I Think It May Have Worked

Remember how I said I was going to bring on spring with my knitting? Well I think I may have been successful. Yesterday was my birthday, and usually on my birthday it's cold and miserable and often snowing. Yesterday, we hit a high of 52. 52! And it was sunny! Unfortunately I had to be at work all day and couldn't be out enjoying the sunshine, but at least I was able to enjoy the sun coming through my office window.

But you're here for the knitting, aren't you? Okay, then, here's a new hat (which I'm hoping I won't need to wear until next fall at the earliest).

Pattern: Molly by Erin Ruth
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted (100% merino) in Azul Bolita, a bit less than one skein
Needles: US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)
Started/Completed: March 1/March 7
Mods: none

This project was all about deep stash. The pattern had been printed and in my pile of patterns to knit for literally years. The yarn was even older. If you can believe it, I think this skein (and another just like it) was the very first Malabrigo I ever bought. My stash page for it on Ravelry says it was entered in September 2007 -- that's some seriously deep stash! I think I might try to squeeze out a pair of mittens from the remaining skein to match.

The pattern was a lot of fun and was fairly easy, though there was some thought required to keep track of rounds (there's a three-round pattern repeat as well as an eight-round cable repeat, so there were lots of tally marks on my pattern). I thought I was going to be playing a game of yarn chicken near the end there, but I finished with plenty leftover.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, I finally cast on for my sweater. I haven't made a ton of progress -- cables slow me down a bit -- but look at how gorgeous these cables are already!

The pattern is the State Fair Cardigan by Heather Zoppetti from the winter 2014 issue of Interweave Knits. I did end up doing another swatch last week with a larger needle, but that one was also off on gauge -- I needed 18 stitches over 4 inches; I got 19 stitches with a US 7 and 16 stitches with a US 8. The swatch on the 8's was way too loose for my taste, so I decided to go with the US 7. The gauge is still off, but given the fact that my yarn is 50% alpaca, which has a tendency to droop and stretch, I think I'll be okay. I should be able to stretch it a bit with blocking at the very least. So far it's a very enjoyable knit, and I'll admit that I'm probably losing some knitting time on it because I keep stopping to admire the pretty cables.