Pumpkin Sunrise

Please oh please ignore the orange pants.....Yes I am officially done with this cardigan .  It is in the laundry room drying right now.  The photos were taken last night before blocking.  I was quite pleased with the sweater until I soaked it.  My goodness, you would not believe the amount of dye that washed out of that sweater.  That is a concern and I am hoping that when I wear it shirts or tanks do not become red.  My other concern was the fiber that fluffed off of it when I was wringing (probably a no-no for cashmere).  So I must remember to handle it gently.  I think the next time I wash it I will spin it in the washer instead of wringing to get the water out.  So maybe there will be more photos, maybe not.   Once it is dry I will put it on my sweater shelf and will have something new to wear in the fall.  How cool is that?

Well as you can see I am still  reading the same book(s).  The Help is really really really good, I wish I read more during the day so I can finish it.  But those snippets of time are for knitting.  I am also slowly reading The Dirty Life.  I read barely a page this week so it is pretty much idle. I have made a lot of progress on my swallowtail shawl .  I only have about 10 more rows and then I can cast off.  I have really enjoyed this pattern and would like to knit it again with 100% wool.  Right now I am using alpaca/silk blend and it is quite "slinky".  I drop stitches frequently which means I am fixing it almost every time I pick it up. My other project is the valley cardigan .  I just need TWO sleeves--that is it.  Oh and a little bit of the neckline.  Wouldn't it be great to have it done in a week???  I think I will try very hard to focus on this goal.  I would love to have it out of my knitting bag :) I would love to hear what you are knitting and reading!  If

I've successfully finished the body of the valley cardigan !  At first I was worried about the hand dyed look since there is quite a difference in shades of color, but I really really like it now that it's all knitted up. This project has taken me quite some time and I think it is because I keep starting other projects and placing this cardigan aside. I love to start big projects but my attention span seems to waiver. Yesterday I casted on the first sleeve (after a six day break....).  I did decide to keep to the original pattern and make the cuffs for the sleeve.  I'm quite excited knowing that I am very close to the end. A dear sweet friend gave me a knitting present, which is the best kind of present to get.  The last photo is a fun tape measure (or is it a measurer?), I think she bought it at a yarn shop near or in Ithaca NY.  Not too sure about that.  So of course I am looking for things to measure ;) 

I did finish the increases of the body of the Valley Cardigan  (finally).  I am now on the back armhole shaping and as I decrease every other row, it goes a little faster :)  I am thinking that I will have enough yarn for the sweater.  I still consider changing the sleeve cuffs of the design.  I might just want a simple sleeves. I have not completely decided and have a way to go before I do. Here is a picture of spring in my yard: I have two lilac bushes that the deer love to nibble on so they are quite lopsided.  However, even though they get a thorough trim, they continue to grow thrive and blossom!  

I have only ten to twenty rows left to the armhole shaping on my Valley Cardigan and yet it is taking forever.  Maybe if I did not have two other projects that take my knitting time away from this project, I would already be there-to the arm hole shaping that is.  I remember when my kids would ask "are we there yet?" when travelling to visit relatives.  The car ride was long for them (and for me!).  So this weekend I am going to get there, I am going to knit my last twenty rows and divide for the fronts and the back.  

......for a yarn, that is.  This yarn is Araucania Trauco Cashmere and it is very soft.  I really love it.  Now I have not had the opportunity to wash it or wear it repeatedly, so my opinion could change.  So far it is lovely to work with. This is my cardigan that I am working on: The pattern is Mountain View Cardigan  and here is a link to my project page for this sweater .  I decided to work the front pieces along with the back.  I decided to not write anything down so I am flipping the instruction frequently to make sure I did not miss anything.  Because I do not have the required yarn amount, I have trimmed two inches off the length.  I hope this is going to work out okay.  I have been known to knit with very little amounts of yarn and wonder whether I have enough.  I think it makes life exciting :)

So yesterday I was thinking I want to knit a sweater for me.  I have about four or five hand knitted ones that I wear frequently that are at a finer gauge.  I have not worn a worsted weight cardigan for quite some time.  I cannot say why, I guess I am not in the mood?  We are probably going to have cold weather at least one more month. That is a perfect excuse to make a sweater.  In my stash I have this lovely cashmere fingering weight yarn that I am itching to knit up.   I went on Ravelry to search for a pattern and boy did I find a really pretty one!   Mountain View Cardigan  looks so elegant.  Today I balled up the yarn.  Now to start a swatch gauge and hope that I can keep my dream of pairing this yarn with this pattern.  Tune in.......