The Blue Cactus

So okay, I finished one of the wrist warmers for my friend (a process which has made me think of knitting socks with interest instead of DEEP FEAR, incidentally) and it reminds me of nothing so much as a blue cactus, or a speckled turquoise cactus if you're being picky. (It actually looks more normal when it is on someone's hand, natch.) Now I just have to cast on the 2nd one (hopefully avoiding the dreaded Second Sock Syndrome) and tote it around with me on the subway, as it is indeed a nicely portable project, and my commute to/from the office is 30 min.

I have also started a new baby cardie project (yes, I am surrounded by pregnant women) which uses this random hank of Plymouth Fantasy Naturale Multi that I had lying around, along with an oddball of Knitpicks Shine Sport in Violet, and some teal cotton yarn I bought in Shanghai this summer (oh there will be MANY words in a future posting devoted solely to My Adventures in Chinese Yarn Shopping...) which the shopowner indicated should be knitted on the equivalent of #1s or #2s. (I now have the appropriate 14" bamboo dpns for that yarn, also from the same shop. They look like they should be used by a villain in a Rambo movie, or a New Guinean headhunter. Yikes!) The colors actually match more closely than my photo shows. I may have to double the teal in order for it not to look too unequal in gauge. We'll see.

Ribbit...
And finally (sigh) I have massive amounts of frogging in my future, as one of my earliest projects turned out way, Way, WAY, WAY too big (a/k/a why you should check your gauge while knitting -- ack!) and I have finally been able to face the thought of killing all that work. On the bright side, I really love the yarn (Tahki Willow, a cotton/linen blend) and the color. Luckily, (a) I have extra yarn and (b) it's already in garter, so that should give me some extra yardage when I use stockinette in my possible replacement tank top.

[Sidenote: I don't care WHAT Yarndex says about Willow. Tahki seems to indicate that they no longer produce it! Well, at least my first (and only) experience of the "Oh CRAP! I need to buy more of this yarn to finish my (increasingly expensive) garment!" trauma -- resulting in an odyssey across all of the yarn shops of NYC -- has yielded a safety cushion of extra yarn.]

The original intended pattern was from the Spring 2003 issue of Family Circle Easy Knitting (pictured on stick girl with the hat, on the right in the photo) but I may either use the aqua-colored Lapel T-Top from the August 2004 issue of the frequently hideous Knit 'N Style (their current, Dec-06 issue seems to indicate that they are starting to Get A Clue, however) or the Front Slit Yarn Girl Tank from Interweave Knits.

Hmmm...Upon looking at all of these photos, I see that I have a fondness for colors in the jewel tone family. Well hey, at least I'm consistent.