Big Projects

I made quite a bit of progress on the Noro shrug and Koigu capelet this weekend. Not that you can tell, since the projects (especially the capelet) are so big. With the amount of knitting I got done, I probably could have made about 5 hats. Seriously.

There has also been some designing. The Koigu capelet is basically a big rectangle of cartridge belt ribbing - the coolness is definitely not in the knitting for this one, it's in the finishing - and I've been inspired to do a tank top in the same yarn and stitch. The stitch pattern has so much horizontal stretchability - significantly more than regular ribbing - and I figure I could just cast on half the number of stitches that would fit UNSTRETCHED around my waist with no ease whatsoever, and knit a plain rectangle in cartridge belt rib. Knit another one just like it, join at sides and top (leaving openings for arms and head, of course) and I would have the perfect top for hourglass-shaped chicks like me. The stretch will be enough to cover my chest and hips, and the thing will look like it has shaping even though it doesn't. Plus this stitch has the whole vertical lines thing going for it. The only thing I'm not sure about is how the shoulders will end up. If the armhole "straps" are narrower than my shoulders, that's fine. If they're so wide that they make a mini cap sleeve, that's also fine. What I'm scared of is that they'll be exactly as wide as my shoulders, giving it a muscle shirt look. That would be very, very bad.

If I ever finish my current WIP's, this will be the next thing I try, and I'll post the exact pattern here if the sleeve thing works out. Also, I will post progress photos of the WIP's this week. Promise. Really.