Boxy Chevrons by the Sea

Happy to report that the colds are gone and we have assumed our positions down on the deck at the Beach Club by the sea.

And after having already finished four books, I brought my Boxy Chevrons knitting with me to my chaise on the deck.  I am slowly making progress. I picked up all the stitches (360) from the remainder of the sleeves (after they were seamed) and did the short row shaping for front and back, and am now happily knitting a TON of rows in the round.

Here's a picture of the first day by the sea.

And since today was our first really rainy morning, I worked a bit more in the apartment and here is a shot that shows the sleeves and a bit of the body - kinds of orients you to seeing what it will look like after I finish a gazillion hours of knitting in the round.

The cakes of the speckled yarn are very different, so I am alternating rows as I approach the end of the first skein. Hopefully, the transition will be smooth.

The thing about knitting on the deck is that it attracts fellow knitters. Everyone was coming over to see what I was working on, and a couple of people sent a link to the pattern on Ravelry home to their friends and relatives.

I love that fibre people are everywhere around, and you can't always pick them out in a crowd - or on a deck.

More pics to come as I add onto the length.

Knitting in Paradise

Every year when we come to Barbados, I pack a knitting project or two. Usually socks to knit on the plane and something to take to the beach club for when I am tired of reading. 

This year, thanks to the crazy-ass cold I caught from my dear "grands" just before New Year's, I have been hanging around the apartment. Why, when I could be in the sea? The cough that came with this one is so wicked that I would get big "stink eye" from everyone around me. And I wouldn't blame them, I would curse anyone who came into public sounding like me.

I am just grateful that we are here for more than a week. This would totally suck if that were the case.

Anyway, about the knitting. This is a pattern called Boxy Chevrons that I favourited (don't you just love nouns that have become verbs thanks to the internet) on Ravelry many moons ago.  I picked out my yarn at The Purple Purl - my LYS when I visit the kids and the "grands" in TO. 

It seemed like a good project to bring with me, maybe the colours in the confetti-like body colour called to be knit here. And so far, it has been a fun knit. You knit the sleeves first - they are the chevrons - and the pattern of ridges and stockinette is interesting. And, thankfully, do-able no matter how much cold medication you have taken. lol. My head would not tolerate anything more complicated when I am pumping it full of cold and sinus meds.

When the cold is gone, and we resume our normal daily rhythm - and location - down by the sea, this will be the perfect project to work on. I think at some point, the knitting will become pretty mindless for a good portion of the body. And we will see how long it takes to get it done. There is some German short-row action that will keep it interesting. That is a whole new technique for me, but thanks to YouTube, I watched a couple of videos yesterday and feel ready to take it on. 

If you have read my somewhat-erratic blog, you will know that I knit and blogged about a sweater here year before last. When I started knitting on the deck, I discovered two things: firstly, the breeze by the sea means it is always cool enough to knit. Secondly, there are a number of fellow sock knitters among the folks I have met. They just seem to come out of the woodwork.

I will post updates as I make progress. And hopefully when I do, this cold will be long gone!!!

Oh - BTW, I also brought some hooking with me. Will share that when I get it out.