Well, not much. Both Surly and I are working on some ‘stealth’ projects, though mine will be wrapping up very soon.
As I was looking through some old boxes the other day, I ran across this little baby blankie. I knit it in the 80’s, before I knew if and when we would become parents. So, each stitch was knit out of love for a baby not yet born.
After our girls joined our family, they both used this blanket to play with their dolls, so when I happened upon it, it was in kind of rough shape! I washed it, but it still looks pretty rough. I used [crappy] acrylic yarn — it was for a baby, after all! — and it is now fuzzy and pilled. But just finding that blanket was like stepping into the past and returning to a time of anticipation and unfettered optimism — the kind of optimism you can only feel before reality sets in!!
I am thinking about my next project and am narrowing it down. I did buy yarn today so THAT part is taken care of! One candidate is the Alexandria Cardigan, which I highlighted a week or so ago and the other is the Jali Cardigan from Summer 2010 Interweave Knits. I bought Shepherd’s Wool in a natural off white. This yarn is deliciously soft and knits up beautifully. I really like it! I know off white sounds boring, but I keep wanting to grab a cream-colored cardi and do not have one! Now I need to swatch and think…
PS to those with questions about the source of this lace pattern: The pattern stitch is called Rose Trellis Lace and is in the first Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara G. Walker. It is written in long hand notation (all 44 rows!) instead of charted. At the time, I was not a lace knitter and charts were a rarity. Now, the first thing I would do is to chart it. By doing so, I know I would have made some changes (such as not starting partial patterns along the side edges). I can’t even believe I sat there reading each line as I worked this, but I remember having that piece of paper with me and following along!!
PPS: Alexandria won!
