Felled by the Flu

Well, November was pretty much spent unconscious, with fever, aches, cough, sore throat, and all the bodily fluids issues associated with influenza. Ironically, I came down with it 10 days before my flu shot was scheduled - well, I'm chock full of antibodies now.

I finally finished the Pike vest, and I'm very pleased with the result. It's really soft and not too hot. I wish I could get a better picture; imagine the color of a beaujolais nouveau and you'll be pretty close.

In the meantime I started two new projects, the Melody Bolero by Berroco, and Belle Epoque from knitty.com.

I'm working the Melody in my "mardi gras" yarn, Cascade Elite Flash. It's a 3-ply cotton, with each strand a different color: purple, green and yellow. I recently purchased a pair of eyeglasses with those colors, and I can't wait to wear them together. The pattern is completely stockinette stitch which is boring me to tears (I knew it would) but the yarn is too busy to add any pattern. Hopefully I'll finish by the end of the year. So far, no pattern problems.

The Belle Epoque is my first sweater done in the round, and the 222 stitches in a row are daunting. The fiber is Malabrigo Silky Merino, and it's fabulous. Soft and cuddly, with gradient colors from silver-blue to new-denim-blue, it's a tactile treasure. Since it doesn't have the halo of the mohair called for, the lace is hole-ier, and may require lining, or a camisole. It takes me 9 minutes to finish a row (down from 12), but since there's virtually no purling, I can watch subtitled movies while I work this!