WIPs II: When Cardigans Attack

As I think about the things I want to share with you, gentle readers of this slowly evolving blog, I'm beginning to see snippets of ideas for regular features.  Obviously, the WIPs are an ongoing theme.  I think it also might be fun to feature an item from my stash in each post.  That way, you can see what sorts of things are coming down the pike, and even amuse yourselves by guessing when I might use a certain item or what it may become.  And since I mentioned to you last post that I was planning a dismount from my cold sheep to make a little purchase, why don't we start there? 

This Week's Stash Peek*

A little background:  Last year I fell victim to discovered a wonderful little yarn company, MinkYarn.com, specifically because of this.  Craig is the proprietor of MinkYarn.com and is a lovely fellow whose customer service is impeccable.  He even includes a handwritten card in almost every purchase.  Long story short, I bought some of the yarn to try and fell in love.  Ultimately, I ended up with at least seven SQs** of Craig's various yarns, which contributed to my decision to cold sheep this year.  However, just as I was making the decision that I did not need any more yarn, Craig announced that he was developing a BRAND NEW YARN*** that was 90% mink and 10% silk and blooms**** more than any yarn he'd ever ever made.  I tried to convince myself that I could live without it, but had to admit that if I didn't buy some, I would be sad.  (Especially since there is no guarantee that he will continue to stock it after this batch is gone.)

So here it is, "Courchevel" mink/silk yarn in Jet Black and Loganberry:

I have many things to knit before I get to these, as you are about to see, but hopefully they will pop up again sooner rather than later.



WIPs 

Continuing with the WIP Parade, let's look at cardigans in progress.  I have been obsessed with cardigans lately, so there is a lot to talk about.

These are in order by those I am most motivated to finish to least:

Grande Plage Cardigan:  Started just a couple of weeks ago, I originally cast this on as my first quarter project for Team Octopurls in the Eat Sleep Knit 2014 Yarnathon.  It would take me too long to explain the Yarnathon, so just go read about it here or here and then come back.  While normally you can only participate in the Yarnathon by buying yarn, this year the store has set up various challenges to allow those of us who are cold sheeping or are otherwise on yarn diets to earn yards and help our teams.  The first quarter challenge is to make something exclusively out of Eat Sleep Knit yarn using a technique that is new to you.  This is my first cardigan constructed from the top down and would have been perfect, but I realized as I was working on it that I want to trim it with black and the black yarn I will be using was not purchased from ESK.  (I have black yarn from ESK, but it is the wrong type of fiber for this project.)  I decided it was more important to make the cardigan I want to wear than to force it to fit the challenge.  Fortunately, I have plenty of other yarn from ESK (I was a Yarnathon finisher last year, which in large part is why I am cold sheeping this year), and I have until the end of March to complete a qualifying project, so I'll figure something out.  But I digress.  Here is the cardigan:

Here is the Ravelry page:  Grande Plage Cardigan (original pattern by Claudia Geiger).  The finished cardigan will be heavily modified from the original pattern, which you can see here.  I used the pattern to learn the top down construction, but I don't plan to change colors at the waist or use the lace portion of the pattern (too similar to the green lacy cardigan featured in my first post).  Currently, this is the project that is getting the most attention because I love the color and can't wait to finish it up and wear it (assuming it fits!).  I even have the perfect jewelry picked out for it.

Mink Cardigan:  This is my second cardigan in mink (the first being the black Swirl pictured in my January 4, 2014 post).  As you now know, it won't be my last.  This is actually tied with the Grand Plage Cardigan for project I most want to finish first.

Ravelry page: Mink Cardigan.  As you can see, this one is constructed in pieces.  It is another one of my "design on the needles" experiments, so I can't wait to finish it up to see if it looks anything like what I am picturing in my head.  Also, because it is a solid neutral color, I should get a lot of wear out of it.

Light Cardigan:  You can almost say that this cardigan was the result of my general stubbornness.  You see, I hate to be told that I can't do something.  Especially if the implication is that I can't do it because it is beyond my skill/patience/etc.  So, back in 2012 when I mentioned to my knitting group that I wanted to make an adult-sized cardigan out of lace weight yarn and they essentially laughed at the suggestion, well, let's just say this cardigan was inevitable.*****

Ravelry page: Light Cardigan.  This is another of my improvised designs.  It was hibernating for quite some time because I was once again foiled by sleeves.  This picture was taken in February 2013.  From time to time I pick it up and work on it.  The other day, I measured it and was thrilled and/or embarrassed to discover that I only have about four inches left on the second sleeve.  So, obviously, I am working on the Grande Plage Cardigan and the Mink Cardigan instead.  I think my hesitation is that I'm not convinced the sleeves will fit once I finish knitting them and sew the seams, so I'm expecting to have to rip them out and redo them.  But I really just need to finish those last four inches and see.  It is made from a wool/silk blend so even though it is light weight, it is still relatively warm.  When it is finally finished, it will make a nice fall sweater.

Thunderstorm Swirl:  This is the previously mentioned third Swirl that I am working on.

Ravelry page:  Thunderstorm Swirl.  The name comes from the colorway of the yarn I am using.  I started this in July 2013 and was working on it steadily until I got distracted.  It is another one I pick up and chip away at from time to time.  I think it will be gorgeous when it is finished, which hopefully will be soon. 

Not pictured:  That green cardigan.  Yeah, yeah, talk to the hand.  All joking aside, I think this is another case where I'm a little worried that the sleeve I knit is going to end up being too small and I'll have to start again.  What I really need to do is block the sleeve to its full size to see whether it works or not.  I'm sure once I do that, I will be motivated to start the second sleeve (or re-knit the first sleeve) and finally get this thing finished.

Odds and Ends

At the request of one of my most loyal readers, a little note about the Knitting Meter on the right hand side of this blog:  I have adopted the practice of one of my cold sheeping support groups to not add yardage to a meter until the item in question is complete.  As a result, while I can add to the Spinning Meter each time I finish a skein of yarn, the Knitting Meter will stay at zero until I finish one of my current projects.  So, though technically between the first two cardigans listed above I have knit at least 1300 yards so far this month, none of it counts until I actually complete a cardigan (the knitting portion at least--I don't feel obligated to wait until all the ends are woven in and the buttons are on).  If you are wondering why it looks as though I haven't done any knitting this year (as of the date of this post), that's why.

I have been down with the flu the past couple of weeks and haven't been up to spinning, so I have nothing to report on the Shetland project.  Fortunately, I am on the mend and expect to get back to it this week.

That's all for now.  I'll be typing at ya soon.  


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*Yes, yes, the name of the feature needs work.
**sweater quantities
***I'm pretending this was an astounding announcement that fully and understandably justified leaping off the sheep, but the truth is that Craig introduces a brand new yarn practically every other month.  (Unfortunately, they are all wonderful.)
****For those not familiar with the term "bloom" as it applies to yarn, think of the fuzziness of angora.  That's blooming. 
*****I have a nearly finished bathrobe that came about for a very similar (i.e., identical) reason.  One day I will take a picture of it.