april snapshots

above: painting the backs of my ikea bookshelves

There hasn't been much knitting since I got back to LA. In the midst of starting a new job and moving into my new apartment and everything else, I hadn't really felt the urge to knit - which is immensely frustrating! But I've gotten a few bits and pieces in, and now that I'm sort of settling into a routine - albeit a routine where I work 12 hour days 6 days a week - I'm trying to pick up more projects..

... like this Ingenue sweater in Sanguine Gryphon codex that I started this weekend ...

... or this tea leaves cardigan for my BFF. It was *supposed* to be a 30th birthday present but she turned 30 in February. 

I also made this Crooked Paths hat, which I promptly gave away and never got the chance to properly photograph. It was massive on me.

But mostly I'm just settling into life back in California! Hopefully soon I'll be settled enough to find the cord that connects my real camera to the computer :) 

FO : tea leaves cardigan

It's done! Actually it was done almost a week ago, but it took me a long time to block, sew buttons and then drag Iain out for some photos in front of the Inca wall on the other side of town. 

Hey look, it's my standard awkward sweater pose! 

I blazed through this sweater because I desperately need another sweater out here in Ollanta, and I can already tell this is a sweater I'll wear all the time (though maybe not here, because something about life in this town thrashes your clothes, and this sweater is too pretty to be thrashed). The pattern was very easy to follow, and  I made very little adjustments to the pattern, just omitting the increases under the arms and knitting at a very slightly tighter gauge to get a slightly more fitted sweater. I also added button holes all the way down, as you can see - I like the fastened at the top look, but I think it'll get more wear through the winter this way.

I really loved everything about using Codex by Sanguine Gryphon (starting with the colorway name - On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl) and am holding my breath to see how it looks after a few wearings. I love single ply yarn, and could easily see this becoming my go-to such yarn for sweaters. The color is difficult to describe, but is absolutely gorgeous. I was a lazy knitter and did not switch skeins, but I think I got away with it? 

Much as I love this sweater, I can't help but feel that the Inca wall steals the show in these photos, because really, how cool is this wall?

Raveled here.

WIP : tealeaves

Current wip of the moment is a Tea Leaves cardigan in Sanguine Gryphon Codex. Finishing it has become something of an obsession, so I'm actually much further along than this photo from earlier in the week - I've also done the button bands and most of one sleeve. It's nothing new for me to become unreasonably fixated on finishing a project, but this time around I think it's mainly because I only have one real sweater here in Ollantaytambo (I did *not* pack wisely), and I'm desperate for something warm to wear! So here's hoping it comes out nice, because no matter how it looks, I'm going to be wearing it all the time anyway.