Like a phoenix

this cruelly and foolishly immolated blog must rise from the ashes. Even if I didn't actually want one, I've decided a fresh start is a good thing. Out with old, in with the new. There are a bunch of new FO's from the new year that I haven't photographed yet - I'll get around to it sometime soon.

Right now I'm working on a couple of projects. I just started the back of a cabled hoodie from the Patons Street Smart booklet.


I'm using some Queensland Collection Kathmandu DK I bought a couple of years ago for my birthday. I knit it into a notch neck tunic that ended up fitting so poorly I couldn't look at it for two years. Whilst living the inert life of a shut-in last weekend I frogged the sweater and reclaimed this rather lovely yarn.


The yarn has some serious silk content to it, and I think it will hold its shape better with some cables and ribbing than in its formerly stockinette workup. This yarn is super soft and fuzzy in a non-linty way. Somehow I found out it is the same as the Jo Sharp Silk Road DK. If you can find the Queensland Collection label, you can get the same yarn at a substantially lower price.

The other project I'm working on these days is CROCHET! Since I decided a couple of months ago not to buy any yarn for a while, I've been buying knitting and crocheting books like they're going extinct. One book I've been particularly impressed with is Amazing Crocheted Lace by Doris Chan. I'm making the stole below. I like how geometric the lace work is. Reading crochet charts is a bit different from reading knitting charts. I think crochet charts are a lot more intuitive than knitting charts - the representations are a lot more visually accurate. Plus, I'm having fun improving my crochet skills.


I'm working this up with some Karabella Mohair that's been marinating in the stash for three or four years. What I like about the Karabella Mohair is that it has a substantial amount of synthetic fiber in it, and is super soft and fluffy. There is no itch factor. And even if it were itchy, who would complain when it looks like this?

This yarn is a lot more fluorescent pink in reality. Yum!

In other news - the Husbeast and I are taking the big leap tomorrow. The big leap is up to the 44th floor of the Empire State Building into the office of a very nice lawyer whose office is covered in carved wooden masks from Africa. The big leap involves writing some really large checks, and entering the exciting, nerve-wracking world on New York City real estate. The big leap also means jumping across the harbor from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

Things are gonna change around here, Chez Sweetgirl. With the signing of a contract tomorrow, one hell of a ride begins! Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!