Obligatory, but boring, knitting content ahead...

This is the back of the cable and lace sweater, dubbed Linen by the Rowan people, in progress.


I like the combination of lace and cables -- one a light, airy element, the other traditionally heavier -- together. The deep ribbing is nice too.

Lots of stuff going on in the city yesterday. In addition to the event I primarily came to NYC for - the Knit Out in Union Square - there was a San Gennaro Fair in Little Italy, the 11th annual Mexican Day Parade on Madison Ave., and according to a friend of mine, a Japanese Craft festival on the upper west side.

There was a lot of people at the Knit Out yesterday, but shy girl that I am, I didn't really meet anyone new. Instead, my cousin and I sought refuge from the sun and the heat in the shade next to the stage. From a distance, we spotted Lily Chen and Stephanie of Yarn Harlot fame. There were booths manned by the staff of various LYS's of the city (including one with a neat knitted banner), by publishing companies (Interweave had sneak peek display samples from their upcoming winter issue), and by knitting charities.

Afterwards, my husband and I grabbed a quick dinner from John's in the Village. It's such a popular place that there was a wait even at 6:00 on a Sunday. We had a simple mushroom pizza, but it was delicious!

Here's the yarn I'll be using for the Linden sweater from the Rowan Classic Alpaca book. It's very soft; although I'm not crazy about the color. I tend to be quite boring in my own yarn color choices - beiges, greys, blacks, creams...



On another note, I love living near NYC. Here's the petite fours finish to an all-dessert meal I had at Chikalicious in Manhattan. Yum. The place is incredibly small, but the staff is so nice, the presentation is lovely (the delicate, floral dessert plates coordinates with the color of the desserts), and the food itself is delicious - very fresh and flavorful.

Slow, pathetic progress on the Cambridge Jacket for my husband. He's coming back this afternoon so this is all that will be done for the next week. I hope this will fit him. It's so hard to tell with a yarn as stretchy as Rowan Calmer and a rib pattern.



And here's a picture of me wearing the Classic Elite Simple Marl Cardigan. As you can see it's a bit big for me, but the LYSO wanted it in medium.

The next sample I'm knitting for the store is this lovely cable and lace sweater from the new Rowan Classic Alpaca book; except I'll be knitting it in Plymouth's Super Taj Mahal - a merino/silk/cashmere blend. I'm relieved that it's not going to be in alpaca. I love alpaca, but after having knitted the last 2 out of 3 projects in some form of alpaca or another, I'm glad to be going back to a smooth fiber (that doesn't shed).



I'm also still knitting my husband's Cambridge Jacket from the summer Interweave, but progress has been glacial due to having to knit it on US 8 straights. It's very tiring on my hands since I have to knit it very tightly to make sure the gauge doesn't get too large. I tried switching to US 7's, but even loosely knit, the gauge turns out too tight. So, I'm in a Goldilocks situation here where nothing seems to be just right. I wish needle sizes had more gradations available. I'm thinking a 7.5 might be useful here.

The Simple Cardigan is done and resting on my blocking board.


Specs:
Yarn: 10 skeins Classic Elite Inca Marl
Size: Medium

I like the appearance of the yarn knitted up - it's a wonderful tweed fabric - but a huge negative with this yarn is how much it sheds. There are tweed bits *everywhere* in my apartment. Since I started knitting this cardigan 2 weeks ago, I've had to dust my apartment twice. Finally, I gave up and decided to wait until after I finish the sweater and send if off to the yarn shop before attempting to dust my apartment again.