I still do not like knitting with cotton.

So there.

But I am enjoying working on the Watercolor Camisole, simply because the colors are so great, and the construction is so clever. It doesn’t take long to finish a diamond, and you are constantly changing colors and decreasing so there’s always something interesting going on.

But I hate the cotton itself, even if the colors are great. It’s Ironstone Flake Cotton, a thick & thin 100% cotton sportweight yarn. Held double. I feel like I’m knitting with nasty string. Ew, ew, ew. Not that there’s anything wrong with the yarn — I simply have an aversion to knitting with cotton.

But it sure looks purty.

I am making the 34″ size. That allows for very little ease, but I’m guessing that this puppy will stretch a bit, as is my experience with most 100% cotton yarn. And if it doesn’t, well, I’ll just look like a sexpot wearing it, right?

And While I’m Being Cranky

Could someone possibly invent a row counter that is both portable and works?

Maybe I’m being too picky, but I find that these type of row counters are very poorly made.

They sometimes take a lot of force to turn them, and I’ve had a number of them self-destruct after very little use.

I do have a couple of them that came with a knitting needle kit I bought ages ago in London. Straight needles, so I never use them anymore. It was made by Aero and came with two row counters, one large, one small. They were very nicely made, but over time became too easy to turn and would do so on their own.

It makes it kinda hard to keep track of what row you are on when your row counter turns whenever the hell it feels like it!

So I just bought one of these:

(From Elann, with my Smoochie yarn order, for those of you who are keeping score). More reliable, I think, but not something I can hang off my needle or pin to my work.

*pout*

Speaking of Smooch, I got the pattern book in the mail yesterday. It was wrapped in this:

Purple tissue paper! Lucy is in ecstacy!

(By the way, in answer to a question in the comments, click on the Smooch button in my sidebar to find your way back to Alison’s blog, where I found out about the Smooch-Along.)

So if I can restrain myself until then, I’ll start the Smooch next week. It ought to be more fun to knit — the yarn has some acrylic content that’ll make it more pleasant to knit with.

My yarn to knit Smooch got here yesterday from Elann.

My pattern to knit Smooch is on its way to me from The Knitting Garden, shipped on Friday. It should be here in a couple of days. What more could a girl ask for?

And I . . . uh . . . knitted another couple diamonds for the Watercolor Camisole. I have rationalized it into an “at home” project instead of a “take on vacation project.

And I started a sock. I haven’t knitted a sock since the end of March, so it’s high time. It’s Regia #5163.

Isn’t that a totally cool striping pattern?

But Wait! There’s More!

I finished the baby Dale.

Lucy supervised throughout the whole evening!

Oh, and there are a few more photos in the Mouse-along gallery. Check ‘em out!

The winner of the June contest is Marge W., in Massachusetts. Her contest entry:

My favorite summer projects are usually one’s that don’t cover my entire lap – too hot!

I like to knit socks and slippers (like the one’s pictured here) which I can stock-pile for gifts in the winter months when I would rather be knitting sweaters.

And she attached this photo of a very fun looking slipper:

Marge will receive the beaded purse knitting kit, which would make a perfect vacation knitting project.

Thanks for playing, everyone!

What’s my vacation knitting project? I’m so glad you asked.

It’s Jill Vosburg’s incredibly cute Watercolor Camisole. I ordered the “Jungle Cat” colorway (because I am an exotic feline creature — meow!).

I received the kit just two days after ordering. Can’t get much better service than that, eh?

To do the gauge swatch, you knit a diamond. Here’s my swatch:

Smooch Me, Baby!

The observant among you will notice the addition of the Smooch button in my sidebar. Yup, I caved, and joined in on Alison’s Smooch-Along. What can I tell you? I just wanna be a Tank Girl! I ordered the pattern book last week, and being the rebel that I am, ordered not Rowan, but a different yarn. Gedifra Wellness, from Elann, at the low-low price of $2.99 per 50 gram skein. I picked a lovely green called “leek.”

So . . . I may take this along on vacation instead of the Watercolor Camisole. It crossed my mind, too, that . . . uh . . . I may have the Watercolor Camisole finished before I leave. I have no self control. The gauge diamond was so much fun to knit!

Um . . . has anyone noticed that I’m acting like I’m excited about knitting with cotton? Somebody slap me, quick! I must be hysterical.

The baby Dale is finished, except for setting in the sleeves, sewing on the buttons, and making button loops (it closes along one shoulder with three buttons). I want to wait to set in the sleeves until after the button loops are done, and I don’t have the buttons yet. So that’s on hold for a day or so.

Lucy spend the weekend chillin’

And we did a quick Roscalie photo shoot. It was 85 degrees and raining. Photos on the Official Roscalie Page.

Because it’s Friday.

Here’s my self portrait as a “pixel punk.”

You can make your own here.

Baby Dale

Still working away. Uh huh. Here’s the completed back:

The front is pretty close to done, too.

One thing that amuses me about Dale of Norway patterns — they always instruct you to do things “neatly.”

Neatly sew the sleeves into the armholes.

Are they afraid that if they don’t say it, you’ll do it in a sloppy, haphazard manner?

Lucy is a Cool Cat

Big time thunderstorms last night. Lucy was as cool as a cucumber throughout the thunder and lightening.

“Huh? You woke me up for this?”

Of course, she was safely glommed onto Mommy for the duration of the storm.

Have a good weekend, everyone. I’ll attempt a Roscalie photoshoot over the weekend.

And announce the contest winner in Monday’s blog. As well as reveal my vacation knitting project.

Can you stand the excitement?

Lucy is just hanging out, waiting for the weekend!

What? Me Weave?

(insert maniacal laughter here)

Yesterday in my comments, Suzanne asked:

I was wondering how you are able to put all the finishing touches on the sweater so quickly. Do you weave in your ends as you go along? Your pictures of you sweaters in progress always look like the ends have been woven in already even as the sweater is still being knitted.

One of the nice things abut knitting a fair isle cardigan is that, except for the sleeves, there are virtually no ends to weave in!

The body is knitted with a center front steek. You begin each round in the center of this steek. When you are done, you cut open this steek, so you just trim the ends of yarn at that point. No fuss, no muss.

Now for the sleeves, you do have ends with which to deal. But just lately I learned to Just Say No to weaving in ends. I now tie them with a square knit and trim them. It’s so liberating.

And yes, I do this as I go along, every couple of inches or so. I detest finishing work, so I do as much of it in progress as I can.

June Contest

Don’t forget, the deadline for contest entries (see Monday’s blog entry) is tomorrow afternoon. So get your entries in to me to be eligible for the super-cool prize — the beaded purse kit.

And Speaking of Vacation Knitting . . .

I ordered something to take on vacation to knit. Nope. I an’t gonna tell you what it is. But I’ll show you when I get it.

Baby Dale

It’s coming along. Thanks to train delays yesterday morning, I got the body done up to the armholes, where you divide for front and back. Did that at lunchtime, thank you very much.

Here’s a progress shot:

Here’s a close-up:

And here’s Lucy waiting for someone to play with her and her napkin:

Which reminds me . . . there are even more new photos in the Mouse-along gallery!