Project 1: Princess Sadie Cat Bed
a.k.a. “Princess Snowball Cat Bed” from Stitch n Bitch

The base of the fuzzy cat bed is complete and Sadie is enjoying her new napping place already. Although I did monitor the size as I went along in order to make it big enough for her ample figure — I’m a little bit concerned that I should have made it a tad larger. But I’m not that worried. She’s obviously enjoying it quite a bit just the way it is:

And besides, the rim* that will go around it isn’t all that substantial, anyway. (She could… and would… just flop herself down on top of the whole thing if she deems it too small to curl up inside.)

*The next step is to knit up a simple garter stitch strip (scarf, essentially) that is folded in half lengthwise and attached around the edge of the round base.

Project 2: Nathaniel’s Stripey Scarf
(improvised pattern)

The preppy striped scarf is coming along really quickly. My only gripe is that the Lion Brand Kool Wool yarn comes in such small skeins — only 60 yards each. So, I have to add new balls frequently, even during the big gray sections. Not a big deal — just means there will be lots of little ends to weave in.

I’m planning to definitely add one more color stripe section with a wide red band and a thin green stripe. And that may be the end of it… or I might go crazy and keep going for one more section after that (for a total of 4 red/green sections). Depends on how long my interest holds… and how much gray yarn I have left.

Project 3: “First Blush” sweater
beginners’ sweater knitting class project… unknown Reynolds pattern

Last, but not least, here’s the completed back panel of my rollneck sweater:

I finished the shoulder shaping in class (the second session) last Thursday night. I’m excited to see the sweater coming together — but I’m also prepared for the fact that this is going to be a bulky, boxy creation when all is said and done. There’s no shaping for the arm holes, and no shaping for the sleeves themselves. So, that’s not necessarily a recipe for figure-flattering style — but, then, I don’t really care that much. I’m just thrilled to be learning the process.

The class structure isn’t turning out to be quite what I thought, though. It’s really, really fun to get to know the staff at the store and the other people in my class — but I can’t really say that I’m learning anything that I couldn’t have figured out on my own. Yet. Not because the instructor isn’t knowledgable, but basically because the other people in the class are stone-cold beginner knitters who need a lot of extra attention on how to do basic knit and purl stitches.

Our classes are spread out with 2-3 weeks between each session, and the sweater project is coming along quickly for me so far… so, I’m thinking that I’ll find something new to start on soon that I can bring in to get some help deciphering the pattern and maybe learning some slightly more advanced shaping techniques. I think the teacher would be cool with that, and I’d feel like I was really learning some useful stuff. (Instead of just paying to sit around chatting with everyone!)

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