Almost a year, almost a sweater

The Norah Gaughan Cabled Coat, which was featured in Vogue Knitting's 25th Anniversary Issues last year, was an ambitious project. I knew going into it that it would take me a long time. Wowee...it's been almost a whole year and the thing is still not done.

But take heart, fellow knitters. I am on what some refer to as a "home stretch." I don't really know what that means b/c I am not a sports enthusiast, but whatevs. It is very nearly complete.

What you see here is the first eight inches or so of the cabled collar. It says to knit two separate pieces to be seamed later. I try to avoid collar seams as much as humanly possible so I am just knitting one long piece. I'm obsessive-compulsive about certain things, but symmetrically-cabled collar pieces are not among them.

And then, of course, since I need yet another distraction, I went crazy over this:

It's from the Rowan Cocoon Collection. I used Cocoon last year to make the Helsinki Hat Scarf for Annie's. The yarn is scrum-diddly-umptious. So, now that it's available in colors other than earthen, I bought up some in green.

It looks a bit matted here but it's not...I think my po' photography skills are making it look sad and scrunched. But it's a beautiful jewel green and I foresee a winter full of green and blue knits. I'm a bit obsessed with both colors at the moment.

But now...going back to finish that crazy coat. I want to wear it this fall so I'm getting it done if it kills me.

Two Sleeves, Both Green

Le Sleeves of le Cabled Coat are complete:

That's a lot o' moss. Seriously. Don't let sleeves fool you. They take up a lot of yarn. I think the sleeves actually take up more yarn than the half-hexagon fronts. Now I have just one of those half-hexagons and the collar to knit up and then this baby is getting seamed, but good.

One of the things I love about knitting is the creation of what I see as living, breathing fabric. I use those words because this kind of fabric carries a little bit of human movement in each of its hundreds of stitches. The fabric looks and feels alive to me, as if I am Dr. Frankenstein and I have created something sentient out of nothing more than yarn and lightning. It's ALIIIIVE!!!!

Ahem.

I am also on an intense sweater kick. I love socks, I do. I love scarves, I do. I love hats and mittens and every little knit in between. But there is something so satisfying about making something that encircles one's torso. To that end, I realize I now have enough yarn stashed up to knit at least five sweaters. I also have a bunch of Noro Niji (Rav link) that I'm using to make a store sample.

But I could not turn away from this:

This here is four balls each of Karabella Vintage Cotton. Colors 304 Rose (top) and 330 Orange (bottom). They will become this.

The Roped Shell is knit in Filatura di Crosa Luxury, a fingering weight silk. While I like the idea and all, I'm not sure I will get much use out of this shell just yet. If I wear it a lot in cotton, I'll revisit the idea of silk.

And...that might be the end of new stash for a while for me. I am starting to feel burdened by the weight of my amassed yarn. I need to knit through some of it before I will feel comfortable adding to the bunch.