Looking Forward

 I woke up this morning thinking of Stitches West 2011.  As far as I'm concerned it's never too early to start thinking about that fun weekend in February.  I plan on perusing last year's class list to start thinking about which classes I might sign up for this year.
 And then there is the yarn shopping.  Even though only a couple of days ago I was looking at my stash and feeling quite satisfied (if not sated), I've started my Stitches browsing list.  I blame the latest edition of Twist Collective.  I immediately fell for the Coventry Cardigan.  The pattern calls for Miss Babs "Yowza -What A Skein!", a light worsted yarn that comes in beautiful colors.  Some yarns are easily purchased online, while others need to be viewed and touched before buying.  The Miss Babs falls into the latter category.  I could probably save money and substitute another light worsted yarn like Cascade 220, but I'm not in a hurry to knit this, so I will wait to at least see the Miss Babs.  I'm sure her booth will be at the convention, and it will be great to peruse the colors in person, and then decide if I will use the original yarn or a substitute. 

Meanwhile, I'll keep knitting through the stash.  I've finished the front and back of the Augusta Cardigan.

The front and back are already in one piece because I used short-row shaping on the shoulders, and then used a 3-needle bind off to put them together, rather than using the stair-step bind off called for in the pattern.  I've used those techniqes before, but it has been awhile so I went to this helpful article in Knitty for a refresher.  I love any modification that helps me avoid sewing seams later. 

I'm a little worried about running out of yarn so I think I will knit on the button band next, and then just divide the yarn I have left into 2 balls to knit the sleeves top-down until I run out.  I'm debating about whether it needs blocking before that, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to take the lazy way out.  I'll keep you posted.