Tried and mostly failed to get a photo of myself and my newly finished cardigan, without too many of the bathroom fixtures or other crap in view. The more I tried, the worse the results got. After a while I was overthinking it so much that I sometimes didn’t even manage to get into position before the timer triggered. I think it just isn’t doable.

The cardigan fits super well, though!

The last decent-sized bundle of yarn I had in my yarn drawer turned out to be unusable for the purpose I bought it for. First it turned out to be low quality. Badly cleaned, with ridiculous amounts of plant matter in it. And I ran into three knots and breaks in just two hanks of yarn.

Plus then I found out it was scratchy, too. I had barely cast on knitted a couple of rows when it was already making my fingers sore. If I can’t even stand to hold the yarn while knitting, I’m not going to be wearing anything I make from it. Bummer. It was such a nice colour!

Shawls are perfect background knitting. No need to try anything on, no ripping up sleeves because they fit wrong. No swatching to get the right gauge. Just knit.

This one was lovely to knit. The yarn was super soft and cosy, and the pattern was interesting. Simply brioche knitting all the way, with two increases on every right-side row, randomly placed. Not too much thinking, but also not completely mindless. Perfect for commuting, meetings, watching TV etc.

The only bad thing about it is that I ran out of yarn so I had to stop.

I’ve finished knitting the sweater and the cardigan and the shawl (although the latter two are waiting for the details before I post photos and finally call them done) which means I don’t have a single major knitting project ongoing.

Before I can start a new project, I’m going to need more yarn, and the sewing & crafts fair seems like the best solution to that. Buying online seems risky, since I’m picky about my yarns. The spring sewing fair is coming up in about a month, so I’ll hold out until then and make do with smaller projects in the meantime, with yarns from my stash.

Right now: another pair of wrist warmers. The first ones I did in sock yarn just to have something, but now I wish I’d picked something softer. I’m making this new pair in an alpaca yarn that I found in my yarn drawer. On the plus side: super soft. On the minus side: it’s black and very fine, which makes it difficult to see what I’m doing. I can see the difference between knits and purls, but counting rows is hard. Good thing I’m not doing anything fancy, just plain ribbing.

The cardigan is done except for buttons. It fits better now, with the redone neckline.

And it’s done!

The pattern is a simplified version of Sweatrrr (check it out on Ravelry) and it’s one I used earlier. I liked the fit and the construction of it, even though I am still rather annoyed with its frustrating curling hem. This time I knew better, so I gave it a simple checkerboard hem (which you can see in yesterday’s photo). This worked out a lot better.

The yarn I bought Apmezga, a Lithuanian seller, at the Stockholm Sewing Fair this autumn. It’s a merino wool and nylon blend, and it’s as soft as a cloud. The sweater feels like a second skin. Except warmer.

Wet blocking my just-finished sweater. (On my nice new blocking mat, even! Very helpful.)

Didn’t get it done before the end of the year, but the first week of the new year is also a good time for finishing things.

All of a sudden, the colours in the cardigan sleeve I’m knitting are pooling together. Almost an inevitability, really, given how mathematics and variegated yarns work. The sleeve slowly gets narrower and narrower, so at some point the width is going to match up with the periodicity of the dye on the hank of yarn.

I don’t like it, so I’ll be ripping this up and doing something about it. Breaking it up with a second piece of the same yarn, in the other direction so the colours don’t just line up again.

I like winding yarn by hand. I like the feel of it, and the look of the ball. Skeins and cakes are all good, but a good old traditional ball is still… nicer.

Red and green, wool, hand-made.