It's been a while since I posted about an actual WIP; in fact it's been a while since I posted at all (too much work at work, and too little sleep at home; at times we joke about giving the toddler the old-fashioned gripe water that really did put them to sleep for a while). So in this post you get two status photos, not one. This was my mindless knitting project while at Madrona, since there was only a small part where I had to pay attention to what I was doing.

The earlier version; the blue yarn is from the provisional cast-on. Nice and colourful and my son claims to like it (yes, he does like the pink bits scattered through). And since it's acrylic/nylon (Wendy Peter Pan Double Knit in colourway 1320), it's easy to toss in the washing machine (important with a 9-yr-old boy). Yarn reviews are available at Ravelry.

The design is a simple one, mostly cobbled together from Maggie Righetti's Sweater Design in Plain English, with a stocking stitch body and a horseshoe cable up the arm. I knitted the arms at the same time on two circular needles and I think it's actually easier to knit them flat and seam them! The bits of knitting and needles and yarn were forever getting tangled up and I think my gauge varied more than it usually does. Also, trying to graft together the sleeves and body at the underarms was more tricky than I anticipated because of the different directions the various bits of fabric were pulling in. I got it done eventually, and it should hold as I double-grafted some of it, but it was more tricky than I liked. Maybe practise makes perfect, or maybe I'll just stick to regular seams, which are easier to get right.

It turned out to be just as well I'd started with a provisional cast-on, since I am currently adding some more length to the body, knitting down. When you're designing "on the fly" as I was, provisional cast-ons make life a whole lot easier.