A little knitting has been done and I finished the back of the pink cashmere. I really am only working on one project right now. I have been fighting the urge to start another because the pile of unfinished projects, all requiring blocking or ripping out, is larger than I would wish. I should block one of the simpler ones up and get it out of the way before we leave on the Brazil trip next week.
I have also been devoting a lot of my time to sewing, a risk when one wants to do too many things. When we return the garden will be crying for a lot of attention as well, but then, I will be tired from working in the yard and will look forward to collapsing in my chair with my knitting.
I do need a sweater to take on the Brazil trip, and I am not interested in hauling hot pink cashmere to the Amazon. I think I have settled on a sweater from the fall S. Charles Collezione book, here, knit in a rayon blend yarn called Venus. I got the guage swatch to work, which took a few tries since I always have more trouble with row guage and the sweater is knit side-to-side. But I really like working with the yarn and the swatch has a nice feel and hand. I ordered this sweater in early November and the yarn just arrived last month, which reminds me that if I want any of the Tahki/S.Charles/Filatura novelty yarns for spring I need to order them soon as they do not tend to stay in production long. It is hard to think of spring knitting when the fall sweaters keep arriving.
I toyed with the idea of socks, I have been in a socky kind of mood lately, probably because my feet have been cold, which is strange because I really don't wear socks that much. I enjoy knitting socks, but don't really indulge myself since I never wear the socks I knit -- it somehow seems a waste. However they are small and portable so perhaps I will reconsider, but not for this trip. They would be great for the train as I get tired of hauling around a big bag just to hold my knitting.
I am always torn between my love of cables and interesting knitted textures and interesting color designs in plain wool and cotton, and the love of fashion and design which keeps cycling in all these interesting yarns. I do usually like funky yarns in simple shapes and simple yarns with more detail in the work. Generally I am learning that I like to wear really simple knitted things so it is hard to find something that is fun to knit and that I will actually wear.
For example there is a great sweater in the spring Rowan, book 37, "Charm" by Martin Storey, which is really a very simple moss stitch pullover with 3/4 length sleeves. It is the kind of sweater I would wear all the time, the charms and beads make it especailly appealing, but it would be totally boring to knit in cotton glace on 3.25 mm needles. Still I might knit it because it is so nice. Why can't I find some wonderful interestingly patterned sweater to fall in love with? I suppose the plain knit sweaters are the ones to buy and I can knit the interesting ones; hmmm, more thought required, but I like the option of getting the fit and color I want when I knit it myself.
I did go to group tonight, which was great, as I had not been in ages, probably months. There was something about this winter, perhaps the fact that it often seemed to snow on Tuesdays, which made getting to group difficult. It was so nice to see everyone andI was just so happy to be there. I worked out my guage swatch for the travel sweater and then I cast on the front of the cashmere sweater although I probably won't get that far with it before we leave. I was so entranced by the conversations and being with knitters that I kept loosing track of my knitting. I had to cast on three times, and still kept loosing the count on the pattern. Finally I got everything going just as it was time to leave.