Knitting away

I finished my Ysolda beret in no time at all. Unfortunately, my cameraman hasn't been around to take a picture, so here is my attempt to photograph it on my own head. The beret is knit in Louisa Harding Grace, a silk and wool blend that I mentioned last time. I did like knitting with this yarn. It's very soft to the touch and has thick and thin bits, and less-spun bits, but it did come out nice. I still need to get the elastic and ribbon to thread thru the band for a bow. I think I'll go with black, or a dark gray, for this.


It's kind of odd looking when you only see part of it--very urchin-like. When I get some better photos of the whole thing, I'll post 'em. I ended up with half a ball of yarn left, and I thought I could buy one more ball and make a second one to give to someone. Otherwise, I don't know what to do with half a ball of yarn. I hate having leftovers from a project! I have to think of something to do with them.

Instead of picking up another UFO, I moved on to a new project. I had a strong feeling that I ought to do something with my Sunday Knits Nirvana. I wanted something really simple, no lace or things that would require too much attention. Nirvana 3-ply is a sport weight (to fingering weight) yarn, and I chose this project from Rowan 26.


The color I'm working with is charcoal. I've got a good start on the back, and I'm comparing against a favorite Old Navy sweater just to be sure it's going to fit. Unlike some knitters, I really do not mind stockinette stitch. It's so restful and I can listen to an audiobook and not get lost with either. This sweater's accompaniment is Death on the Nile, read by David Suchet. The project is done on US 4 needles, which I like because it's a small gauge but not so small that you don't see any progress. The decreases and increases are done in the body of the sweater, as opposed to on the edges, and this looks nice even though they don't show up that well in a dark color. Well, there are also decreases on the sides, but I chose not to do them as they make too precipitous of a curve for my frame.



In the mail today I got a nice package from Quince & Co. of Portland, Maine. I had been interested in their yarns, so I ordered up a sample skein and their color card. Such pretty colors! Such nice yarn! It's spun evenly and looks very springy. This is their Chickadee yarn in Bird's Egg. And it is the right color of bird's egg.


I had it in mind for a little project, but now I'm not sure this weight is going to work for it. I can give it a try, but if not, it will certainly become something else nice. I also got snips of their other yarns and they look good, too.

I also received in the mail the extra ball of Castello to finish my Maddalena cardigan. So I have no excuse not to get on with that one as well.