A Bountiful Stash

It's not a cat.

It's a Kirby, the game character, because I was not only asked for cats, I was asked for Kirby.  It is a good way to warm up my crocheting hands. I am using the Cube Kitty Cat design for it.  

It is a good time to sort out the next sweater.

I have a problem.

I planned to use red Eco+ yarn to knit a Bountiful Bohus since the yarn was purchased.  I thought of it when I bought the two Ecological Wool colours.  I wanted that sweater.

And then I started watching the NorwegianKnitter on Youtube. Oline knit the Ingrid sweater from Petite Knits.  It was knit in red yarn and I quite simply fell in love. Those linear sections of texture appeal to me.  

It reminds me of a sweater I crocheted years ago. It was panels of texture patterns that mimicked knit cables.  I got a lot of compliments on it over the years.  Sadly it no longer exists because the yarn was acrylic and it grew and grew and grew as the yarn relaxed in the wash. 

Oline's red Ingrid brought my red wool to mind.  I want that too.

And then there is this.  The Third Coast sweater from the latest issue of Knitty, designed by Renee Kulling.  I feel compelled to knit this sweater.  It is so basic and yet not.  There are stripes and some very simple colourwork that take the whole thing up a notch or three.  

I know from knitting other sweaters in the Eco+ yarn that there will be a good amount of the red left if I knit the Bouniful Bohus.  I have three full skeins of it and one each of the natural tones.  If I used all three yarns carefully, I think I could get two full sweaters from it. I do have some of the lightest cream in their natural range as well, so I am certain I could stretch it out one way or another.

But if I make the Ingrid sweater, I won't have enough for a second sweater.   I need to find another yarn in my stash for one of these three or I need to set my mind to knitting only two of the three sweaters.  Having to choose is hard. I want them all.

I am working on Kirby and cats today.  It is a good time to go through all my stash in my mind and figure out another yarn for one of these great designs.  I am thinking about the yarn I was using for the Anyday sweater too. With that sweater not fitting as I wanted, I need to think about what I will do with it too.  And then there is my beautiful yarn from Midknit Cravings. And somewhere in there is some gorgeous deep teal blue green Cascade 220.   And the beautiful ummm ... well, all the other lovely stuff in my stash.

I am so lucky to have this kind of problem, but I am glad there are Kirbys and cats to make so I can think about it.

A Cat Is a Cat and That Is That.

A cat is a cat and that is that.

Cat patterns, not so much.  There is a huge range of cat patterns out there, from teeny tiny pocket size kitties to great big squishy pillow kitties.  And there there is the problem of  it a kitten or cat? 

I have made a kitty from this pattern.

Mittens the Realistic Cat

and it really is adorable.  I used this pattern earlier this year to make a cat test run and gave it to my two youngest grandsons, Owen and Everett.  It is an adorable pattern. I did find that the the front legs were a bit different than shown, but I know how to fix that.  

I am still waffling though.  If you want to fit cat personality to the cat, then I would have to go with this one. 

The Parlor Cat

Like most cats, these particular cats spend much of their time looking out the windows. I am not fond of the face on this lovely kitty though, but I really do love the body shape.  

I may have to mash patterns and adapt sizes to get the two to match.  The second cat might not be the size I want for the cat in the yarn I have. (Blanket from Bernat)

There is also this adorable cat.

Cube Kitty Cat

He is perfectly sized for my yarn, and a truly quick simple make.  Plus he will be perfectly useful for a Kirby character that Marcus has also asked for.

Who know where I will go or which I will choose?  I only know I have my yarn at hand, crochet hook at the ready and coffee by my side.  

Adventure is out there!

Please note that I have used photos from Ravelry and linked back to the originators.  I am in no way claiming any rights to the designs other than my deep and sincere admiration of the designers work.  

Doubly Lucky

It's  done!! 

I am so happy with it.  With the yarn choice, with the structure, with everything.  I feel so lucky that I learned how to do this.  I can make my own clothes that are completely me.  It's so enormously satisfying.

Except for this.

Ends.  Foolishly, I did not weave then in as I went.  There are always a few end but this sweater has a lot because the stripes were too wide to reasonably carry the yarns up the side.  Each change of yarns has two ends.   Oh well.  That is knitting.  I sure wish I had made the time to do it as I went though.

I will take on good picture of it too.

My brother is visiting and we are talking about all the big things in the world.  We are chatting exhaustively about all the little things in the world.  It is lovely.  I am really 

 lucky in my brother and sisters.