Cabo Hoodie #2

While tapmouse was shopping for me, I was finishing Monkey1's sweater. It's 80F today and will be for awhile, so no modelled shots. The unblocked sweater on a hanger shot will have to do for now. On the bright side, all this warm weather means that it'll dry quickly when I wash & block it.


pattern: Cabo Hoodie by Wendy Bernard (Knit & Tonic)
yarn: Lanas Puras Melosa worsted weight in Cornflower (sorta a cross between Malabrigo & Manos del Uruguay), approximately 3.5 skeins - have 56 g leftover, so I can extend out the sleeves & cuff next year if I need to or knit a charity hat
pattern size: 10 (I'll need to re-knickname my kids Giraffe or something, they're way tall)
needle sizes: US 7 & 8 (too lazy to look up the metric equivalent)

mods:
- As with the first Cabo Hoodie, I knit the pocket on & extended the hood by 2"
- 6 blue plastic beads on each cuff per Monkey1's request - she loves it!

I also finished my first Fetching in Cascade Cash Vero color #021. Monkey1 ran off with it (in hopes that it was too small for me so she would get it - hah!), so I don't have a pic of the finished wristwarmer yet. I added 5 rounds to the hand section before the thumb and added another cable round and 4 more ribbing rounds after to make it long enough. I did try the picot bind off since I've never done one, but hated it. I had a hole under every picot stitch and that bind off made the edge roll badly. So I ripped it out and just did a normal bind off.


I think I'm in a November brown mood 'cause I bought the Chocqua Schrodinger Cube the instant I saw it. When I first found this site after a mention on Wendy Bernard's blog, I thought it just cute, but when I saw the one made with the Hawaiian quilt hibiscus motif, I had to get it. How can I not?

Sorta Random

Posting to keep the knitting part of my brain in order 'cause goodness knows the rest of my brain isn't.

It's amazing how much can get done while waiting for the washer repair dude and being home with a sick kid (Monkey2) a few days ago. I didn't quite finish Monkey1's Cabo Hoodie by the end of the month, but I got close. All I need now is to do the hood and seam the pocket sides. I'm shooting to finish by the weekend hopefully as the weather's gotten back to the fog again.

Monkey1 even got me to put beads on her sweater cuff. She was very precise on the number of beads and color too. As tapmouse knows, I can be somewhat anti-bead-ish, but Monkey1 knows how to get me to do things I don't like...sometimes.

I would've been done with the hoodie by now 'cept all that St st would make me want to do other things too. Surprisingly though, I wasn't in the mood for more socks despite finishing the Giotto with the Flow pair. Oh, I started my STR Lenore sock, but my STR production rate has been surprisingly slow. I think tapmouse picked up my STR mojo 'cause she's already turned the heel on her first Lenore.

Instead I was in the mood to wind up my Yarn Botanika 100% cashmere DK in Pink Sand and knitted up a few rows of the Lacy Zig Zag scarf pattern available on One Planet. Not that I've gotten very far with that either 'cause I ended up casting on for Fetching too in a brown Cash Vero I got from Purlescence awhile ago. (No pic of that yet as I'm deciding if I'm too tight on size 6 needles and need to frog & restart on size 7's or if I'm good and simply need to add length.)

YPF courtesy of Yarn4Socks

In celebration of Yarn4Socks 1 year anniversary, I bought their anniversary kit #2. I love Donna and Valerie's service and quick shipping.

And I have Nell to thank for helping me decide to get the Phoenix Fiberworks Briar Rose after I saw her post hers last week. (She's got a much better pic of it too.)


In a bit of AADD knitting, I started Monkey1's Cabo Hoodie in between doing the second Siren sock and Firestarter. (Yes, I did bind off the first Firestarter.) The Lanas Puras Melosa I'm using seems not quite a fluffy as the Malabrigo I used for Monkey2's Cabo Hoodie, but it still gives me a lovely soft fabric.


I'm basically going to make the same mods as the first one I knit, but Monkey1 wants me to add blue plastic beads to the cuffs and one smack in the vee of the neckline. My sense of "no bling on clothing" aesthetic is fighting my desire to give Monkey1 some creative input on her hoodie.

Cabo Hoodie #1

Pattern: Cabo Hoodie by Wendy Bernard
size: 4
yarn: Malabrigo worsted weight in Indigo
needles: KP size 7 & 8 circulars

mods:
- added 1.5" more to the hood to make it longer though it could've been made wider too.
- attached the pocket while knitting the body a la Ribby Pulli so I wouldn't have to seam the top & bottom
- accidently continued the garter stitch edge of the pocket all the way down, so won't seam the pocket sides. Though from a practical perspective, it'll make for a better hand warmer for Monkey2. It's not like she's going to store stuff in there. Not that it's a good idea from a parental perspective.

