St. Moritz... Progressing

The St. Moritz sweater I'm knitting is coming along nicely. I'm knitting the crewneck version but I've been given strict instructions not to make the neck too high or too tight.

Here it is so far. It's knitting up very quickly now that I'm into the colourwork which I find much more interesting than the grey stocking stitch.

I've just started the star pattern at the centre front. Instead of carrying the white yarn all around the round or duplicate stitching, I'm actually able to do an intarsia technique.

Basically, you knit the first round with the background colour and use white yarn where it is required. On the next round, knit the background stitches as required and slip the stitches that should be white, then turn the work and purl the white stitches back where the slipped stitches were left and slipping any background stitches, thus leaving the background yarn beyond the intarsia section and working back with the right yarn to leave it at the beginning of the intarsia section. Once all the white stitches have been purled where the stitches were slipped, leave the white yarn, turn with right side facing and slip all the stitches of the intarsia section until you catch up to the background yarn again and continue the round.

I am doing the XS size, in hopes that it will be about 44" as a finished size. However, it will be more like 46" after all. That will create 7" of positive ease and make it a nice, comfortable sweater. I also shortened the grey stocking stitch by 2" before starting in on the colour work - the row with the red stitches. I am using one of Skip's favourite sweaters for my measurements. I still need to frog the sleeve I knit last week and shorten it by 2" as well. However, if things keep progressing at this rate, I could have the sweater all knit in a week or so.

I was really excited that I found the Dale of Norway St. Moritz patch for sale on eBay and I have ordered it. It will look very spiffy sewn on the left sleeve.

I took my car in to the dealership today for a diagnosis on the creaking sound that developed on the weekend and the squealing brakes. A new strut has been ordered for the front left wheel and a new brake caliper for the left rear brake. I will be without a vehicle tomorrow but hope to get the car back sometime Friday morning. I got a name of a body shop a former colleague recommended so will take the car in for a quote on some rust repair. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be less than $500. I will have had the car for 9 years in June so I'm don't want to put a lot of money into it, but getting these repairs done is a heck of a lot cheaper than having to buy a newer one.

So.... my yarn buying may be curtailed for a while but that's OK, I have several projects on the go that can be finished once St. Moritz is done and I have a couple of other stash-busting ideas in mind.

One in particular is this nifty Red Bird Knits October 2008 Sock of the Month pattern called Latvian Dances I snagged the other day at Never Enough Wool in Port Perry. I have some brightly coloured Kroy socks yarn and some black sock yarn that will be perfect for this pattern. The pattern calls for Arequipa yarn but after my beautiful Embossed Leaves socks felted, I'm reluctant to use it for anything requiring any kind of stitch definition.