Some layered batts from Traci Bunkers:

Sock-a-delic!

There's mohair, wool and nylon in the batt. I'm looking forward to spinning it! It's gorgeous stuff.

Here's some Silja sock yarn for the Pippi Kneestockings:

This yarn reminds me of Dale Baby Ull

In the weird world of picking yarn from online shade cards, I thought that thatyellow pictured would be orange and I thought a shade of blue I ended up with (and not pictured) would be green. So it seems all that crayon doodling was for naught. Although....

I could always try again.

I held off buying the K1C1 elastic because I wasn't sure what colors scheme I would end up picking (yes, there's even more yarn I'm not showing you!). Maybe I can get away with just not using the elastic? What do you think?

Wouldn't be prudent?

I think I might like the elastic. My big pet peeve is falling down socks.

Of course you can click to make it bigger if you wish.

Any way you say it, rogue is a pleasure to knit. Please note that the problems with the facing were all mine. I decided to experiment with another way to do the facing. I decided to do this experiment over all 100-something stitches. My reasoning for that though, dear reader, was, "hey, I might get lucky."

Yeah, I didn't really think I would get that lucky, but I am known to be blindly optimistic at times.

I've never been one to "look before she leaps."

But that is what makes life fun for me.

Knitting experimental facings 4 times (I'm rounding down there, if you're interested) wasn't one of the high points of my non-looking leaping, but whatever. One might ask why I didn't cut my losses and start swatching after the first boffo facing attempt. Well, see my reasoning above. It's good for each new start.

Here's a cable close up.

And for my demanding friend (she knows who she is!), here is a close up of my finished hem (green from camera filter):

Rouge Rogue, Rouge Rogue, Rouge Rogue (have you seen The Shining lately?

Oh, I'm so in love with it! Claudia blogged about her hem and then mentioned steaming the heck out of it. That settled it for me. Here's how I did mine:

CO on stitches normally with needle 2 sizes larger than needle used to get gauge.
Switch to needles 2 sizes smaller than used to get gauge. Purl one row. Knit one row.
Switch to needles used to get gauge, join round and knit 2 rows.
On next row, knit one loop together with one live stitch. (This whole thing took me the same amount of time it took to watch HBOs Iron Jawed Angels. Interesting movie.)

I've decided to join Kate's Kneehigh Knitalong because I love Theresa's Pippi Kneestockings from Stitch 'n' Bitch. For the past 3 days I've been going around and around about what colors to pick. I want to try the Silja sock yarn Theresa used in her original ones not pictured in SnB.

So, I scribbled around with Becky's crayons to see what color combos would work for me.

This past weekend, I went to a local store that carries Silja, hoping I would get lucky, but trying to buy solid colored sock yarn is pretty futile around here unless you want grey, brown and navy.

By the way, that reminds me. I discovered a "new" yarn store. It was sort of surreal actually, here's my story:

I had gone out to Chestnut Hill to visit that yarn shop carrying the Silja. It's called The Tangled Web. I dragged the whole brood in there and was impressed with how much more yarn they have these days compared to how little they had before knitting got popular. There was a whole wall of that fizzy scarf yarn. That was easy to skip, but still impressive.

I left the store with a favorable impression but no yarn.

We continued our day by going to the park up the street. It's this fantastic wooden castle-like playground. Noel and Becky were hyperventilating to get their little selves in there.

As the kids were playing, I surveyed the street and was watching people walking and shopping. Chestnut Hill is a very old part of Philadelphia and I was wishing I had a lot of money so I could live there and take the train to work everyday when my kids get older.

In the middle of this "when I grow up" reverie, I saw this sign that said "Knit With Yarns." I think it said that, but I was sure it said "Knit" so I had to go see. Maybe they would have some colorful sock yarn.

Once inside, I saw some new Debbie Bliss stuff. Then I saw some old Phildar stuff and some dusty Koigu (how can this be?). There were some old looking yarns I'd heard of but had not seen in the stores lately. It was really surreal, like the store had been closed up in 1988 and had just reopened. The owner said that his store was one of the oldest knitting stores in the area. Curious.

Needless to say, everyone who knits seemed to be down the street at The Tangled Web.

