Leonidas

I was disappointed by 300.  I heard it was going to be incredibly awe-strikingly violent and it wasn't.  Then I thought about the implications of my disappointment and grew deeply disturbed; when a film's reputation is that of violence and gore, I expect near-undeliverable levels of grotesqueness.  The films whose violence I find truly, shakingly violent are films I don't want my loved ones to see.  Film-depictions of violence are most disturbing -- for me -- when there is a human element, when you can see the pain being felt by the actors.  300 didn't deliver that level of violence, and for that I am grateful, but I would be better off if I didn't seek out the mega-Hollywood over-embellished films.

AND ONTO KNITTING!

I used most of my glorious tosh merino light in moorland on my storm cloud shawlette, but I didn't use all of it. Tosh is so magnificent and I don't like accruing small amounts of left-over yarn, so I looked for a cabled headband pattern and found: The Leonidas by J. 

Mods:
I used a size 4 needle and double-stranded the tosh, and probably used a size 3 needle for cabling.  I knit about 10-11 inches of cabling and added an i-cord to either end (which is a mod a lot of people have done).

Results:

Ravelry Project Page

It's so simple, I love it!  I want to make another one out of my leftover tosh byzantine.  It's soft, doesn't hurt when I wear it all day, and the variegation of the yarn makes for an interesting headband.  I'm very happy with it :)

The sweatervest!

If I had buckled down and knit Eddie's sweatervest as my primary project, I could have gotten it done in under two weeks...but I didn't.  I started it when I flew out for spring break, worked on it for a few days, then let it sit for maybe three weeks.  It knit up quickly by the time I picked it up again, so I wish I wouldn't have procrastinated like a bum.  But hey, it's a good Easter present!

This is my first and certainly not last time using Wool of the Andes.  It's so affordable and the color -- Spruce -- is fantastic.  I wish it were better reflected in the photo.

I made size XL per Eddie's chest measure, but it's so bulky everywhere else that I could have done with a size smaller.  It looks really nice under his sport coat, but if he wore it over a button-down shirt it would hang a bit too much.

Mods:

Due to gauge, I used size 9 for the ribbing and size 10 for the body.  I skipped the side seaming details because they seemed a little unnecessary.  I spaced on the front panel so the neck detail is significantly shorter than the design, but it's not like Eddie would notice any difference.  I slipped the first stitch of every row which made it really easy to seam up; the seaming on the sweatervest is my best to date!

And he loves it!

Ravelry project page

Photoless update

I am waiting to update my blog with photos of my knitwear, including the Storm Cloud Shawlette by Hanna Breetz, the Textured Vest by Erika Knight, and The Leonidas by J.  I don't want to rely on cell-phone pictures and mirror shots, so I'm waiting for Eddie to come home to help me with photos (you hear that, Eddie, you've got your work cut out for you!)

  I'm also deciding on my next project, I don't know if I should do Peggy Sue by Linda Wilgus or Assets of Evo by Marnie McLean.  I've been wanting to make Peggy Sue since I first saw the pattern, but I just came off a sweater-vest and may want to try my hand at knitting another kind of garment.  Ahh, decisions.