This week completely slipped away from me – I had busy days at work, and events nearly every night.  Good things of course, like knit nights, dinner with a friend, etc.  Plus, there was the gorgeous weather, so I had to spend some time outdoors; I wore sandals on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Even wore a skirt too.  It was that nice outside.  So, why in the world is there snow on the ground out there now?  March is a strange month.  In like a lamb- calm, unassuming  - and then the middle of the month was weird – more akin to a mythical beast (a liger, perhaps?)  How will it end?  All I am hoping for is some warmer temps.  I have tasted the goods, and now I want more. (Really, I just want to wear my sandals, and see some trees blossoming!)

I need more green in my world than this houseplant.

Anyone else feeling the spring fever?  My knits are definitely reflecting these feelings as well… I have pulled out the cotton!

Blue Angie pulli - any chance of finishing this before the PS colors change?

I am also putting the finishing touches on Glee.  Of course, my eye is wandering to all of the great summer knits that are coming out right now too.  I really should invest in some blinders – I have so many projects planned as it is, but when the Berroco KnitBits email newsletter sends out free pattern beauties like this one, it is hard to ignore.

“Wren” cardigan – free Berroco pattern

My first thought was stashbusting – honest.  However, I don’t have anything that quite fits the bill.  A little net search yielded an interesting result.  WEBS is having a closeout on this yarn.  *Sigh*  I have not done the deed yet, but I am mighty close to clicking the Continue Checkout for the pink/green Zodiac (Colorway 9633). 

I spent most of my Saturday organizing.  I cleaned out my closet.  That was a huge task that I have been putting off for far too long.  I have eight bags to take the thrift shop.  Eight.  I also started organizing my craft room, which had fallen into a sad state of disarray.  And just to be extra nerdy about it, I started a spreadsheet with a yarn inventory.  I knew I had a lot of yarn, and this inventory is proving it… yeah, and wasn’t I just talking about buying more in my last paragraph?  While organizing/cleaning, I started listening to The Secret Life of Bees. Great story so far. Have you read it?

Hope the rest of your weekend goes well  

**Lil’ sis, hope you had a good birthday!  Love ya!

Much like the Patons Street Smart Hoodie, the Cotton Tape Angie was another sweater that I admired from the moment I saw it.  I was still a new knitter and was too intimidated to take on a sweater, but I bought the book anyway in early 2004.  Since then, I have made the Virtue beret, and the Carla sweater from this book, holding off on the Angie for just the right moment in time.

Unfortunately, Rowan discontinued Cotton Tape last year – but I was able to stock up on a late-summer trip to Knit Happens with two fun girls.  I chose the amazing azure blue “Lap” colorway.

Since I finished the Kristen hat, I was itching to cast on for something new (nevermind that I have three beautiful projects already on the needles…) and my gaze fell to the lovely Cotton Tape in the back corner of the stash.  Why not get ahead of the curve – start on a spring/summer knit now? 

So I did.

However, in the 3 year break between when I bought this pattern, and when I actually cast on, I find that the feature that drew me to it in the first place – the bell sleeves and hemline – is not really “doing it for me” anymore.  Sure, it looks pretty in silhouette, but I can’t help but think that those bell sleeves will stretch out considerably, and cause problems while washing dishes, cooking dinner, or any other daily task… I am a practical kind of girl, and these thoughts came to my mind before anything else. I am thinking about eliminating them all together.

While I am at it, I may skip the flared hemline too.  The drop stitches look cool, but I don’t know if I want to draw attention to the whole belly/hip area that I so desperately try to hide…  however, it may be worth a try – it looks fun! – the dropped stitch is in the beginning of the pattern on row 8.  It would be easy to rip back if I didn’t like it – especially since I got gauge on 10.5 needles…

More blue.  I am completely smitten.