Sick...........

Yuck. I'm sick. I have a nasty cold. No fun. I want to knit, but I'm falling asleep! I'm trying to focus on finishing up my Karabella Aurora 8 Cabled Cardigan. (Photo above) I'm making this in a terracotta shade. It's a really fun knit, but you have to count and pay attention and that is not something I'm so good at, even when I am in top form. With a head cold, it's just scary. I'm going to give it another go tonight, though. I am not allowing myself to start on any other major projects until I finish this. So, that give me some incentive. I'm anxiously awaiting my Hanne Falkenberg Mermaid kit. I decided on Color #4 (greens) and I am very excited and apprehensive about the whole thing. It looks like it will be challenging, which is a good thing, but I just hope it comes out looking half way decent. I would have to screw up that beautiful pattern. Here is a photo of what it is supposed to look like when I finish:


Isn't it beeeeaaaauuuutiful?? I love the colors, the shape....everything. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can really do this. I keep telling myself that there are only two basic stitches in knitting, so what's the big deal?? Right? We shall see.

Here is another kit I recently purchased:

It's the Rainbow Jacket by Vivian Hoxbro. I was never really interested in Shadow Knitting, but I went to Stitches West in Santa Clara, CA and saw this in person and loved it. It looks nicer in person. This is another project I am hoping will be fun and not turn into a nightmare. I tend to be very ambitious and then regret it later, but I am determined to challenge my knitting skills, so why not go for it? Since I am in a show and tell mood.....this is usually a little embarassing....my penchant for acquiring more yarn and knitting supplies when I have more than I know what to do with......Here is a little something else I picked up at Stitches West:


It's a kit for Nicky Epstein's Jacobean Bag from her Fabulous Felted Bags book. Nicky was at Stitches West and I was able to meet her and have her sign my book. She is very sweet and personable. I have loved this bag ever since I saw it in a past issue of Interweave Knits. It is a little small (short) for my liking, so I am going to try to lengthen it a bit. I will have to rewrite the intarsia chart...which is something I have never done. To be completely honest, I've never even tried intarsia, but what the heck? It can't be that bad, can it? I have the new Sally Melville Color book and it has a good section on intarsia. I also have a local knitting instructor that can help me, but I am going to try to do learn on my own.

So....as you can see, my knitting dance card is definitely full. I have lots of other stuff I want to do, but these are the biggies that are already in the hopper. I'm off to work on my Karabella Cabled Cardigan. Hopefully, I can keep count before I start snoring.