A Sheep, Some Socks and a Sweater

Introducing my newest pal, Paavo!

Ain't he sweet?  I've had the pattern for the Estonian hand puppet in my queue for such a long time, I'm so glad I finally picked up the needles to make it. 

I added a braid to the cuff and followed the pictures to give my sheep a dark face as I see on so many breeds of sheep.

Come on, there's a family resemblance.  I'm sure you can see it.

I chose the name Paavo because it means small and humble, but I think my sheep has a mischiveous side.  His smile is lopsided and he has a twinkle in his eye.

 

I've also been working on another pair of Skews.  Those who know me realize that this is a rare sight, as I'm a die-hard DPN knitter:

Skew is well suited to the technique of working two socks on one circular because of how the heels are shaped.  The pattern just increases up until the moment of grafting, which means I won't have to stop to work each heel separately.

But look at the color on these socks.  If you didn't know I was knitting both ends of the same ball of yarn, you would hardly think it's the same yarn.  Color isn't everything though.  The yarn is working up into a nice fabric and the toe of the sock goes into your shoe anyway.  The yarn seems to be darkening up as I progress.

My last yoked sweater project was finished weeks ago, but it was a disappointment because it was too tight for Jim.  It looked just silly on him. So I searched around for another person it would fit and didn't have far to look.  One of Luke's freinds was quite happy to accept a lovely warm sweater in exchange for her picture being posted to this blog:

 It looks fabulous on her! 

I'm not done with top down yoked sweaters yet though.  I've found the next pattern I want to work: Folklore.  I've bought the pattern and now must consider yarn choices and mathematics for up-sizing it.  What a fun task for a Sunday afternoon! 

Good luck to all you Olympic knitters as you approach your final laps.  I hope your can hold your needles high in triumph as the flame is extinguished tonight.  Paavo and I will be cheering from the sides (and maybe singing O Canada).