It’s time to cast on for NaKniSweMo, ladies and gentlemen. November is a crazy month. Some guys aren’t shaving, people are writing whole novels, some guys are growing mustaches, and ambitious knitters all over the world are knitting sweaters. The general guideline for these sweaters for NaKniSweMo is to make a sweater with over 50,000 stitches. This works for just about any adult-sized sweater. Check out the Ravelry group if you want to KAL with others.

I’m making Nanook.

nanook-2Don’t tell, but I didn’t swatch. I know, I know. Cardinal sin. This is the fourth time I’ve used this yarn in a year (see the family sweater post if I haven’t beat you over the head with my use of Cascade 220 yet), and I’ve worked it on a US 5, 7, and 8 needles for those projects. Using Cascade 220 superwash on a size US 6 I got 20 sts over 4 inches. I think the 7 is perfect for stitch gauge, but my row gauge will not be exact. I never worry as much about row gauge, and in this case I’d get more like 22 rows in 4 inches, rather than the 26 called for in the pattern, so I’ll get there slightly faster.

I finished two repeats of the yoke so far today. It was my day off and I got to devote a good chunk to knitting. I’m enthralled.

Of course I’m already thinking about alterations. I usually add a little bit of length. I’ll probably be perusing Ravelry projects further to see what magnificent little tips pop up. So far I’m loving this color and the “bear track” pattern. I realize this isn’t the first pattern I’ve been attracted to that has this type of yoke. Ice Cream Sundae looks like it has the exact same pattern at the yoke. Remember? Nothing new under the sun, even in knitting.

I have a couple of new yarns:

sweet dreamsThis is Colinette Jitterbug in Sweet Dream. I had leftover Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool from Z’s Halloween costume, so I exchanged my remaining full skein and fell in love with this. If I’m not buying yarn for a specific project, it’s usually sock yarn that I’m buying. Socks, toddler sweaters, hats, shawls, arm warmers, etc. can all be made out of a single skein. What’s not to love about that?

I also ordered some Eco+ in Lichen from WEBS. lichenThis is destined to become a Latte Baby Coat for Z in the near future. If I had my way, I’d finish up Z’s Abate, my Oshima, Matt’s Hugo, and this Nanook. And maybe whip up a Latte Baby Coat too. All in this month. Anyone good at stopping time? By the way, Matt guessed that I was knitting him a sweater, so I went ahead and checked that he was on board for that particular one, lest I have to rip something out again. The good news is I’m free to knit on it in front of him and blog about it to my heart’s content.

Happy NaKniSweMo! Hope those that are participating are all having fun casting on today!

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