Next up, Monkey1's Cabo Hoodie in Lanas Puras worsted weight in her choice of Cornflower.

Went to TKGA on Friday lunch time without either of my yarn buying partners in crime, but with Monkey1 who had the day off since it was teacher work day. I should know better since she's just as enabling at tapmouse and blogless L.

One of my TKGA splurge buys since the company whose booth I wanted to visit was a no-show was 4 skeins of Argosy Luxury Yarns Haiku 4 ply in Blackberry. I hope to make a small shawl at some point out of this yarn. Monkey1 tried to get me to buy some of their 100% cashmere, but I didn't bite. Aside from the fact that she wanted it for her. I believe I'm teaching her too well as she went for the softest, squishiest yarn there. I think if she went for the darker, deeper fall colors I might've been sunk, but luckily for me she aimed for the more cutesy pastels.

No, not new yarn. Just the STR medium weight mill end that I really am leaning towards for my Firestarters. I've got it opened up and soon will have it wound up for casting on.

eta: At first I thought it might be a chicken series color like a cross between Cluckers & Cockamamie, but someone on flickr thinks it looks like Marbles instead.

Attempting to stay focused

Finished seaming the hoodie (though I need to even out a few of the stitches) after extending it out 1.5 more inches (read on Ravelry that the hood is on the small side) and started a sleeve. I'm trying to finish this by the end of the week to meet the end of this year's Project Spectrum.


I did finish my first Siren sock though. I'm happy it fits and I didn't have to rip back along the way. Although I would have no excuse if I needed to since I can do it.

Love how the colorway knits up. (And I like it beadless, tapmouse. Thank you very much.)

And the one finished sock gives me the excuse to swatch my STR yarn from the stash for my Firestarter socks sometime this week, but I'm stuck on what color to go for.

I initially wanted to use my Fire on the Mountain (all colors discussed left to right), but it's in lightweight and the Firestarter sock calls for a 60 st count with a gauge of 8 spi. This would make for a really, really snug sock. (This also rules out the Wollmeise I just acquired based on what I've read being knit up by all the Wollmeisaholics out there.)

Then I thought about the variegated medium weights in my stash that would benefit from the Firestarter pattern and fit my foot with its larger gauge at the 60 st count. First there's January One. The colorway's almost fall-like in it's theme which I'm kinda in the mood for. Then there's Thistle which I forgot that I had bought in medium not lightweight, but it's more spring themed. Finally, there's the mill end that I bought off of Tapmouse's Camp Cockamamie stash. It's got that whole chicken and fall theme going too which makes it on par with the January One. It may even edge it out when I make my decision.

Oh, what to do, what to do.

It's Random Wednesday

Most of my chest congestion has loosened up enough, so I headed back to work. But before that I got a lot further on my Siren sock. It clouded up today so my lighting sucks, but it's looking much better. Happier with it now and I love the Fleece Artist Sea Wool.

I also managed to start my other Yarn4Sock club kit (June). The yarn is Seacoast Yarn's Panda (merino wool/bamboo/nylon) sock yarn in Melon Balls. Love the color, love the yarn. The pattern that came with the yarn is Anna Bell's Giotto socks.

Love the cuff detail. Don't love the lace pattern for the rest of the sock. The 3-stitch twist isn't too bad, but the kfb into a double yo is a total PITA. I totally have to fight the yarn to make that double stitch. I've only done one repeat of the 4-row lace pattern and I can't see fighting the yarn and pattern for 2 entire socks. I have a feeling that the Koigu yarn Anna Bell originally used will mean that if I do attempt this pattern again that I will need to use a similarly sproingy yarn like STR or Colinette if I don't use Koigu. So, I am going to happily rip back those 4 rows and re-knit the increase row to the correct stitch count and shameless steal her idea and do the Go with the Flow pattern for the rest of the sock.

Because the Giotto sock frustrated me so and the weather's cooled way off, I also cast on for Monkey2's Cabo Hoodie in the Malabrigo Worsted in Indigo I bought from Stitches West last year. The yarn is so, so, so yummy. Monkey1 will get a Cabo Hoodie too, but it'll be in Lanas Puras Melosa Worsted (she picked Cornflower). I'm enjoying the process of knitting of the Malabrigo so much I may make this my focused knitting for the week.


But I suppose it's a good thing I cast on my last 2 Yarn4Socks club kits 'cause my October one came in early with my eagerly anticipated Ann Hanson (knitspot) Merlot Lace sock pattern.


This kit'll have to wait though 'til I'm done with the Siren sock(s) at least.