NaKniSweMo Update!

Cumulus is off the needles as of Saturday!  It looks like I'll actually finish NaKniSweMo in the official Mo!  :)  The Ravelry page for it is here.

And from the back!

I love how the yarn showed the detail in this pattern.

And of course the buttons!  Zach is probably so sick of hearing my talk about these buttons :)  No, they're not sewn on yet, just laying in place on the sweater.  I wanted a picture where you could see the colors in the shell with the yarn.

I will graft the 7 stitches under each arm, and then figure out something for the pockets.  I don't really want to use the same yarn for the pockets - reading reviews, it says that the pockets can be very bulky. And let's face it, who really needs extra bulk around their hips?  So, I think I'm going to use a worsted yarn from my stash knit on a narrow gauge.  I also want the pockets to be densely knit, since I tend to stick a lot of stuff in my pockets, and don't want to worry about things falling through.  So, the project may or may not be done "on time" depending on how long it takes me to figure out my pocket situation, but at least the bulk of the knitting is done when it 'should' be! :)

And of course, I would be me if I wasn't starting a new project as I finish up another!  This time it's a shoulder wrap (small shawl) which could easily be a short scarf as well.  It's actually free online, if anyone's interested :)  I've Raveled it here.

It's a Red Heart pattern, using one of their yarns, Shimmer.  And I'm pleasantly surprised with how it's working up!  It's a bit fuzzy to work with, and can be a little splitty, so be careful when working with it.  On the plus side, though, it's got a nice little bit of shimmer, is pretty soft and not scratchy, and (being Red Heart) is nicely affordable.  Also, neither here nor there, it's kinda thin - others on Ravelry have said it's almost a DK weight yarn.  Just something to think about if you're substituting it.  Personally, I liked it better than some of the other shimmery yarns I could find in stores.  Berroco Lumina, for example, is much more metallic - good for some projects, but not what I was looking for here.  So, for once, I actually stuck with the yarn recommended in the pattern!  *gasp*  :)

 

It's a diamond-shaped shawl, with soft-pointed (blunted?) ends - start narrow, widen and knit straight, then narrow back down at the other end.  The lace runs down the middle, adding two more rows when the shawl is wide enough.  When I took these pictures, I had just started the two outside lace repeats, so it's almost as wide as it will be (not that you can tell on the needles, of course).  You can just barely see the new lace sections at the needle in the pictures.  You can also see a little of the shimmer in the yarn - no, that's not dust on the yarn or the camera!