sweater #2

a little larger, i used some malabrigo sock in Aguas. as it knit up, it was a lot more blue-ish and denim-y shaded, which is fine. the yarn itself is surprisingly silky and soft after washing. just seems a little more breathable than some of the other sock yarns i'm used to using. anyway, here are some pictures:




okay, so this picture looks a little weird. i think i stretched out the arms when i was putting it on the table. the armholes are not actually that skinny, and the body should be a little leaner and longer. i think i just was in a hurry to take the pictures before the light went out.

'baby mine' sweater

Here's one of two of these little sweaters i've made with some nice sock yarn. this gorgeous purple is some shibuiknits sock. i'm waiting to pick out some dark wooden buttons and this thing is finished. very cute little knit! nice pattern, too.

buttons!

there is nothing that brings me back to childhood more quickly than my mom's button tin. just like the comforting feeling of digging your hand in cold sand or a bag of rice, i remember spending hours digging my hands in the tin, then methodically sorting the buttons. my favorites were the colored ones below, but now i am so in love with these canadian legion buttons:




sifting through all of these treasures (rarely accompanied by a pair or set) made me want to put buttons on future heirlooms, or special handmade gifts for close friends who would understand how substantive it is to have a button that i could draw from memory. so far, i have a couple of baby sweaters that have come off the needles in the past few months (is it just me, or is everyone you know knocked up?), but i haven't decided whether they're "button tin worthy".

Cabled Raglan Baby Sweater /gratuitous kitty photos

this came together over two or three days, and i am really in love with the color, shibuiknits in peony. i caught some good light for about 15 minutes, so here are some photos of it blocking. i haven't taken any finished pictures, but it looks the same as the photos with just a missing big wooden button at the top below the collar, so just use your imaginations until i can get one:

heirloom baby blanket

this was a spur-of-the-moment knit that i began and finished before my yarn shipment arrived at the beginning of the month. it took about two or three days, all told, but these were holiday days, days after the guests had gone and when i could park my happy rear on the armchair and watch some law and order marathons. the color is lovely and i'm happy that the yarn has gone to a good project (i've had color number 9455 of cascade 220 heathers for forever in my stash) like i just adopted it to grateful parents or something. it's a gorgeous teal with hints of gold (which show up a lot better when you zoom in the above picture), and for some reason i've just been drawn to colors like that lately... tourmaline or teal or aqua. what does that say about me, i wonder? my knitting friend, stef, has been hooked on a lemon yellow for the past year or so. it's weird the connections that knitters have with yarn. i'm turning into a monster of my own making for sure. just be forewarned: there are about five back-to-back yarn love posts about to come up, so maybe check back in a week if you're too cool to see dozens of photos of yarn. pfft.