Lace

I started my Apres Surf Hoodie in the beginning of November for Alyson.  She was out of the country, so I had to make the yarn selection via Skype and Facebook.  Of course, when I finally made the trip to Webs, the colors we picked over the internet either were too garish in person, or there wasn't enough of the same dye lot.  I ended up picking a soft gray alpaca yarn from Classic Elite called Vail. 

lace chart, picture taken by my phone

The yarn is soft and squishy, I can't keep random children from stroking and fondling the yarn while I knit.    The eight-stitch lace pattern is easy enough to follow and once I got going, easy enough to memorize.  The first problem I encountered was after I set the hoodie aside to knit gifts.  By the time I came back to it, I had lost my rhythm and it took me a few tries to get that rhythm back.  The second problem was discovered after I knit the whole back.  I realized that I had not followed the chart correctly! I completely ignored the first column of the lace chart and only knit the lace repeat.  Stupid me.  No wonder my stitch count was one stitch off!  At least with over a hundred stitches for most of the back, one stitch in the seam won't be noticed at all.

Back, unblocked

I just knitted the front and both pieces, front and back, are being blocked as I type.  The first sleeve has been cast on and I'm regretting not taking the time to convert the pattern to a be knit in the round.  The daunting task of seaming this garment looms over me whenever I finally bind off the last stitch.

Note to self:   Be monogamous when knitting lace.  Do not put it down for another project!

Second note:  stick to knitting-in-the-round or one piece construction.

On another note, I started a pair of very plain, very gray pair of socks for dear Hubby.  Despite all the knitting I do for the family (mostly for the girls), my men are sadly without any hand-knitted goods.  Though, I've asked them many times if they wanted a sweater, neither of them have taken the bait.  To be fair, I  knitted my first sweater for my son. But since he only wore the sweater twice, I didn't want to make the effort again.

first sock done. Yay!

Just before Christmas, Hubby was complaining about his consistently cold feet.  "Wool socks," I proclaimed, "is just what you need!"  Hubby's stipulations were:  nothing fancy, no crazy colors!  Yeesh!  It's going to be a boring knit!

I cast on Hubby's first wool sock with Valley Yarn's Charlemont on the three-hour-trip to the airport to pick up Alyson.  Slow knitter that I am, I hope I finish the second sock before winter's done.