Testing...One...Two...Three...

Another knitting post? This is...what? The third one this week? One might almost think this is turning into a knitting blog!

I have in fact been knitting. I'm test knitting this amazing design from A Black Pepper, who is a fantastic knitter. I have long admired her gorgeous knits, and when I saw this one last year and she mentioned that she was planning to write up the pattern, I immediately offered to test knit it. A couple of weeks ago, she emailed me the pattern and I've been busy ever since.

I have the back done and I'm working my way up the front. I am trying to have it done in another week, and the last time I checked, I still had two arms that need sleeves, so I have to make some rapid progress. Surprisingly, despite the apparent complexity of the pattern, it is a relatively fast knit because of the thoughtful design. The different cables have coordinated repeats, i.e., the large cable pattern has an 18 row repeat, while the small cable pattern has a 6 row repeat. Because of this, it is easy to keep track of where you are in the pattern, unlike with some cabled designs (Dickinson, I'm looking at you). There is very little fussiness, except for the I-cord cast on, which I've never done before and can safely say I hate with a passion that has rarely been equaled in my knitting career.

I am really looking forward to finishing this one, both because I promised to get it done quickly and because I can't wait to try it on!