A Fine Fleece Indeed!

I took advantage of the book sale at Knitpicks and ordered a bunch of books that I had been eyeing for a while. While I was disappointed with the Knits for Men (sizing starts at a 44", which is simply too large for Matt, but the patterns are very nice and the math "shouldn't" be too hard to resize).

The best of the lot is most definitely A Fine Fleece. I want to knit every single project in this book.

I have several of Lisa Lloyd's patterns, and even cast on her Flyingdales Cardigan (which after receiving the book contemplated finishing... until I realized that my gauge is off. Will have to restart it). I like her design sense and the book is just gorgeous. Not just the patterns. The art direction, the photography and the little introductions to each pattern is great. While the book is great for handspinners (which I am not, nor do I have any desire to be), every pattern is sampled with her handspun yarn as well as a readily available commercial yarn. Super!

So of course I had to cast one on immediately!!! I decided on Staghorn. It has all my favorite elements: a staghorn cable, a braided cable, and the center panel is XOX cables. Perfect for Matt!

Since the book is about using handspun yarn, I dug out some Shadyside Farm alpaca that I purchased out in Pittsburgh a few years ago. However, about halfway thru the ribbing, I wasn't happy with the alpaca and the cable braid (the cable got lost in the yarn). The alpaca needs hearty cables, and I love the yarn so much that I want the "perfect" pattern for it (and the search continues for that).

The problem is that I'm knitting this for Matt. The gauge is 16 sts to 4" in double moss stitch. While I have some lovely yarns that work at that gauge (Blackwater Abbey, Bartlett, Peace Fleece), my sensative husband thinks they're "scratchy". So, after some swatching, I realized that a gauge change was in order. I ended up with some good ol' Knitpicks Wool of the Andes at 18 sts to 4" in double moss.

Staghorn
click to enlarge
The pattern is simple, easily memorized and the kind of cables that I don't need to use a cable needle. Can you tell how much I love it!

So I am cycling thru my different projects. It's nice to have a variety. The Gothic Rose is still progressing, and a nice simple pattern to work for TV watching. Or when I want even less to think about, I can work on my Eyelet Cardi:

Eyelet Cardi in Callista
click to enlarge
Variety is the spice of life, after all... and maybe I need to cast on a few more projects from A Fine Fleece?