FO: Geodesic Cardigan

Pattern: Geodesic Cardigan

Needles: 4 mm circulars (US 6)

Yarn: Malabrigo lace

Mods: Added more tucks, by eliminating 4 stockinette rows between each tuck.

Notes: If you have seen one of the other 300 hundred or so Geodesic cardigans in Ravelry, then you might notice that I have more tucks, and that they are closer together than in the original pattern. There is a slight excess of fabric across the bust, which, if I hold it closed, disappears. I'm not sure if this is consistent with other Geodesic cardigans, or if it is (more likely) the result of adding more tucks. I might add a small hook and eye closure, we'll see. I took my sweet time knitting this, because I hated the needles I was using (Addi lace needles). They had an awful 'step' in the metal bit, and I found that my stitches didn't flow smoothly over it at all. There were more than a few times I was ready to scream, as I manually pushed one stitch at a time over the step in the metal. Ugh. I hate them, and will probably never use them again. BUT- I love the final result. And it's a dream to wear- it's so, so soft and lightweight.

You know what owning a butterfly headband has taught me? That children LOVE the butterfly headband. If I wear this around any small children whatsoever, they are immediately entranced, obsessed, and generally all over it. The girls especially, but the boys are also pretty intrigued. If you enjoy beguiling small children, I recommend you get one (or making one- it's probably super easy). I've seen them lots of places, but I picked mine up here.

Current WIPs, and my Next Projects

Before I even had a trip booked to Chicago, Eliza and I were planning on having a fingerless mitt swap. We would each knit one mitt, and give the mitt and the remaining yarn to the other, so that they could knit just one mitt and have a complete pair. I knitted her theSwan Maiden mitt, which I loved- I'm definitely going to knit myself a pair of these! Here is a photo of Eliza modelling the one I knit for her:

And Eliza knit me one of the October Leaves Fingerless Mitts, which are lovely: They are going to be perfect for spring!

While on the flight there and back, and anywhere else I could squeeze in a bit of knitting time, I've been working on this:

This lovely peat coloured, moss stitch lump is a test knit  Twenty Ten cardigan from Veera, who is working on the pattern. I love it so far!! I'm very excited about the asymmetrical front, and also excited to find the perfect project for my new massive button collection. I'm much further along than this photo shows- I'm actually at the collar portion. But how could I resist posting this picture of Gatsby modelling the WIP? He's such a camera ham, that Gatsby.

Some of you may recall the lovely Malabrigo laceweight I picked up on the trip, and it is definitely earmarked for specific projects! The olive colourway is going to be the Geodesic Cardigan from the new Knitscene, and the Paris Night colourway is likely to be a Featherweight Cardigan Meets Minimalist. Mods will be especially necessary, since the Featherweight starts at a size about 4" too big for me.

I love the olive green (it's one of my favourites), but I'm also in love with that Paris Night colourway- just look at the lovely variations in shade!

Chicago Style!

Such an amazing city! Eliza toured me around, and we checked out the amazing Art Institute of Chicago, which was having a well-timed Apostles of Beauty exhibit on the arts and crafts movement in design. Frank Lloyd Wright was a part of this movement, and he did quite a bit of design in Chicago and the surrounding areas- in that photo mosaic there are is a photo of a house that he built. Many slices of pizza were had, and loads of baked goodies were consumed. So much food! And I got to crash Eliza's great book group. The book in question? Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.Also fascinating was her father in law's woodworking studio- he's an amazing furniture designer, and his pieces were so incredible, I forgot to take photos (this happens to me more often than I'd like to admit). But check out all the gorgeousness here.

And of course, when knitters get together, it's all about the knitting, isn't it?

Knit 1 in Chicago is sadly closing down, but they are having a really amazing giveaway- purchase one of their patterns, and you will be entered to win one of 60 $500 prize packs! This is how Karen (the owner) is clearing out her inventory, which is such a creative idea. When we visited, we were able to try on some of the samples of the patterns, and picked our favourites:

Eliza's choice, above

my choice, below

 That caplet just had to be mine, so I bought the pattern on the spot. I'm so in love, I've already cast on:

 Cascade Magnum in 9408, a lovely heathered reddish brown

Trisha was the one that alerted me to this bittersweet giveaway, and we had a great sit down to talk about all the things we love about patterns, yarn, and the perfect LYS.

 Pictures from Knit 1, with Trisha and Karen (shop owner and designer)

Check out all the gorgeous patterns here. You have until February 14th to purchase a pattern and enter the draw for the prize packs (it's not restricted just to the US- so no matter where you live and knit, you can win!). Good luck everyone-  I'd love to win one of those $500 prize packs!

We also checked out Nina and Loopy Yarns, and I found myself stocking up on some Malabrigo laceweight from both:

'Olive' colourway on the left, and 'Paris Night' colourway on the right

And Eliza generously gave me a skein of her handspun:

All said, it was a wonderful weekend getaway. Thanks to all the wonderful Chicago people I met while I was there, you made my trip memorable!! And an extra thank you to Eliza and her husband, for being wonderful hosts.