Knitting... what knitting?

So any of you who know me probably have heard me talk about projects I'm working on, but rarely ever do you see an actual finished product. Hell, you rarely ever see works in progress. They exist, honest they do. To prove that I'm not all talk, here's what I'm spending most of my time on at the moment, Belle.



I already have the back and both fronts done. Actually, I think I finished those in 2003 or 2004. Yes, this has been on my needles for a long time. Some people suffer from the second sock syndrome. I, on the other hand, am one of those people who seem to be incapable of starting sleeves. At least I avoid issues with the second sleeve by knitting them both at once. It took me only one sweater to learn that lesson. Now I knit them both at the same time. If I didn't, I don't know if I would ever finish a sweater.

I really like the pattern. It's got just enough going on to keep me interested, and isn't hard to keep track of, so I've found I don't need the chart any more. As I was telling Kat yesterday, I am very visual in how I learn and remember things. Charts are my friends, and even better is when the pattern is straightforward enough that I can just 'read' my knitting to know what to do next.



I have done a few little changes to the pattern. The main one is that I am using 1824 Cotton, instead of the wool. I live in tank tops all summer, so I really want a cardigan that I can toss on over them when it gets cooler. Hopefully, this summer will be the year I get to finally wear it. The other change is that I'm making it a bit longer. The pattern makes a cropped sweater, but I really don't like it when my tops hang way below the bottom of my sweaters. I think I made it two inches longer, but honestly I can't remember any more.

Ohh... and remember how I mentioned that I got into Scout's Indie Swag Club? Well, April's swag landed on my doorstep on Friday.



The colorway is called Lavender Mint. I had to laugh when I saw it, since I have a bit of a thing with combining green and purple at the moment. I'm not sure what pattern to use with it, but I'm thinking of something stranded to minimize any potential pooling. I really hate pooling. I'm up for suggestions on this one, as nothing has jumped out and screamed 'knit me' for this one.