Baby Sophisticate #2, etc.

Baby Sophisticate #1 got its buttons and has been gifted.  I will say that the KnitPicks Swish really bled in the wash -- the water of the first wash was as red as the yarn!  I washed and rinsed it three times, and really should warn the recipients that it might still run a bit. However, I really like knitting with Swish and the washability makes it great for baby gifts.

Baby Sophisticate #2 is almost done -- it needs to have ends woven in, buttons added, and a wash.  This one is from Eco Alpaca, which is undyed, so it shouldn't run!  Of course, it's also not machine-washable and dryable, but the soon-to-be mother is a knitter so I think she'll appreciate it!

This yarn is just a little bit thinner than the KnitPick Swish, although both are considered worsted.  While knitting this, I also realized that I knit stockinette a lot tighter in the round.  This shouldn't be a surprise, since I tend to purl loosely.  For some reason, this problem seemed exacerbated in this yarn, so I went up a needle size for the sleeves in the round.

I'm about to leave for two conferences -- Midwest MLA in Indianapolis, followed just a few days later by South Central Chapter/MLA in Baton Rouge -- so I need travel knitting.  While I'm sure several of my WIPs would fill this bill, I have cast on for two new projects!

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Lenore socks have been in my queue for ages.  I even bought the yarn they were designed for (Blue Moon STR Lightweight in the Lenore colorway).

I'm glad I cast on for these before I left.  Socks tend to work best on my feet if I cast on between 62 and 66 stitches on size 1s.  The regular size Lenores are 60 stitch socks.  I didn't want to go up a needle size, since I don't like a floppy sock, so I first tried casting on the large (72 stitch) size on size 0s.  Whoa!  Talk about huge!  I got through most of the lace cuff and admitted this wasn't working.  So now I'm doing the regular size on 1s -- I think they'll be fine!  I really need to get over the idea that I need to knit big socks!

I also cast on Sugared Violets, a pretty little shawlette that will be perfect for knitting during meetings - the pattern is very straight-forward.

The yarn is Dream in Color Starry in Punky Fuchsia.  Starry is a sock-weight yarn shot through with silver fibers.  It's very pretty and not as flashy as it might sound!