KUI

I had every intention of finishing Icarus last night--or at least making a darned good run in that direction. I wound the new yarn (with only one break and a little silent cursing) and executed a masterful Russian join. But then dinner intervened, and with it, a glass of very good Zinfandel. Unfortunately, I have the alcohol tolerance of a flea. A small flea.

I had one glass and was feeling pretty good as I picked up Icarus. I finished row 16 of chart 4 and headed for row 17, and then things got a little fuzzy. I seem to recall giggling a bit as I read the directions out loud to my husband. I'm not sure why. They must have struck me as particularly amusing. I got a few stitches into row 17 before my husband appeared in front of me and, saying, "This is for your own good. Trust me," took my needles away!

Needless to say, no progress was made on Icarus last night.

I do have other knitting to show you, though. More than I should have, considering the Icarus deadline.

This is the Tilted Duster from the cover of the Fall Interweave Knits. I love this pattern. It's so unusual and structurally interesting. But to be honest, it's not a style I'm likely to wear. I don't quite get the whole winter-sweater-with-no-closures concept. So what does a clever knitter do when faced with a pattern she really wants to knit, but will never wear? She chooses a yarn from the stash that she really wants to knit, but knows she will also never wear. In this case, some Louisa Harding Kimono Angora in a color I can only describe as Tangerine Nightmare. I'm not sure what the designer was thinking with this yarn. Obviously, someone thought it was a pretty color combination--maybe a lot of people. I am not one of them. But I bought it online, based on a rather misleading picture, and on clearance, and couldn't return it. And despite the colors, it is a marvelous, supersoft angora, and I love the feel and drape.

The patten calls for a fairly chunky merino, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out in this light, airy angora. If I end up loving it, I might try overdyeing it. I can always use a dark, solid colored, drapey wrap.

This is the start of the Dickinson Pullover, also from the Fall Interweave Knits. (I really love that issue.) This one is stalled, through no fault of its own. I didn't have any yarn in the right gauge for this pattern (really!), so when I saw some Softwist Bulky in a beautiful dark red on Destash, I snapped it up. As soon as it arrived, I cast on for this. The yarn is lovely--rich and drapey with a gorgeous sheen from the rayon that is blended with the wool. But I'm just not sure I like it for this pattern. This is an oversized, weekend-type sweater, and I think it really calls for a softer, more casual yarn. I just happen to have ordered a rather large quantity of Noro Kochoran (wool and angora) in a soft grey/teal blend that I think would be ideal for this pattern. It hasn't arrived yet, but I'm thinking it might be better for this pattern than the dressier Softwist. I'm not that far into this pattern yet, so be honest: what do you think? I can always use the Softwist for a different project, after all.