NaKniSweMo Finally!

Though I never got around to posting about it because it was a secret from Dave, in October for Spinzilla I spun enough alpaca silk blend yarn (from my friend Ruthann's alpaca) to knit a sweater for Dave during November for NaKniSweMo--National Knit a Sweater Month. I would have finished it in November--instead of midnight on Christmas Eve--had I been able to work on it as much as I wanted. I know this because I started two sweaters at the same time--Dave's and another one I could work on when he was home--and that one is all but done too. The sweater I knitted for Dave is the first sweater I ever knitted on circular needles, and I am not as good at staying true to gauge on circular needles. Dave is still deciding whether he wants me to try to shrink it for him. I think a little tightened up would be good, but it is super soft as it is, and nice and long and slouchy. Okay, it's enormous. I need to shrink it!

The other sweater that I started at the same time is also a gift, and it isn't done because I ran out of the exact yarn I needed. It is also my handspun alpaca, and the last ball of it I have was spun at a different time and is just enough thicker that I don't get the same gauge and thickness as the rest of the sweater. This is really a bummer because it is  the softest, lace-stitch fronted cardigan, and I was knitting for my friend Stacy in Atlanta. It was supposed to be her Christmas present, but I have been stalled for a couple of weeks now because of the yarn issue. Got to get back to it before it's too warm for her to wear it. Of course, there's always a need for a snuggly sweater on a cool evening in Beaufort, SC.