April's Projects Coming Along Nicely

Lest you think I've totally forgotten about blogging, I'm back. Not that I haven't had anything to say this past week but I've tried to spend time actually knitting rather than just talking about it. So to that end, here are the results:



I finished the back of Diane and am maybe 25% done with the front. Don't look too closely at the picture, there are definitely some "oops" that I am correcting with the front piece. The side twisted rib panels are curling in a bit but when they are blocked, you will see the shaping for the armholes more clearly. The shaping is actually achieved within the stockinette panels and not in the rib. I thought this was clever yet simple.

Now I'm going to confess something. The following photo shows the pieces of a sweater that I started last summer - a variation on the Shapely Tee from White Lies Designs. It's knit in Reynolds Gypsy, a 100% mercerized cotton that's got a pretty heathered sheen to it.



This project has been my sweater from hell. The original yarn was something completely different. Then I tried knitting the sleeves from the top down. I gave up with that idea but knit 3/4 sleeves from the cuff up instead. Now I'm fighting with the neckline - I've already ripped out the first attempt at a garter stitch neck because I picked up too many stitches, even though I was following the pattern. I'm determined to finish Shapely this month, in addition to Diane.

Other projects I've started include Heidi's Tote by Black Sheep Bags and Sitcom Chic from the Spring 2003 Knitty. As for the latter, I've been meaning to knit this for the past 2 years. I'm just now catching up with all of those patterns! I started SC yesterday at Sierra Ski Resort. My brother, his girlfriend, Karl and anothe friend went up for the last day of skiing this season (didn't I say that in an earlier post?) and it was beautiful. Actually, they skiied. I knit all day in the lodge.

On Thursday, I attended my first Guild meeting - the Camellia City Stockin'ettes. Oh, it was quite interesting. Most of the ladies there were older than me, but that wasn't the eye-opener. It was the heated argument (20 minutes) about how to have "Show and Tell" - should everyone show only their FOs or their WIPs, and how much time would be allotted? It was, as Beth mildly put it, a hot button among the members. I will not go into the discussion details but many feathers were ruffled. I'm not sure the outcome was to everyone's liking...seems like it will be brought up again, but at least it everyone can think about it for another month. Otherwise, the meeting was good. The Guild has their own library and I picked up a copy of Confessions of a Knitting Heretic. I spoke with Beth, Kaedean and Sandi again, plus finally met Ms. Violet, who's been great about giving me the scoop on all the other knitting groups in the area (hey, I'm planning to go to the Stitch 'n Bitch next Thursday at the Naked Lounge). Anyways, I'm excited about the Guild because of all the cool workshops they're planning to have. I'm there!

Oh, and one last thing about the Guild...there seemed to be a preponderance of socks being knitted (Violet showed me her latest using KnitPicks yarn). Now, I'm not a sock person. The only times I wear socks are in the winter, to bed on cold nights, when I go for a run and when I ski. However, the teeny DPNs may just be my undoing...I am too curious about knitting with DPNs so I'll have try the socks at some point. I'm thinking next month for my May project.

This afternoon is too beautiful to spend inside the entire time, so I'm heading off to the golf course. We've been asked to join a golf tournament and I haven't hit since last year so I need some serious time at the driving range.