So that's my "new" yarn store story. When we got home, I went online and bought some Silja in 2 colorways--a light blue/med blue/navy one with red toes and a lt pink/white/red one with green toes. Color me excited.

I've been working on the Must Have cardigan this week. Had to take a break on the Every Day cardigan because I ran out of yarn on the last sleeve and am waiting for Halcyon to deliver another skein.

Don't think I didn't try to use up every single bit of yarn I had left over from seaming the finished parts of the ED cardigan. There were 6 little balls of yarn, which I spit-spliced (ew? nah, beats weaving them in and you know I wash it after finishing people!) together to make a 10-yard ball of yarn. Didn't get me far. So, right now, the sleeve sits in my work basket, 3 inches from completion. (Big sigh)

As for Must Have, I'm really happy with how it's turning out. Both sleeves are done, and fairly identical so I'll spare you a picture of sleeve #2. (Bonus information--had to order 4 more skeins of the Harrisville yarn when I ordered the Peace Fleece.)

Rogue--what to say? I started the body 4 times. The facings don't make me happy. The idea of sewing them doesn't make me happy. Of course, I experimented with different facings trying to avoid a handsewed facing situation. Eventually, after a few bad starts on the body, I thought I'd take myself off to work on the sleeve, doing a plain stockinette facing in smaller needles. I didn't get far because there was a symbol on the chart that looked like this:
"m"*

and the key didn't clarify what it meant so I figured it was too late for me to be starting something. So I went to bed.
---

*I don't have the key in front of me, but from what I remember it said something about "make 1 purl," the "make 1" being the primary confusing part for me. Does that mean the same as the chart symbol for purl: "-" or does it mean lifted purl increase? (which would be complicated by my turning ridge btw.)

By the way, I got gauge with the Magpie with 4.5 mm needles.

And I'm thinking of starting BPT with the ripped Jo Sharp yarn.

Isn't Peace Fleece pretty in the sunshine?
Click to see the pretty colored flecks.

I'm almost done the Peace Fleece Everyday Cardigan.
Did I even blog about starting it?

Yes, it was that quick a knit!

Last night, I worked on the bands and finished up the collar. This afternoon, I impulsively sewed on the buttons.

Tonight, I'll finish up the left sleeve, but it might be difficult because I have a baaaad feeling I'm gonna run out of Grassroots Peace Fleece.

So close. Yet so far.

In other news, I cast on for Rogue with the Magpie. Unfortuantely, after working 30 minutes on the facing, I realized that I'd, yet again, started making a moebius strip. For a second, I considered just twisting the thing around straight and nobody would ever know except me (and maybe you), especially, since after only 30 minutes, I was only on the second round; but in the end, it seemed like a bad idea.

Could this be a most unwelcome harbinger of things to come?

Last week, I bought two rogue skeins of Rowan Magpie in Berry. Just to swatch up.

I loved the yarn so much I went online* and bought enough to complete Rogue:

But this was before I finished swatching and measuring.

Here's my swatch done in the round:

5 sts/inch using size 6 bamboo DPNs
(Currently, I am scoffing at row gauge and taking my chances that I can knit my way out of that corner when the time comes. Secretly, you know I am hoping that row gauge is achieved magically at the same time stich gauge is achieved. Pouf!)
The stitches look nice but the fabric is stiff. So, it's back to the store I go for some size 7 DPNs.
(A new set of Crystal Palace needles is not such a bad consolation prize for a tricky swatching job now is it?)

Never fear--I'll make this yarn work. I'll bend that Magpie to my will.

------
*Richesse Online--they are fantastic and even included a complimentary Rowan shade card for the new Yorkshire Tweed yarns!

Click for another view

This morning I woke up and decided to spend 2 hours ripping out the purple sweater I blogged about a few weeks back. I tried back then to rip it out, but the yarn snagged about 30 seconds into ripping so I put it back in the stash closet and went after Accordion instead.

I really thought I hated the purple yarn but now I realize that I really just hated the sweater. It's nice to have the yarn back. Thanks for the Ripalong, Alison!

Wish I could make Rogue out of it.

I did buy some Magpie for that though....more on that some other day!