My Valentine's Date

I finally finished my nephew's hoodie just in time for V-Day. This is an example of procrastination at it's finest, my friends. This was supposed to be his birthday present last October, but I had knit the hood backwards and had to frog it and figure out what had gone wrong. So I thought I would give it to him for Christmas, but never got around to sewing it together. I had a date with him for Valentine's Day and was determined to get this project done-done-done. I stayed up past midnight the night before finishing it. Honestly, I thought it wasn't going to fit him anymore! His mommy is pregnant with nephew no. 2, so I figured all was not lost. But it fits! It looks smashing, despite the drool.

Pattern - Hooded Sweater by Debbie Bliss Special Knits
Yarn - Annie Blatt No. 4 (100% wool) Color 519 (a brick red)
Needles - US size 7, Bryspun circulars
Modifications - None except for the yarn. The pattern called for DB Cashmerino Aran which I love. But I wanted to do some stash busting and had bought this yarn last summer at the Yarn Lady Bag Sale. This was the second time I've made this sweater and for some reason I couldn't figure out the pattern for the hood. First time...not a problem. Second time, it came out backwards. Weird. I'd make it again. I think it's cute and simple. The only thing I would change is the seam at the top of the hood. If I could find a pattern for a seamless hood, I'd like it better.

I've been trying to refrain from shopping since I'm going to Stitches West next week. But I had bought a skein of Scout's Swag Merino for my secret pal Valerie (go on over and meet her - she loves to knit socks), and I couldn't resist.

The colorway is called Orchids.

My local LYS was having a sale on Malabrigo, so I went yesterday to take a look. I had a gift certificate that was burning a hole in my pocket.


The blue is called Azul Profundo and the brown is Rich Chocolate. These will become scarves for either birthday or Christmas presents for my brothers-in-law.



And this is my new knitting bag:

I felt like having a new bag for my trip to Stitches.