Houston, we have a problem...

So, I was happily knitting away on my Draped Vest, amazed at how quickly I was knitting the right front when I got a very bad feeling.  I counted my yarn labels, and examined my completed pieces, and checked the pattern, and re-checked my gauge (spot on, for once), and weighed everything, and have now come to the conclusion that I do not have enough yarn to finish the project.  According to the label, the yarn is supposed to come in 50 g balls.  According to my scale, I am about 16 grams short overall.  The pattern calls for 8 balls for the small size.  I bought 8 balls.  But it now looks like every one was about 2 grams short, on average.  Sigh.

Well, maybe this is a blessing in disguise.  I really am not that crazy about the yarn, it is just a bit scratchier than I like.  I do, however, like the pattern.  And I do have some purple Aurora 8 in my stash that might make a good substitute...

It has just been one of those days.  I also decided that I wasn't happy with my Fresh Ink Cardigan and decided to frog that.  The yarn just deserves a better pattern.  Not sure what, yet, but I have been browsing the pattern library on Ravelry.

Fresh Ink Cardigan - Update

I did manage to get a little knitting done during Bead & Button.  Saturday (June 9) was so slow, that I vowed I would bring my knitting on Sunday.  I can get through anything if I have my knitting with me.  I also worked on this cardigan during Meet the Teachers Tuesday night (June 5).  I have just started the body increases.

And just look at this beautiful necklace that my sister Virginia designed and made!  She gave it to me because I had the perfect outfits to wear it with.

It is called Falling Leaves, and she has kits!  They are not listed on their web site, but if you want one just send an email to the Beadcats (order@beadcats.com).  They cost $115 + shipping and come with detailed instructions.  She is working on other colors.

Fresh Ink Cardigan - Let's Try That Again

So I was knitting and purling away on this the other evening and remembered how much I hate working ribbing.  I don't mind knitting and I don't mind purling, it is the constant switching back and forth that gets me.  To complicate matters further, the dark yarn made it harder to see the stitches.  After messing up for the third time in as many rows I took the hint and frogged.  I went back to my Sweater Wizard pattern and got rid of the ribbing.  Then I cast back on and did 6 rows of garter stitch.  The yarn is lovely to knit with, and the color is so deep.  You can get a hint of the subtle variation in the color from the picture.  I love semi-solid colors with subtle variegation.  I think they add depth and texture to the knitting.

In other project news, I've finished the leg of my second Hibernia sock and will be working on the heel tonight.  I should be able to finish it before the weekend, which is a good thing.  I received my shipping notice from Janel Laidman today, and Camp Loop starts on Sunday.

Fresh Ink Cardigan

This color was the latest offering in The Quasi Yarn Club offered by Roxanne of Zen Yarn Garden.  The yarn is a new addition to her line, Serenity DK, a 90/10 superwash merino/cashmere blend.  The color is Fresh Ink.  (Being a long time fan of fountain pens I can relate to the name, although I usually pick wilder colors for my pens.)  I have been pondering what this yarn wanted to become every since it came, but have not found anything that really spoke to me.  When I first started searching I found the Hooray Cardigan.  I like the design elements, it reminds me of Audrey Hepburn, but after knitting my swatch the yarn just didn't seem all that eager to become that cardigan.  So I went back to the Ravelry pattern library (a very dangerous place to spend time, we won't talk about how many other patterns found their way into my library) and I came across the Cable Trim Pullover.  This one reminds me of classical Greece, which is one of my favorite historical periods and I even started knitting the bottom cable trim, but once again the yarn was not enthusiastic.  So this morning I went back to the pattern library.  I found some more nice projects, but still none of them really spoke to me.  I wanted something easy.  I will probably finish re-knitting my Calla Lilly Pullover this weekend and I need something for my work bag.  (I knit when I am listening to telecons, if I don't I start doing work and stop listening, I also knit when I am reading documents.)  I also wanted something that I would get a lot of use out of.  In the end I fired up my Sweater Wizard software and whipped up a simple cardigan.  I am knitting it in one piece to the arm holes, and will be doing top-down set in sleeves, which I haven't done in a while.  It will also have a collar.  I have knit three rows of the bottom ribbing.  The yarn seems happy, and so am I.