Am I crazy?

Is it just me or is everyone knitting jumpers (sweaters) at the moment? It seems like lots the podcasters and bloggers I follow are anyway. Maybe I just notice it more because it's exactly what I want to do next.

I wore my Aidez for the first time yesterday, and it is so warm and cosy that I want a whole wardrobe full of woolly jumpers and cardigans. But when I try to find the wool to knit a jumper, I am not-so-pleasantly surprised. It seems like a jumper's worth of wool doesn't come any cheaper than €40 ($52/£35), even the bargains online add up to that with shipping. I'm a student without a job, so I was preparing myself for quite a bit of saving.

Then This is Knit, a lovely knitting shop in Dublin, wrote a blog post about a new yarn they're stocking. Araucania Botany Lace in some beautiful semi-solid colours. And it struck me that I could probably knit a Featherweight cardigan out of 2 skeins for a grand total of €24 ($31/£21).  And for some reason the alarm bells in my head are not ringing to warn me away from kntting a cardigan in such a fine yarn...

It looks like a loose gauge, so it won't be as slow as socks, and people who have commented on the pattern on Ravelry seem to suggest it goes much more quickly than they expected. And by the time I'm finished the cardigan it will probably be too warm for a big bulky Aidez anyway, so a featherweight might be perfect.

Am I crazy to consider knitting a laceweight cardigan, or would it be even more crazy to not take advantage of the €16 savings?

St Patrick's Day Knitting

Good morning! The sun was shining directly through my bedroom window this morning and gave me some perfect light to photograph my most recent thing to be proud of.

Last night I sat down with my Aidez cardigan and decided it was time to finally sew up the seams, weave in the ends and make it wearable. The cardigan's been finished for a month now, I should really stop putting off finishing.

I played a few podcasts, and some podcasters were talking about the knitting they're doing to wear on St. Patrick's Day, and it struck me that my green Aidez will be finished right on cue to be worn on Sunday.

It's currently blocking, but I wish it were dry because it has just started snowing here in Dublin and a big cosy Aidez would be the perfect thing to wear on a cold day like this.

Weaving in Ends

Weaving in ends is probably my least favourite thing about knitting. So much work has gone into the item, so much excitement as it nears completion, so much pride when the last stitch is cast off, and then when you're looking forward so much to showing the world the thing you've accomplished it's still not ready to be worn. I used to be very good about weaving in the ends straight away, but now I let it drag on and on. I have to admit, sometimes I just tie them in a knot so I can wear something before weaving in the ends.

These were the items I brought on the train last weekend hoping to get the ends woven in once and for all.

I managed to do one sock and a half-hearted job on the cowl. (You can see where I did my knot trick on it!) And yes, I wore the socks before the second one was done.

And that Aidez. It is beautiful, and I can't wait to finish it and finally have my first 100% wool hand-knit cardigan, but the amount of seaming to be done is so off-putting.

Next time I knit a jumper I'll remember to it in one piece!