The Tuesday Catch-up

Okay, so first thing is first. We have a winner for the April Mohair give-away... Delusional Knitter!! Tada! I will be contacting you via Ravelry. Congratulations and thanks for visiting!

The rest of you should click by for a visit if you aren't familiar with her blog. She's got a great Feline Friday and she's going through the sweater designing process. Crazypants!! Swatches, and sketches and notes, Oh My!

Meanwhile back at the Ellen Ranch, I have managed to stop shoving food in my face places after Easter weekend, and tried to knit a bit. I have started a baby cardigan, which I am not posting any pictures this early on, because I know that sometimes Harrigan does a blog drive-by, so I have to leave a few tricks up the sleeve.

Per Kepanie's recommendation and me benignly stalking her blog I chose Little Coffee Bean .

I am just at the point of putting the sleeves on the scrap yarn to begin the body. The good thing about baby knits, are they go fast (as long as it's not another crockerpotter blanket!). I can't believe I'm committing these words to post, but yeah, this sweater will be ready in time for the baby ...

As for the other dude (in my office), having the other boy baby in May? All bets are off.

I would like to tell you I have been sock knitting, because I have become obsessed with socks. Socks, sock yarn, sock yarn shawls, whatever, if it's got something to do with foot warming I've got one dog ear up and my head is tilted ready for more info. With one caveat. I am never knitting slippers. Never, or booties. No, if not simply to remain contrary on something today.

Obsession aside, I have not been knitting socks. I have been perpetually fixing socks. Those pretty socks from the other day? That's the last of the good sock knitting. For those of you who were wondering it's the  Mr. Dress Up pattern, I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner. It was super fun and made me feel I might get the hang of this sock knitting thing.

My winter socks are still on the needles ... barely --  they have not recovered from my evening of sleeping with the dropped stitches. I keep trying to frog back, but it's just ... impossible. I can't get the right number of stitches on my needles. I was swearing enough last night that my husband told me to put a sock in it. Oh YES I did ...

Blue filter is not on purpose -- tinted office windows ... awkward.

When the "I love sock knitting" feeling was still burning strong, I cast on this pair of Down the Rabbit Hole , thanks to NothingButKnit's sock knitting influence. However I had some problems reading this pattern. It shows you Rows 1 - 3 and you have to essentially, "keep going in this manner". Also, you only do one set of rows per foot. Dedicated directional spirals.  Now I'm no smartypants, maybe occasionally clever at best, but I figured it out, until ... I ran out of stitches on one needle. For some reason (possibly wine) I was unsure how to progress to keep things even on 4 needles and keep the spiral progressing. No actually I think what it was, is I did 2 cable stitches starting on the second needle instead of continuing to move one stitch at a time. Anyways I had to back a bunch of rows out and I'm still not sure where the heck I am or if I "know" how I'm supposed to progress, and honestly, I have no idea what theoretical row I'm on.
 
IF YOU FOLLOWED ANY OF THIS TRAIN OF THOUGHT, I AM IN AWE OF YOU.

By the way this yarn is from Wandering Cat Yarns, Top Cat in pansied. It's dreamy (I promise a better photo that does justice to the colorway). I just went by the shop to visit recently, because I have a sock yarn problem now, and just needed to visit to feel better about myself and there's some good crack sock yarn goin' on in spring feeling flavors. Take a looksee.

I'll try to be more visual in the future, but I'm not an artist, I just like to play with yarn and watch t.v.