swallows return

featherweight cardigan: 97 grams

I finished this last week but was too busy making Halloween costumes to take pics, then we all got sick around here and then, finally, got a chance yesterday. I'm so happy with the way this sweater turned out and the cashmere is SO SOFT!!! It still smells a little bit goat-y but in a really good soft, baby-goat-cuddled-up-sleeping-in-a-barn kind of way.

Ravelled here.

That was my last unfinished project taking up room in my knitting basket but aaah, I've got some new ones lined up...first up, this, but with some changes of which I can soon show some pics.

featherweight cardigan sleeves

See that awful, ugly ladder in the sleeve above? That's what happened when I tried to knit sleeves on 3.75mm double pointed needles with a lace-weight yarn. No matter how hard I tried to keep my carrying yarn tight after the first and second stitches on each needle, that ladder would just not go away. Why then, did I knit the whole thing down to the ribbing? Was I thinking it would just magically disappear? or that I could readjust the tension row-by-row once I was done? Who knows. Sometimes one just has to do these things to get a good look at them and to figure out how to solve the problem. So, how to solve the problem... Magic loop? Nope. Knit sleeve in stockinette and sew up seams later? Nuh-uh. Replace one lost double pointed needle with 16" circular so I could work with five needles? No again. My saving grace was Hiya Hiya's 9" circular needle. Thank you Three Bags Full for carrying these! I raced over last weekend with kids in tow to pick one up and finished one sleeve last night and what a difference it made:

Nice, smooth, ladder-less sleeve. It felt a little awkward to knit with them at first but I kept my hands relaxed which resulted in a good match in tension. Should have this thing finally finished by the end of our long weekend (my Ravelry start date shows May 2010)!

ids west (kid style)

Headed downtown yesterday for the IDS West show. Montauk Sofa wins the prize for most kid-friendly exhibitor with their two huge chalkboard-painted walls. Other stand-outs included:

Sandberg's "Rafael" & "Metropolitan" wallpaper at Örling & Wu

18 Karat's flickering black and white projection

Molo's tapered kraft softwall room and capello lamp, and

Contexture Design's bentwood canoe made from repurposed sail material from Canada Place.

throw it together

Some things that don't try too hard as you're going about your day:

1. howlite earrings: Max & Chloe 2. denim tote bag: Lands' End Canvas 3. wool & alpaca cardigan: Cacharel 4. slim cords J Crew 5. kimono blouse top: Quicksilver 6. ballet flats: Lucky Brand