LSGASER

That would be LSG Anniversary Stash Enhancement Roundup, but isn’t it more fun to pretend it’s a laser? I’m sure it could help us in our quest to: 1) take over the Vatican, 2) ???, and 3) PROFIT!!!!

I went into my first WEBS trip with a loose list that went something like: 1) purple laceweight yarn for the backless minidress, 2) sweater quantity of worsted weight in a neutral color, 3) try not to make a fool of yourself. I think I did pretty well!

For the laceweight, I chose Filatura di Crosa Centolavaggi, even though it wasn’t exactly the color I was looking for. It’s a bouncy 2-ply and I’m going to be knitting it with silk and wool/stainless steel, so I was looking for something springy to give the dress some memory.

Then I picked up Northampton in a great charcoal grey, only I was an idiot and didn’t get enough. 5 skeins is totally enough for a normal cardigan, but I want to make a Sherlock Holmes-style caped jacket, so I called up WEBS today to order an additional 2 skeins. Silly me. Which means that I sort of wasted money on the 2 skeins of Shibui Sock that I got to get the WEBS discount:

But it’s so pretty. ;________; I really am a sucker for this deep cerulean teal color.

In other news, I’ve been working like mad on my Geodesic Cardigan in that hand-dyed cashmere, and I am loving it. Not in a McDonald’s sort of way, either. I’m not one of those people who finds stockinette stitch boring, so I’ve been flying along on this thing while reading books and watching movies. The cashmere isn’t splitty at all, so it’s basically cruise control knitting. The tucks are really ingenious, as well–just the right mix of simple and delightfully finicky, a bite-size piece of interest to keep you looking ahead to the rest of the sweater. Check out my first one:

So. Darling. They’re constructed sort of like a tubular cast-on, if you do it the Eunny Jang way; you make a little pocket of short row stockinette, fold it over on itself, and knit together the live stitches with purl bumps. It’s like a Pringle of interesting knitting; you can’t just stop at one.

I’m using some stitch markers that I received as an RAK from oopchuck, on Ravelry. I love them!

In other news, the Winter Knitty surprises are up! I think Skew is fantastic, and is a great showcase for handpainted yarn.

Ahhh, look at that heel! These are definitely going in my queue. I might even buy variegated yarn for them (high-contrast variegated yarns are really not my thing. I don’t have a single skein in my stash right now. But this pattern might change my mind!)

In other OTHER news, RIP Alexander McQueen. I remember scrolling through the slideshows for the fall 2008 runway, and when I saw this dress it was a moment of deep perfection. You will be missed.