I had quite a clever title for this post about five minutes ago, and have since completely forgotten what it was. I hate it when I do that! Bah.

Anyway, I haven’t stopped searching for patterns for all this yarn I suddenly need to do something with. As of this moment, I have it narrowed down thus:

• Navy Rowanspun DK: I want to do something with a little cable pattern, but since the yarn is so dark, I don’t want to spend a lot of time on a lot of intricate design details that won’t be visible except in bright sunlight. This has limited things a bit. I found this nice pullover in Vogue’s Designer Knits by Adrienne Vittadini. I don’t like rolled necks, so would do a brief rib or folded neckline, I’d change all that garter stitch to stockinette, and put more space between the cables. Otherwise it’s perfect.
   
  While I was perusing this book I saw a sweater I’ve long loved and wanted to knit, DKNY’s Enchanted Forest. I knew about this pattern long before it ended up in this book. I showed it to a friend, and he loved it, which I knew he would. He has a Celtic knot design around one ankle with a tree of life design on the back, linking into the Celtic knot. The plan at that time was to wait—Eventually, he’ll buy the yarn, when he can afford it, and I’ll knit it for him—for the sheer joy of it. The sweater, as you can see, is huge. One size “fits” all. I think his size is about right. He won’t look swallowed by the sweater, and you should be able to see all the trees in it without problem. I’ll have to bring this up with him again soon. But I digress…
• Green Philosopher’s Wool: I still want to make a cardigan out of this yarn. I still want a little cable action, and pockets. Pockets are quite important. Side pockets are easy to add in a seamed sweater, so that’s no problem. A simple cable or two can be added to just about any plain sweater. Then I saw this. It’s in Kristin Nicolas’s book Knitting the New Classics. She did hers in mohair—yum!—but I think the gauge is about right so I wouldn’t have to do too much tweaking. Unlike a lot of the patterns I’ve been running across, this one isn’t big enough at its smallest size for two of me to crawl into, so the basic pattern should work. I hope. We’ll see. Swatches pending.
• Gray-lavender boucle from Deb: I’ve been wondering what to do with a mere two hanks of this wonderful yarn. I’ve been thinking that there should be plenty of projects that this would be suitable for. As I was digging through pattern books looking for sweaters, I stumbled across this, a knit workbag in Rowan book 30. This idea has possibilities. I don’t know yet if I’ll use this exact pattern, but the idea definitely appeals to me. We’ll see. At first I thought maybe I’d knit something then felt it, but it would be a shame to loose all the lovely texture in the yarn. This un-felted bag looks better and better. I’d just need to find a little fabric to line it with. I wonder if I have any in that huge pile of fabric I inherited from my next door neighbor. Hm.
• Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn: I have yet to choose a pattern for this sumptuous yarn I bought last week when Kristie and I were at our LYS. There are so many to choose from! I’ll let you know when I start to narrow it down a bit.

Meanwhile, I’ve been knitting along on the afghan during the evening (no photo today, sorry), and on the socks a needle-full at a time during the day, when I can. Amazing how much progress can be made that way. I continue to toally love this yarn. I love the interplay of colors with the pattern stitch. I’m getting close to turning the heel—and to my first change in the pattern.