Skully sweater update

It's been a productive week on the Skully front, with the first sleeve completed today. I took the photos before I finished the plain section on the sleeve this afternoon, not something that took too long thanks to working with chunky weight yarn.



This shows that the sleeve is picked up and knitted on to the armhole of the sweater. The neckline is completed and both shoulders seamed using a three needle bind-off. I can't speak too highly of that particular technique, it's the first time I've used it and it produces a beautifully neat seam.



A closer look at the intarsia section. It is years and years since I last used this technique, and it's still like herding cats! Thankfully not too many bobbins hanging off the back of the piece this time. No ends have yet been woven in and I think that will serve to even up a few of the slightly skew-looking stitches. I wouldn't do intarsia for fun, it has to be something I really want to have and wear like this design.

Hopefully I can make good progress on the second sleeve, now that I've had the practice on the first. I'm aiming for March 1st to complete the knitting if at all possible, as this is when an informal KAL begins for the Glampyre Simple Bodice. Mine will be the long-sleeved version knit in Jaeger Shetland Aran.

Here's the February yarn from the Fyberspates sock club:



Lovely colours, just what we need this time of year!

Now I'd said that I was trying not to buy yarn for some time, having come to the realisation that the stash is quite large and I have projects enough to keep me going for a long long time. This is still the plan, it does allow purchases if something sufficiently bargainous turns up. However last weekend I read Kendra's posting about the Juno cardigan from Rowan 40. Thus I was led astray and bought some Rowanspun Aran in "Gables". I really liked Juno but the Wool Cotton used doubled was a very expensive option, so I didn't think much more about it. Now it is apparent that using a heavy-ish aran like Rowanspun wll do perfectly well, so given this yarn is fast disappearing, it was time to make a purchase and secure the materials! I already have some in the "Hardy" shade for the Central Park Hoodie so this time I picked the red. It's a lovely shade and my camera refused to play nicely with it at all. The photo has been adjusted but the actual shade is darker than this:



Finally, here is a skein of Eva cashmere silk 2ply laceweight in "Rhyme", from the last Posh Yarn sale before the move:



Thank you for all your messages on the 200th post, much appreciated! Hope those of you watching "Life on Mars" are enjoying it so far too!