Still life of robot with doily

The robot is to distract you from the fact that I have cast on for another sweater.  It’s unlike me, I know!  I’m feeling profoundly ambivalent about the Louisa Harding sweater I am currently working on.  I think it will be lovely when it’s finished, but the yarn is painful to my hands in a way that only a synthetic can be – the yarn is mostly nylon I think, with a little mohair for texture.   I find that I’m completely avoiding working on it (thus the many quick FOs lately) because I don’t want to risk hurting myself.  So… I’m not saying it’s done, but I am saying that it needs to be alternated with something made of nice sproingy yarn.

Enter this: Valley Yarns Sheffield, a merino/silk/angora blend, being knitted into the Lush and Lacey cardigan from Sweaterbabe.  This color is called lake, and it’s maybe a smidge more green than it looks here.  It’s a lovely yarn, smooth and lofty with a nice angora halo.  It sheds, but not in the terribly clumpy way some angoras do.
 

Since Sheffield knits to a smaller gauge than Classic Elite Lush (I get 4.75 st/in on size 7 needles) I’m knitting a size medium in the hopes of achieving something like a 33-34″ bust.  The lace panel makes exact calculations a little difficult, but I think I’m close.  There are some gorgeous FOs of this sweater on Ravelry. I bought it months ago, but I’ve been waiting for the approach of spring to start, since the color is so fresh looking and it doesn’t have full length sleeves.  I can’t wait to make the cute little peplum ruffle!

We are going to have to take Leon to the vet tomorrow.  He was upset and hissing on Friday night (he has never hissed in my presence before) and he’s been avoiding the litter box…  he’s always been sort of picky about it, but right now he seems downright upset at the thing!  I think he might have a UTI.  He seems to be ok now, but I’m not taking any chances… he goes in ASAP. That cat is seriously my best friend, and I want to make sure he’s all right.  I am a worrier, but look at that face!

Leon likes it when I get packages.

And I have some yarn photos, because… well, I like taking photos of my yarn.

Karabella Zodiac for Short and Sweet.  I decided to go with the recommended yarn and save the Bernat soy for something knitted.  And yes, that is the color from the book, because I realized I would not be happy with anything else!

Berroco Naturlin, this is a brand new yarn!  It’s a blend of linen and rayon.  It has a lovely drape, and maintains the nice linen feel without feeling like twine.  I want to use this to make the tuxedo tank from last summer’s IK, or failing that a nice table runner.   I’m really curious to swatch with this and see how it works up.  I haven’t worked with much linen, but I think I could handle this amount.  The color (Cinnamon) is so wonderful!

O-wool Balance, 50% wool and 50% cotton in Lapis.  I bought this with no real purpose a while ago, but after seeing the Spring IK preview (and becoming obsessed with the flutter sleeved cardigan) I think this would be a great sub for the Classic Elite Classic silk called for in the pattern.   I made Ms. Marigold from classic silk, and it has a similar nubby appearance.  And check out the two perfect buttons!

We went to four(!) open houses today.  We are still considering the condo I mentioned this week, but I do worry about having my piano in a condo – I have had trouble with neighbors before, but I am going to be teaching from my home, which has much higher potential to be irritating to others.  Grand pianos… not really quiet.  Every.  So we’ve decided to keep that one in mind, but look for single family homes.  We saw some really lovely homes today, but nothing exactly what we want.  I am hopeful it is out there, because we are getting closer!