Green stuffs

After a disastrous attempt to start the Aleita Shell (Rav link) last week at Knit Night (I cast on the entire thing, counted, had the right number of stitches, knit several rows and discovered I'd twisted the row before joining. Mobius Vest is not my thing. Ripped out. And by then, what with the talking and gabbing and screeching and such, it was time to go home), I made it past the first few rows. In fact, thanks to five hours on the confocal microscope yesterday, I've made it all the way up to the bodice and am working my way through p4, k1 ribbing galore.

This one is a fun knit. I like the yarn (Silky Wool), the pattern is fairly straightforward, but interesting enough to keep me from getting bored. And my new toy is making finishing one skein and having to start another a lot of fun.

However, this evening I am casting on something new (slut!). No project monogamy here, no sirree. This is the only yarn I picked up in London on our house hunting trip:

Indie Dyer Mini (fingering weight 100% superwash merino), in the colorway Dad's Den. Purchased at I Knit London, right by Waterloo Station. Given that my commute will involve changing from the train to the Tube at Waterloo, I suspect I may be stopping by on a weekly basis. This could get ugly...

The North

If it's March, it must be time for another round of Project Spectrum.

Lolly has come up with a great theme this time - the four Cardinal Directions, each of which has an associated color, season and element, as well as different materials. For the next two months, Project Spectrum Participants will be focusing on the color green, the season winter, the element earth and incorporating stones, gems and rocks in whatever way appeals to them.

I usually use Project Spectrum to focus on colors, particularly colors that I might not typically use. I went through my stash looking for green-ish yarns, and came up a number of possibilities.

I've got some sage green sock yarn that could be used up,

Some heathery green Wool of the Andes destined for a sweater,

And a bunch of dark green Silky Wool left over from the bag that I cracked open for the Peapod. I've got designs on a vest with this stuff.

But the most pressing project at the moment are the TdF socks. I've lined up test knitters for two of the four pairs, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic about getting them done in the time frame I'd like. This week is dedicated to swatching, and the yarn currently getting a workout is the green Fixation, for the Sprinter's Jersey socks

I'm also going to be working on the King of the Mountains socks, to tie in with the rock/stone theme for this section - I've finished the swatching for that one, but I need to write up the base pattern for the socks and start plugging in the lace charts and (gulp!) doing the math. My favorite part! I'm going to be doing the knitting on this pair, so I can hold off for a bit while I get the other two patterns to the test knitters. But I want to get started!

Hmmm. I thought I wasn't going to have much to do for this round. Looks like I'm going to be very busy!