That's February done then.

Ta-da!



I managed to make my way through all the February projects with time to spare! I finished the last of the work last night. I didn't need the leap-day afterall, but it's given me time to blog about it in the same month I finished them, so that's nice.

First, the Double Knitting Pad

This was worked up with double stranded Cascade 220 superwash. I originally cast on wider than the pattern called for, but worked it shorter, because I realized I wouldn't have enough time to finish everything for the month if I worked it up as long as I wanted to. So, in the end it ended up the dimensions the pattern called for, but worked sideways instead of longways.

Double knitting is a fun trick, but knitting in the round is MUCH easier. I managed to make my way through with only 3 spots where I didn't slip the stitches properly. They didn't effect the look of project, so I didn't bother to rip back. I'm sure the baby who ends up with it won't mind.

It's very squooshy. I think it'll make a great tummy pad, and the wool is machine washable, so it can get as much drool as the baby can dish out.

Next we have the shawl:

This was knit up in Valley Yarns 8/2 Merino Cashmere. It was all on one cone and still had the machine oil on it, but after I finished and washed it, the yarn didn't fluff up much. If anything, it shrank a bit in the water and I had to really stretch it to get it back to size. It didn't felt at all, it just relaxed in on itself. I was worried that I'd run out of yarn on the cone, so I stopped when the pattern told me to, even though I thought it might be a bit small on my wide shoulders. And, it is. but it's still warm and I love it and if I never do wear it as a shawl, it will make a nice lapghan or baby blanket.
She didn't give directions for the lace pattern she used in the book, so I just picked out a simple diamond lace pattern. With the simplicity of the pattern and the tweediness of the yarn, it looks very rustic to me. When I put it on, I feel like I should be coercing a couple of children into my candy house to take a look at my stove. *cackle*

Ahem... Moving on... Next was the Baby Sweater on Two Needles:

Worked up in a sport-weight wool/alpaca blend, I think this is my favorite project of the month. Love. It. It's a yoke-down sweater and the only seams to sew at the end are the sleeves. Brilliant. The lace pattern was really simple and this was a super-fast knit. It'd be a great gift if you know a mom who is into vintage baby gear.

Finally, the longies:


I wanted to knit these in the same yarn as the sweater, but the directions called for 3 oz and I only had 2 5/8 or something like that. In the end, it would have been enough, but there was no way to know that at the time. One thing that has been frustrating about this Knitter's Almanac project so far has been that she is so vague about yarn requirements. I'm so used to dealing with yardages that getting it in ounces is making me a bit batty.

Back to the matter at hand, though, these were also very fast. In the book, they have feet. I left the feet off, because not all babies have tiny feet (like all the babies in my family) and since I'm note sure if I'm donating these yet, I didn't want someone to end up with them and have them be an annoyance to the baby wearing them. Still, the pattern went very fast as it was all stockinette in the round, but there was enough shaping involved to keep it interesting. I'd definitely do these again.

Like I said, I finished it all Thursday night, which meant that Thursday night and today I was able to work on the January Aran Sweater some more:

I'm 16 rounds into it at this point and you can really see the patterns emerging. The 5-stitch cable is really cool. It seems to lie flatter than a 4- or 8-stitch cable. I'm not in love with the yarn, but I'm glad to finally have a use for it. It should be very warm when it's done.

Tomorrow, I'll start swatching for the Chainmail Sweater, which is the project for March. I'll be using the SWTC Optimum DK that Jenny gave me a while back. I have juuuust enough of the silver and plenty of the other two colors. I'm so glad to have a use for this stuff, because it is so heavenly to work with.


Ooooh, the smooshy goodness. I am having a hard time not casting on for this baby right now... Must work on January sweater some more... Must resist.... optim... wool...