Designs, designs

I may have mentioned this before, but a couple of months ago, I decided that there is nothing worse than long-term WIPs (works in progress, for those un-hip to the sweet knitter lingo), especially if they are partially finished designs. I raided my sewing room, and I found more half-done sweaters than I care to admit. I'm pretty sure I've found the last one, though, unless my hiding talents have gotten better. Found the two blue things in this pile about a month ago in the sewing room, and look! I finished them. Also, how diverse is this pile? Cables, stripes, slip stitch, intarsia. I am easily distracted by shiny new techniques.

The bottom two are complete sweaters that are in testing as we speak. Well... one is a sweater. One is a tank top. The sweater I actually started in cough2011cough, and it languished for literally years. I regret, mostly because in 2011 I had no idea what I was doing, so the bottom ribbing doesn't flow into the cables. Live and learn. The tank top I think I started in 2012, but set aside (by that I mean balled up and threw in a corner) because when I started the neckline shaping, I neglected to maintain the stripe pattern, and didn't have the heart to rip it back at the time. Stupid. It took me like one afternoon to finish that baby up and get the pattern written. But now I have two designs nearly ready to publish, and that makes me happy.

That slip-stitch and textured beauty on top is a cardigan that needs one sleeve and a collar, then it's done. I got that yarn in the mail last Friday (and today is Thursday.) That shows you how much I love that yarn. Dream in Color was generous enough to send it to me for my design, and I couldn't be happier. If I could, I would make a nest out of that yarn and sleep in it. I literally cuddled it like a cat for 10 whole minutes after it came in the mail. My husband came downstairs and said, "Are you hugging that yarn?" Yes. Yes I am. Isn't it gorgeous? I'm in love.

The thing in the middle? Secrets. It's for the home issue of Holla Knits! which I think comes out in June? But I am not at all positive. It could be July, or maybe even August. I don't think it's September, and I'm pretty sure it's not May. That's what I've got. Weak, I know.

Here's one more thing I found in the sewing room.

Turns out it's not going to work as a pattern, I don't think, because matching up the sleeve stripes to the body stripes was a real mind-bender, and I don't think it's possible to write it in a pattern. I tried. Yeah... I dunno. I like the design. (I think it's another 2011 creation. It had ugly cap sleeves when I found it, so those had to go. I like the longer sleeves better, and the open back is fun, if a little cold.) I might just keep it on the back burner until a time when a) I have run out of other patterns to write, or b) I have a stroke of genius about a better way to match stripes without the weird top-down short row intarsia thing I did here. It was tricky.