Life after the hiatus

The temperatures in the Midwest are feeling a bit like fall. Last night, it got down to the 40's, so I decided it was a good time to snuggle up with my woolen Ripples Reading Afghan to keep warm in our family room.

In honor of the cooler weather, I am running a 15% off sale on all of my patterns. No coded needed; the difference will be made at the checkout. Now might be a good time to stock up on some already reasonably priced patterns for your knitting queue this fall and winter?

The pattern sale ends September 20th at the stroke of midnight.

Last week, I started this Fall cardigan design that features stripes of bulky yarn that patterns (like Opal socks, but in bulky weight), and yarn that variegates in a couple of tones, as well as solid stripes. It's hard to tell, since the top is folding over, but I am about at the armpits, so I will save the sleeve stitches soon and work on the body.

I did all of this in about 2 days, but then had such an awful congestion type of cold, I stopped the knitting train. I am back to (almost) full health, so I feel inclined to get back into it again. 

I am testing out Lion's Pride Woolspun yarn in their new fallish colorways that I got at Michael's. It is a 20% wool, 80% acrylic blend. I like blends for durablilty and softness, but I hope that one day, we can find 30% or 40% wool blends, for added warmth and naturalness without sacrificing that soft feel (and inexpensive price) that people expect out of an acrylic blend.

I love yarns that pattern. I am spending the time to add additional yarns, so there will be a bit of weaving to do, but who can resist working with a yarn that looks like intarsia? I am all about creating patterns that look good, function well, but are generally easier knits. 

For example, I feel like any good cardigan deserves deep pockets. Right? Pockets can get fussy or confusing though. I plan on implementing "afterthought pockets" in this design. When I come to the area where pockets should go, I will knit a set of stitches with waste yarn and will pick them up with dpns after the cardigan is done and knit in the round like a sock or hat. I will graft like sock toes (so it's a little nicer and flatter than a 2-needle bind-off) and push the fabric down back into the pocket. It should be painless. Stay tuned?