Is get really really excited over a particular yarn.  Yes, I love yarn and I love a lot of them equally and for various reasons. But rarely does one stand out far above the rest.  But today I am going to show  you one that does.

To work out of the box a little I’ve been playing with some cottons lately.  I’ve just been seeing if I can get a feel for them, if I can like them and if my hands can handle knitting with them. And I’ve been fairly pleased with what I’ve picked.

Last Friday Bug got really sick, and I decided I needed a new project.  I had this cotton slub yarn sitting around my stash for awhile, done by Dyeabolical.  I had come across the pattern Sassymetrical and thought that the yarn/pattern pairing would be quite interesting. And the more mindless knitting would be perfect for the in between caring for a sick child spaces.

Well, I completely and utterly fell in love with this yarn!  It is so soft, the slubs add so much interest to the stockinette, and the dye job is so stunning!  The color is gorgeous and saturated with just enough light variation to hold interest and compliment the slubby yarn.

Furthermore, she must be awfully generous, this entire long sweater only took two skeins of yarn!

I just loved knitting this sweater and it was tough to not turn around and knit another. Now what do I do with my third skein?

Modifications made to the pattern: Of course I needed it larger than the size XS that the pattern is written in. I increased to about 7 inches at the yoke and then knit to 9 inches before dividing for the sleeves.  When I joined the sides and back I cast on 3 stitches under the arms for extra ease in that area. When picking up stitches for the sleeves I picked up a total of 8 under each arm.  I did the puff sleeve but added an additional row of seed stitch before casting off.

In conclusion….go find dyeabolical’s cotton slub yarn and get some!

I had the rare and unique opportunity recently to knit for an upcoming baby. I’ve not done a whole lot of that, as I think your average person doesn’t appreciate it all that much. But this project is for a fellow knitter, so I felt confident I could knit to her tastes.  I know she likes noro yarns as well as lots of colors. So I found a lovely little jumper in a newborn size, got some noro silk garden sock, and totally went to town.

I knew this was going to be my main project on vacation since it was a secret and I couldn’t work it at home. And indeed, it was easy to complete in that time period.  The pattern is Pepita which I think is irresistibly adorable. Modeled on my old favorite doll Miles.

I think the little socks are too cute and fun. The fabric is nice and thick making it practically a snow suit. Notice how I managed to make the legs match? That was quite a challenge, but I am glad I took the time to do it.