I've been buried in cables

First off, wow, thanks so much to Sarah (aka The Plucky Knitter) and Micki (Miss Thing for String) for giving me the You Make My Day Award! I couldn't be more flattered!

Now is the hard part of course! trying to choose just 10 people to pass it on to. But I must follow the rules: “Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times.”

I enjoy so many blogs out there that I can't imagine what I would do with my extra time if I didn't have knitblogs to read! In no particular order:

Nonnahs & Disentangled from A Little Loopy

Annie Knits

Emilee Knits

Peaknit

The Whole Ball of Yarn(s)

A Friend to Knit With

Yarn Tootin'

Exercise Before Knitting

Fancie Pants Knits

A Mingled Yarn

And now for a truly awful progress picture of my Seeded Cables Cardigan:

I'm getting close to the armhole shaping but dang! this is going to be a long cardigan. It has helped that I'm finally able to remember the meaning of each cable symbol! I'm thoroughly enjoying it though and I've found that I can do all the cables using the no cable-needle method that I love soooo much!

Ooops, another one

Yup, this one was so quick it never made it to the blog.

Pattern: Buttony Sweater by Katie Marcus

Yarn: Bernat Natural Alpaca, 4 skeins, dark grey

Needles: US #10.5

Notes: The finished result of this one really exceeded my expectaions! I fell in love with this version I saw on Ravelry so I copied the simple modifications. The biggest thing was that I made the neck smaller by casting on 68 stitches and made the button holes slightly farther apart. The waist shaping and the stretchy acrylic actually make for a very flattering fit. The acrylic content is actually not too bad and the yarn itself is pretty soft. The bad thing is that it sheds the white colored fibers so I'm good as long as I wear white underneath. But, hey, this whole sweater cost me $16! I like this pattern quite a bit because it's really basic and allows for a lot of freedom in personalizing it.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

These just flew off the needles!

Seriously, don't just just love quick projects sometimes. I don't know why I don't make more hats. My hubby has been begging me to make him one for forever but I was always waiting for the "perfect" pattern to come by. Pattern: Zeebee (argh! the link to the pattern is down right now for some reason, sorry!)

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Squirrel Heather, 2 skeins

Needles: US #7

Notes: This pattern was so fun! and NO DPNs!! I love the interesting construction and the fact that the author has the math all worked out so that you can make it in any size, any gauge! I did have a little trouble with the garter grafting....it wasn't difficult, it was just hard to keep the tension even so that it would blend in properly. I think I'll probably make another one because this one came out just a tad too large. But Hubby loves it anyway. Isn't he sweet!

My second quickie project was the swatch pillow I mentioned a few posts ago.

Pattern: Used trinity stitch from the 1st Barbara Walker Treasury book

Yarn: Noro Kuyeyon in color 207, 1 and 1/2 balls

Needles: US #10.5

Notes: I love how this turned out! It actually ended up being a little smaller than I was hoping so I just gently felted it by hand because I didn't want it to shrink too much. Unfortunately, this didn't completely close up the holes that are in the pattern and I was afraid that the stuffing would try to come out. So I sewed a plain peice of muslin fabric to the swatch and then sewed backing fabric on and then stuffed it. I think it looks quite nice on my couch. And the kittied only tried to rip it open once! Luckily they seem to have lost interest now.

And lastly, I've cast on for the Seeded Cables Cardigan with some Cascade 220 in a nice light grey! I've got a couple of inches done but now I'm having second thoughts about what size to make. I know it's supposed to be a fitted cardigan but I think it may be better to err on the larger size with this one. I've been doing okay with the complicated cables but this is one pattern that requires complete concentration!

A must have book!

Wow, THANK YOU for all the compliments on my Cavern cardigan!!! you guys are so sweet!

After seeing a few reviews of Sensual Knits around the blogosphere, I picked up my own copy today at the bookstore. I'm not really one to buy knitting books so much because there always seem to be only one pattern I like in the whole thing. Oh. My. Goodness. ALL the knits in this book are gorgeous!

These three are my most favorite!

Vixen Camisole:

Balloon Sleeve Jacket:

Seeded Cables Cardigan:

I absolutely MUST knit this Seeded Cables Cardigan!! It looks really challenging but I just adore the cables.

I haven't really looked over the book in great detail but it seems to be well written with plenty of measurements and schematics. The thing that most surprised me was how many knitted dresses are in this book (like 4!). Sorry, but there is just no way I am ever going to knit a dress. But, this book is definitely worth the $20 (or cheaper if you get it online and have the patience to wait for it)!

Cavern

Happy 2008! It's nice starting off the year with one of my favorite FOs to date!

Pattern: Cavern

Yarn: Jo Sharp Silkroad dk Tweed, color 402, all of 6 balls

Needles: US #6 circulars and dpns

Modifications: added waist shapping; only did half as many decrease as called for on the sleeves and added increases to make the cuffs flared a little; made the sleeves 3/4 length; added seed stitch belt in place of tie closure

Notes: I am completely in love with this sweater! When I started it I had a vision of how I wanted it to look and as a result, I ended up ripping an reknitting almost every part. I am so glad that I did because it turned out exactly how I wanted it to. The Silkroad Tweed is amazing and holds up very well to frogging. As you can see, I just barely had enough yarn to make the belt long enough but I think it ended up being the perfect length. And since the yarn is kind of "sticky" (kind of like felt) it doens't come untied. I am so happy that I finally used this yarn that has been in my stash for such a long time.

I'm finally recovering from a nasty, nasty cold I've had for the past week, thank goodness! I'm ready to get out of the house and actually do something this weekend.
Have a great weekend everyone!