Something New!

Once I got the sleeves of the red cardi pinned out to block on December 23, I jumped right into a new project - Fleece Artist's Lady of the Lake Cardigan! I got the kit from Tidal Brook Yarns on eBay, but Colorsong Yarns also carries them. The thing with Fleece Artist is that if you like a design, but don't see it in the color you like, you keep looking because they have such a huge range of colors that it's pretty much impossible for any one store to stock every color. (After adding the links to the store's to this post, I see that both stores are pretty picked over right now, but I'm sure they'll get more in soon.)

My kit was in the Burgundy colorway and as you can see it has a bunch of berry shades mixed with a bit of a pinky, coppery brown color. I've got the body finished and one sleeve done and have started the second sleeve. Once that's done I'll do the collar, block the whole thing (it will get longer in the blocking) and it will be done! It's knit with two different yarns, one row each, but surprisingly, isn't really as fiddley as you would think. I did decide to knit the sleeves in the round instead of flat like the directions say, but once I got going that wasn't too bad either. One thing I'll just say here: the pattern calls for 7.0 mm needles which have no US equivalent. You can order a 7.0 mm needle, but if you don't pay attention when you order your kit and don't order a needle at the same time, then you might want to cast on and start your project instead of waiting for a needle to get to you (ahem). I just used a 6.5 mm needle from my KnitPicks set - the original metal ones, not the wood ones - because those are so slippery that my tension is looser on them anyway. It worked, I've got gauge, and I've almost got cardigan! Yeah for fast knits!