On Tuesday I was all fired up to start something new. Brought home the DB tweed to start the West Side Raglan. I knitted away on the slipped stitch rib for an inch, started the stocking stitch, and decided to ditch it. Why? I love this pattern, and I love this yarn (in a rustic way). The yarn and pattern don't go together. West Side Raglan has a subtle rib at the bottom, to prevent rolling (one of my pet peeves). It's a slipped rib, and with this very woolly wool was still curling. Blocking might help, but from past experience, once I throw something on it's rolling up by the end of the day, I'm wear my clothes hard!
Determined to use this yarn (it's what I want to knit with now) I pulled out the DB Tweed Collection. A year and a half ago I spotted and tried on and loved the ribbed swing jacket in this book. 
Looks rubbish here, but it is gorgeous in real life! I've decided to knit this.
There's been a couple of reasons why I've hesitated over this pattern. It's probably the one in the book which uses the most yarn (and will hence take longer to knit), and it's ribbing, again.
I've bitten the bullet and cast on. Back has 249 stitches! Seven inches of rib, then there's a 50 stitch decrease, and I'm up to 5 inches now.
Coming along nicely. This is the February jumper. And it's probably going to take me this long to finish it!
No other knitting news, Alf's socks are going slowly, due to no seats on the train in the morning.
Sockapalooza news
Last night I started panicking about my sockapalooza socks, and cast on to knit the retro rib socks from IK (at 12.30am). The yarn is too slippery and wasn't pleasant to knit with on metal needles. The yarn is also blue (quite bright) and I'm not sure if my pal will like the colour. No clues on this blog though! So I'm still stuck. Good news though - I was hunting around for some red and black yarn to knit these socks.
Couldn't find the yarn, but I have found Lara! And the rest of the Alpaca silk which I had 'put away' . So Lara may resurface for finishing, if I change my mind about it.
I spent the wee hours surfing the sockapaloozer blogs. I'm in the experienced group, and was rather freaked out at the very high standards of some of the socks - can I do my partner justice? I was relieved to see some more normal socks though. And I still can't work out who you are, my sock pal! (Polly reckons you're from the US, don't know how she worked that out).
I went to Libertys tonight, and Mary and Polly are both in this sockapalooza swap. Mary seems pretty cool about hers. Polly is a perfectionist and may be slightly anxious about hers! (Don't fear, her pal, they'll be perfection) . Jill (not in this sock swap) thought we may have to do monthly socks, as Polly and I seemed a bit tense. Another week and I will certainly start mine.
And Tracy, my stash is all over the place! At work, I've been forced to hide the stash, as I've moved downstairs instead of being on my own stuck away at the back of the office, and one of the orders from on high was that I tidy it up! So I have a standing laundry bag (canvas/wood sort) by the photocopier. This is packed with yarn, but I have a couple of elann boxes on top, so it's hidden. In my cupboard I have the bottom shelf full of yarn, plus some more on the next shelf up. In the half cupboard next to me are a couple of drawers full of sock yarn (each drawer is the height of an A4 file!) and under my desk I have two large libertys bags full of yarn. Enough to keep me in knitting for at least a couple of years, I imagine. Multiply by a factor of about 10 and you have my home stash! Which is why I have decided to not buy any more yarn for at least six months. I am a member of a monthly sock club, and a shawl club, but these will be the exceptions.
The new rowan yarns and books come out next month, but I'm steeling myself not to buy. I had to wander upstairs to the yarn dept tonight, had a quick look at the sale yarns and resisted. Unlike Jill, who always seems to have a little bag with her when she leaves!
A yarn stash at work? I'm very impressed! The nearest I get is a bit of sneaky sock knitting when no one's around. That Swing Jacket is looking good, although I'm feeling your pain with rib over 200+ stitches. As for being cool about my Sockapalooza sock, ask me again next week when I've actually started knitting it!
Posted by: Mary | January 28, 2005 at 12:29 AM
'Jill always leaves Libertys with a little bag' - lies, all lies, I leave Libertys with a BIG bag generally...... And who used the cloakroom at Ally Pally to store bags, and found she had bought too much to go home on the underground?????
Tell you what was in the little bag yesterday - there was some new Regia stretch sock yarn (which I've never tried) in a blend of blues and sludgy colours - the 'new colours' according to Jules, (do I have a very fashion-conscious 10 yr.old grand-daughter?) so I bought a couple of balls to make her some socks.
Hope you have got past the first decreasing point, it was all that rib that put me off, but it will be lovely when it is done, and perhaps you will finish Rebecca this week-end.
Posted by: jill | January 28, 2005 at 09:40 AM
Oh good, sounds like you've got lots more than me. I feel so much better now because it means I can go out and buy some more!
Posted by: Tracy | January 28, 2005 at 01:41 PM
I really like that swing jacket. It's a lovely shape. I've stopped worrying about my growing stash...but the downside is I can never find what I'm looking for. Those inventory sheets need to contain location as well. I only have 2 bags of ASC in my work desk. Most stash resides with me!
Posted by: P | January 29, 2005 at 07:13 PM