Finish-it-up-itis*

I have been known to cast on a bunch of things at once, but it's rare that I have more than one project finished at the same time, so I found myself in an unusual situation on Sunday night when I realized that I had three finished projects waiting to be blocked. Luckily, they were all small in size, so I was able to do them all at once.

First was the hot pink shawl, which I give you a peek of along with a warning that this color is nearly impossible to capture accurately even in daylight.

Then, there was the sweater for a friend's new baby. The sweater was finished about two and half weeks ago, though I only recently got around to sewing on the buttons (and blocking, obviously). It turns out that I did it all just in time, because the baby was born last week.

Pattern: Henry's Sweater by Sara Elizabeth Kellner, size 3-6 months
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash, color 1925/Cobalt Heather, approximately 1.5 skeins
Needles: US 6 (4.0 mm)
Started/Completed: November 10/November 21
Mods: adjusted the front bands and collar

This was a quick, easy knit, and obviously it's a cute FO. I chose it because it reminded me of the Baby Sophisticate pattern, which I'd knit for the new baby's older brother. I wanted something coordinating but not entirely matching, which is why I didn't knit the same sweater again (the first baby was born in December as well, so the new one should be able to wear the sweater I made for the older one, too).

My only modification was to pick up stitches along the entire front edge -- bands and collar -- so that there would be a bit of a border on the front edges. As written, the pattern calls for leaving them untouched, and as the sweater is in stockinette, that means they will roll. The couple of garter ridges I added don't entirely stop the rolling, but they help a little, and I also think the sweater looks more finished as a result.

The buttons are the real stars here, though. I found them at my LYS and amazingly they match the yarn perfectly, so they blend really well. They're cute without being cutesy, and I think they add the perfect amount of sweetness to an otherwise relatively plain sweater.

I also finished something for me this weekend, thanks in large part to a snow storm that kept me in the house all Sunday afternoon.

Photo taken with flash

Pattern: Quinta Cowl by Amy Maceyko
Yarn: my handspun Polwarth/silk from Gale's Art in Winter Is Coming
Needles: 24" US 3 (3.25 mm) Knit Picks circs
Started/Completed: November 28/December 8
Mods: added two repeats to the pattern around and did one additional vertical pattern repeat; subbed beads for bobbles

I'd been wanting to knit this ever since my friend Amy released it, and I knew it would be perfect for handspun. I added additional repeats to get the stitches to fit all the way around my needle so I wouldn't have to magic loop or use two needles, and I did an additional vertical repeat because I had plenty of yarn and wanted to use as much up as I could (and I still have some leftover, but I was worried it wouldn't be quite enough for a fifth repeat). My other main modification was to use hematite beads in place of the bobbles, both because I wanted a little bit of sparkle and because I'm not a huge fan of bobbles.

Photo taken without flash

I really loved knitting this pattern and am planning on knitting it again (I think it would be really gorgeous as an infinity cowl, though I might not twist the stitches in that case because they slow me down significantly). This may be my go-to pattern for a quick-ish gift in the future, and it really is excellently suited to handspun.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of finishing all those things, I cast on for an Antler Cardigan for Rainbow using yarn she picked out at my LYS's Black Friday sale. It's Cascade 220 Superwash Paints, in a pink with some splashes of light purple, and it's knitting up quickly so far. I've spent hardly any time on it and already have at least half a sleeve. I expect that will soon be a whole sleeve.

*Today's post title might be a sign that I've been watching too much Doc McStuffins with my kid.