Progress on puffed sleeve cardigan

I've begun the waist decreases for my puffed sleeve cardigan from Fitted Knits. Woohoo! Also, thanks to "da web", I learned about combination knitting and decided to give that a try somewhere along the way. I don't know that it goes any faster, or feels any more comfortable, or even if it makes my stitches any more even, but I figure it's worth a try for a while. Things might go faster/better if I get more familiar with with it.
I think I still have another month to go on this sweater though.

A little progress on trumpet skirt

I took a short to Las Vegas last weekend, so this gave me a chance to knit on the plane and in the airports. The flight time is just over an hour, and I did not wait that long at the airport, so I had limited knitting time. I worked on my adaptation of the fit-and-flare trumpet skirt from Knitting Lingerie Style. I did not want the holes, so I used alternating knit and purl panels. I reached the increase section for the skirt bottom and I first thought I would just widen the panels, but then I decided it would be more interesting to just insert triangles of the opposite stitch within the panels. I figure that by the time my triangles hit 20 stitches wide at the bottom, it will be time to finish since I don't need a very long skirt.
In the meantime, I leave you with photos from one of my favorite places in Vegas -- the conservatory in the Bellagio.

Casting on

I've cast on for the puffed-sleeve feminine cardigan from Fitted Knits. The yarn is Chelsea by Lily Chin. It's really a denim-like color, and not as bright as shown here on Tomokee the dog. This will probably be a slow knit for me. 22 stitches/4" is probably the finest gauge I've ever knitted. At least it has only short sleeves, so it shouldn't be too bad. I'm probably going to use seed stitch for a lot of the places where the purl bump rows are used, since I don't really like them.

So far, my collar is only 11 rows. I don't want a high band around my neck, and it would probably fold over anyway since this yarn is pretty fine.

New vest for spring

I've completed fad-classic and I'm very happy with it. The yarn is Cascade pima/silk, and I used about 5.2 skeins. I knitted the 34" size but used a tighter gauge, so there is some negative ease. I used 4 rounds of waist decreases and 3 rounds of increases. I started the decreases about 3" from the armhole.

Since we're on the topic of clothes, the white t-shirt is one of the best layering t-shirts I've ever purchased. It's only $12.50 each if you buy 2 or more from the Gap. It's the essential-T, and it's very light, soft, has a wider-than-crew neckline, and is cotton with 8% spandex for great stretchiness.

Fad-Classic is coming along

I have probably less than a week to go on Fad-Classic. I'm one of those finish-as-you-go sort of knitters, so I've already done the neck and armhole ribbing before finishing the body. This prevents me from feeling discouraged by a large amount of finishing work when I've finished the bulk of the knitting. The pattern is easy to follow, and the stitch pattern is fun, so it's been smooth sailing.

First day of spring!

I buy my knitting tote bags from the local goodwill and other purveyors of used clothing and accessories. Usually, they come in boring colors. However, I managed to buy this one last weekend at the local American Cancer Society store. It's just so darn cheery looking, it puts a smile on my face every time I pick it up. Tomokee the Dog approves.

A little bit of sewing

Can you believe I used to fit into this shirt?? Well, no -- just kidding. I don't sew much these days, but once in a while I will sew something. In this case, I made this shirt as a gift for a big guy. By that, I mean one of these triple-or-quadruple-XL sized guys. I might post a picture of him wearing it at some later date. And, here's my other recent sewing project -- it's a "tux" for Tomokee the dog, so that he can attend the Fur Ball as a sharp-dressed dog.