thing is, I haven't lost interest in knitting. Or in knit-blogging. The scarce few minutes a day I spend looking through knitting blogs are some of my most pleasant moments, and I daydream about picking back up needles and yarn.

Like many knitters, I am currently obsessed with two Hannah Fettig lightweight cardigans. First, the Whisper Cardigan from the spring 2009 Interweave Knits, which I've cast on in this surprisingly lovely Knit Picks Palette in Twig:



This yarn has a history, as I originally bought it to make my ex-boyfriend a Henry scarf. I decided the color was not right next to his greenish-brown coat and when I thought about it next to his neck, I opted for softer Knit Picks Gloss instead. Then we broke up, so I had 800+ yards of both yarns sitting in my stash cabinet kind of mocking me.

I decided I would quite like a slinky little fly-away cardigan to wear over spring and summer dresses, and I love the way this project is going so far. I'm just about to start the second sleeve, but I've been totally remiss in taking any progress photos so far. I hope I'm not lying when I say, "Soon."

This project got me all amped up for using thin yarns to make cardigans, so I went on a rash of queuing sweater-type projects using the laceweight I'd previously designated for various shawls. Making and attempting to wear my Flower Basket Shawl was an interesting lesson for me. While I can always go for a good scarf or rectangular wrap, I feel really awkward in a triangular shawl. I'm not ready to say they're not my style yet, but they may not be.

Part of my attraction to knitting is this idea that you can create whatever you can imagine. I often open my closet and dream about all the types of garments I'd like to have floating out of it, which is how I know I really need to learn to sew. Whenever I put on a sleeveless dress, I open the right half of my armoire (where I store the sweaters, shrugs etc), and I wish some light-weight, airy colorful little cardigans with 3/4 sleeves would spring into being. Fortunately, I can knit them! And this is wonderful!



I wound one skein of Knit Picks Gloss Lace in Aegean, in preparation for the Featherweight Cardigan, my second obsession-sweater of this summer. I've already bought and swooned over the pattern (such elegant construction), and I can't wait to make it.

I finished another project, too, and predictably, not made time for FO shots.

This brings the total to-photograph and to-post list for FOs up to:
- three hats
- two pairs of socks
- two shrugs
- one scarf

The list for WIPs is staggering and ridiculous, so I'm gonna leave that one alone until I catch up around here. I even have an indigo-dyeing project and articles on mordants and natural dyeing from, well, a year ago. Yikes.

I'm going to try to make some time for knitting in this coming week if at all possible. I really, really miss it!