Elizabeth Zimmerman - I love her patterns!!
This little sweater is from EZ's Knitter's Almanac and is the project for February. I probably will give this little sweater to a couple expecting a baby in August, but I have started another one for charity in a soft mauve cotton - again from stash. In the pictured sweater, I used some left over Orchide with a silk, merino wool and acrylic content and it is so soft and I have enough to knit a little hat - probably will use the pattern from Oneskein by Leigh Radford that I have knit before. I will need to double the yarn, but that is okay by me - I have enough of this Orchide yarn in a brown to make a sweater and I think with buttons such as a little turtle, truck or something not too babyish (not probably a word, but you know what I mean) will be fine for a wee baby.

I am also knitting a Picovolli by Grumperina from six balls of Debbie Bliss Cathay that I had in my stash. I had copied out this pattern, found in Mag Knits, many a moon ago, but when I was in search of a pattern to knit up the Cathay in a beautiful rose colour, I came upon it again. I used Cathay in the Green Gables sweater I knit a few months ago and it was a deep raspberry colour and it is a wonderful yarn to work with. I love cotton, but when it is mixed with a bit of silk and/or viscose, it knits up so well and the stitch definition is perfect. The other good point was that I got the Cathay on for 50% off. I like a bargain, especially when it is for a delicious yarn that I might not buy at full price.

I frogged the Muskat cotton sweater that I had been knitting in the beautiful jade colour. It was just too 'stiff' and I was unhappy with the garment. I really love the colour, so I went in search of a pattern for myself. While at my LYS yesterday buying buttons for the EZ baby sweater, I asked about some patterns for the Garnstudio Muskat and was directed to some lovely pattern books. The problem with the books is they are in a language I cannot read. This is not a problem, as the LYS owner told me to go to www.garnstudio.com and look for the pattern I liked in the book and then I could copy it in English! It works!! I now have a pattern for a short sleeved cardi for summer and enough yarn for the project. It is in the queue after Picovolli!!

After I told you about Kelli Robinson and the podcast Unwound, I learned in her latest podcast that she will be unable to continue podcasting. I am sorry, as I will miss her, but she is a new attorney and starting out in a large practice, so she needs to devote her time to her career. I like the fact that she told her listeners up front and did not just float away into podcast ether!!