Happy Blogiversary

Happy First Blogiversary to me. Hard to believe -- one year has gone by. The blog has had a name change (from the original, unimaginative "Kim's Online Journal," joined four rings, and given birth to a sister blog. In one year I've learned a lot about knitting and enough html to be dangerous. I can load photos and change my template.


Couple of knitting updates:

1. I've finished one Double Eyelet sock and have started on another. I'm not sure I like lace socks; I may not do another pair. I really like this yarn, though. Very soft and pretty.
2. I picked out the pattern for my Knitting Olympics project. I'm sticking with the idea of a vest, but I couldn't find my original pattern choice at the yarn shop I visited, so I'm going with one from Mountain Colors instead, called Simply Seemless vest. It calls for Weavers Wool quarters, but I'm doing it with the perfect yarn, Cascase 220, color 4006. This looks brown in the picture, but the little corner swatch is taken from Jimmy Beans Wool. This is closer to its actual color, which Jimmy Beans calls "dark dark burgandy, almost brown." I would call it a heathered purple, brown in bad light.

So, doing a different yarn means working extra hard at gauge. The gauge called for in the pattern is 4 stitches/inch (with the original yarn doubled on size 8 needles). I've swatched my cascade, not doubled, and I get 4 1/2 stitches/inch. I may adjust the pattern for this, or I may go down a needle size and try again. In the meantime, here's a boring swatch photo for you.