Knitting Update

I meant to show this as a WiP (work in progress), but I got it knitted up so quickly, here it is all done! These are Spa Socks from Knit 1 magazine (I think), worked in Blue Sky Alpaca's Organic Cotton. I am usually a fan of Caron Simply Soft for it's softness, but this yarn has it beat by far. It's unbelievably cuddly, and it's going to be hard to give this away, especially as it's in a cute girly shade of baby pink.

Last night I cast on this for a simple men's vest from one of the knitting books I just bought through KnitPicks. I love the color of this yarn, which is a beautiful heathery brown. The entire back is simple stockinette, but I don't mind, as the yarn is pretty enough not to need embellishments.

I don't know if it's just me, but I can never seem to hit guage with the recommended needle size. This pattern calls for 20 stitches = 4 inches with size 8 needles, but I had to go down to a size 5 to hit gauge! I had the exact same problem with the Spa Socks, and there I was using the yarn recommended by the pattern. Am I the only one out there who can never seem to match guage with other's needles?

Although I have managed to find gauge (finally, after 4 swatches), I think this vest will take me forever, since I have to knit it with size 5 needles. Two hours of work has only given about 4 inches of fabric. *Sigh*. At least it'll make perfect TV knitting.

I've also picked up the White Diamonds lace scarf which I set aside a while ago. I've already knitted up one skein of the Plymouth Royal Bamboo, and I am about 1/4 of the way through the second skein (I plan to use three skeins). The lace is extremely complicated, so I can only work on it when the kids are in bed.

Well, I'm doing pretty well on my Christmas list, but I still have a lot more to do. Here's to happy knitting!