It's already May!

Can you believe how fast this year is going? And I'm still knitting.

This one crawled in just before the turn of the month. I finished it on Sunday morning. The pattern is not my own (I'd love to take credit for it but Lucy Neatby beat me to it), it is Lucy Neatby's Equilateral Hat. It's a fun knit, simple really. The Noro Silk Garden I used was a rather dull combo, not something I'd necessarily choose for myself. This hat is now residing at the store as a sample to show some of the Noro colourings.

If I make this hat again, and I probably will, I'd use a brighter colourway and go down one needle size. The hat is a little big for me. The picture on the pattern is a little deceptive as it shows a child wearing the hat. Most people think it's a child's hat pattern. It isn't. She made this pattern to fit a 22" head size. The pattern, though, is well written, almost to the point of being overwritten. Everything is explained very well so even a fairly new knitter should have no problem understanding it.

I've still not finished my own cardigan (one of these days... *sigh*), but I've almost finished a simple, basic, V-neck pullover vest for myself. It's knitted in the round, then separated at the arms with the front and back being worked separately. I have one of the armbands almost finished, then have just the second armband and the neckband to complete. If this headache goes away, I'm hoping to have it finished today or tomorrow. I'll post a picture of it when it's finished.

In addition to actual knitting, I've also been doing some more designing.

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up some Petit Mandarin cotton at "the other" yarn shop in town. I bought three colours, lime green, lemon yellow and a variegated with green, yellow and coral. Beautiful yarn. I've been mulling over design options for it. At first I wanted to do a toddler sweater with a feather and fan pattern, but the yarn I was using didn't want to be that. Then I bought the cotton with the intention of trying the feather and fan with it, but the more I looked at it, the less I wanted to do it.

On Sunday afternoon, I was inspired! I sat down and drew out the little cardigan you see in my sketch book, complete with colour. I'm ready to swatch, but haven't had the opportunity to do that yet. I'm in no rush. The intended recipient is only eight months old and the cardigan will be for a 2-year old, I'm thinking. That gives me a bit of time.

And that's it for today. The sun is shining, my head hurts, my knitting is calling. I think I'll just relax in the sunshine with my yarn close at hand.