Last week Mister and I managed to sneak away from the hubbub of the farm for a few days – turns out, you give me needles, and he a finishing pole, and we are content for hours on end.
One of the biggest changes for us since last fall is that we are expecting our first baby in July (more on that tomorrow!), and rather than do our usual escape to mountains with our puppies and backpacks, we headed the same direction, just found a cabin and a lake instead (don’t worry, the dogs still came too) – two days in which we had a moment to enjoy ourselves pre-baby, celebrate our wedding anniversary and, well, catch up on some sleep!
Of course, like most knitters before taking a trip, the most important part of my packing was deciding upon which projects to bring with me. Only having two days and nights away I didn’t really need to take many options, but I brought along two WIPs to keep me busy – and really, who just takes one project away with them? The anxiety of finishing it, or running out of yarn, or loosing/breaking a needle and not having another project to work on is just too much. Turns out, however, that I monogomously worked on my Brock Cardigan for the Spring KAL I’m joining in with over at luvinthemommyhood. I got into a serious flow with it, and became addicted to working on it any time I could, which, when you’re in the middle of nowhere with no plans, is a lot! I managed to work up the most part of the body, including the short rows, lake side, and I finished the neat 1×1 ribbing this past weekend.
Naturally at this stage I have tried the cardi on, and, sure its needs a good blocking to get the full affect of the fit, but I’m thinking that a cropped cardigan is NOT the look for a 33 week pregnant body! I love LOVE the colour (could it remind me any more of the blues of the lake and sky?) and the fabric that the alpaca fingering creates is so soft and light, but how it looks on me right now? – I’m not so convinced. But I’m going to be doing a lot of changing in the next few months and I’m happy with the idea that this little knit will be a nice surprise to find in my pile of handknits once my body gets back to a shape that I’m more familiar with!
So this week, which I think is the last week of the KAL, I have sleeves and the icord border around the neckline and fronts to be getting on with… And, my favorite part, a search into my button tin for the perfect finishing touches.

One week in and I’ve made some progress on my Brock cardigan for luvinthemommyhood’s Spring Tops, Tanks, and Tees KAL (try say that quickly!). Once I finally remembered that I had also received the PDF version of the book along with the print version, I printed out the pages required for the pattern and set about dividing the project into 4 week chunks. I rarely do this, but I’d love to finish this cardigan within the casual deadline of the knit a long, and what with a few other projects on the needles I want this knit to be a fun and ‘non thinky’ project. Setting myself weekly goals should keep this guy moving along…. in theory.
The beginning yoke actually required a bit more brain power than I had ready to give, but with the help of stitch markers at every pattern repeat I was able to get into a bit of a flow and it satisfied my love of chart knitting. I was worried in the first inch or so that the loose gauge of this skinny fingering would blur the chevron stitch pattern and get lost in the halo of the alpaca. I even considered pausing and working up a swatch with a size smaller needles and tried to ignore how much math I would have to do to adjust the pattern accordingly. However, like it always seems to be with any stitch pattern or colourwork, another inch in and the full effect of the awesomeness of a simple pattern created of just ‘knit’ and ‘purl’ stitches came through, and I was happy that I had stuck to my guns and continued on.
Chart work is over and I have almost made it, but not quite, to my ‘week 1′ goal of working up until the point of separating for the sleeves. I’m working raglan increases until that point and with around 300 stitches a row, which increase every other, it’s a little slow going. I find most yokes are though, and you feel like it will never end. But, what I also know, is that once I have separated for the sleeves and am rid of their stitches, the stitches left for the body seem so few, and fly along!!
My ‘week 2′ goal is to be done with the body and so I’m hoping my speedy expectations will come true. Whats more is that this pattern is a cropped cardigan, a style I usual steer clear of and have never actually knit. I hoping the 9 3/4″ body will feel like a cheat!
So on I go, knitting along with everyone else in the luvinthemommyhood community. I’ve also decided to use the momentum of this KAL to cast on another spring top, the idea of which began with this swatch….

Last spring I took part in my first ever KAL over at luvinthemommyhood. Rather than talk about how I didn’t actually finish my project, I want go on about how much fun I had cruising alongside the great bunch of people in the luvinthemommyhood community! Shannon hosts a handful of KALs spread over the year and the Spring Tops, Tanks and Tees KAL kicks off today! For weeks already the ravelry group has been brimming with ideas and cast on plans, so much so that I’ve changed my mind on which project I’ll work on about eight gazillion times!

I’ve settled with a pattern from the inspiring book by Gudrun Johnston and Quince & Co – Knit with Me. I didn’t think twice when I saw the patterns contained in this sweet collection, I had to have it on my shelf. Whilst I adore the chunky cable jacket on the front cover, Ambrosia, it is not a summer knit, and so it is my second favourite pattern in the book I will work on these next few weeks. Brock is a light little cardigan with a delicate chevron pattern wrapping around the yoke. The cropped body has a curved hem, and the sleeves – oh the sleeves – 3/4 length, slightly belled and then gathered at the cuff. My most local yarn store sadly closed at the end of last month, and in the final days I managed to pick up some of the softest Alpaca Wool Fingering from Frog Tree. It’s not my usual colour, but I’m up for something new.

So today we get to cast on – in fact I haven’t even swatched yet – and hopefully have it finished in the next few weeks, ready for summer evenings. I have work to do. Want to join us?