Me and My Teammate(s)!

Okay, so here we are - Team Knits-n-Things. The Convertible (from Knitty.com) will be done with Koigu's Kersti line, in the beautiful colorscheme you see here. Wonderful. Absolutely gorgeous. How lucky was I that Knit Happens was having a sale on bags (yes, bags) of Koigu? OMG! And the Kersti is just the gauge I need for the Convertible - well, with some fiddling. I will probably have to go up to a size 7 needle since I pretty much knit right to gauge. So a bigger needle should equal perfect gauge.

So, we are almost ready to go. Need to knit a swatch, take a pic, and post it, too, but that will have to wait until I get motherless knitting time! I am going to try to keep this a secret. Not only because it's going to be Mom's Christmas present, but also because she does NOT need to know that I spent $100 on Koigu over the weekend! She would have a cow and give me "the look" and I don't need "the look" right now!

There's also a bit of sad knitting news today. I for some reason went ahead with the Koigu I got at MDS&W for the Clapotis even though I did not have the suggested yardage to complete the project. And, surprise, surprise, it doesn't look like I will be able to finish the Clapotis unless I can hunt down some more KPPM in P711, lot 165. I have checked with Carodan Farms - where I purchased the original 3 skeins, but their website says "sold out." After realizing this, I sent an e-mail begging them to check their stock and see if, by chance, they had one or two skeins lying around. I may have to put my Clapotis in a bag and cart it around with me, trying to match up that Koigu. I hate ripping things out, and yet, I know that Koigu can be so very hard to match up with the uniqueness of the painting! DRAT!

So, since I can't knit on that right now, I've taken the initiative to start the baby blanket that I want to do for my SIL. Since I am using baby yarn retrieved from my stash(!), I cast on for the full compliment of stitches even though I said I wanted it narrower than a normal blanket, but I think it will still be manageable. And, don't alert the NFP (Natural Fiber Police), but I'm knitting it in Red Heart acrylic. I can't bear the thought of a wool blanket that I've spent so much time on being felted accidentally in the dryer!

This will be my first try at cables, and I really like what I see so far. I've simplified the pattern by knitting the center portion in stockinette. If I were to fiddle with all those cables, the baby would be three by the time I finished knitting! It's going much faster, and feels much more manageable with the stockinette center. The next time I knit this one, though (maybe for my own sister????), I may try a seed stitch center. Who knows. Have to keep it interesting. It's a brilliant pattern. I will post the link to the pattern and a picture of my progress next time. . .