Tappan Zee

I've been busy.  Falling in love with patterns all over the place and buying yarn I really don't have money for, but since the mortgage is paid I don't mind giving up food.

My latest obsession is with this cute little pattern called Tappan Zee which is on Knitty's website.  I wanted to make something for my mom that a) wouldn't take a long time to make, b) meets all of her requirements for fit and c) wouldn't bore me to death.

So with a little hunting (and a gift certificate for WEBS), I bought some Elsabeth Lavold silky wool in citron:

It arrived the day before yesterday and as soon as I settled down for the night I started knitting.  The pattern is easy to understand, the directions (so far) are clear, and while I'm not overly thrilled with the color (the other colors available weren't so well suited for Mom either), I decided that this would do.

Here's  how far I got:

Not bad for two days of knitting.  Of course, I'm further along than the photo, but I did mention it's a fairly quick knit.

I thought the yarn would be smooth, silky and soft, but no.  The silk is more like raw silk, so it's wool with silk bits which makes the yarn feel more like cotton than wool.  Hopefully that means this sweater won't just be for Spring.

My deadline is Mother's day and I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying that out loud.  The yarn for my next sweater is in the bag and ready to go as soon as I finish this one.

So off I go back to the land of wool and needles.