Socks and Capes

I do have a bit of knitting progress to report. My latest pair of socks are coming along nicely...I've completed the cuff and started on the heel shaping while I was taking in the views from Mary's front porch (see the views in my previous post.) I managed to finish the heel shaping on the Metro while on my way to the American Folk Life Festival in Washington, D.C. (Details on the festival will be in a future post). I was a bit surprised that the yarn "stripes" the way it does. I had been expecting little blotches of color throughout as opposed to distinctive striping. I'm not quite sure I like the effect, but I still love the colors! My main challenge with this project will be ensuring that I start the second sock at the same spot so the striping matches. (I'm a bit picky about having matching socks....)










I've also completed the body of the cape and the lace overlay for the Edwardian Cape that I'm making for a friend's new baby (left). I've also finished knitting the hood (right). This means that all I have left to do is the finishing - attaching the hood, binding off, tucking the ends in, and finally, sewing on the button. Wahoo! I'll have a finished object by the end of next weekend!










I really like how the cape is turning out. The original pattern was done in more of a sport or dk weight, but the yarn I chose was the Baby Ull (fingering/baby weight). I just love the softness of the Merino...and since it's for a newborn, I wanted the sizing to be a bit smaller. The only thing I'm not quite happy with is the hood portion. The decreases for the hood shaping are very noticeable, especially in the center. (Click on the photo for a closer look). A study of various decreases is definitely in my future!