Flurry of FOs in February, Spring Startitis, and Stitches West

First, the good news: I actually completed seven items this past month, despite a slow start. As I stood in line for Stitches West's market on Friday, I completed a shawl collared vest which I wore the rest of the day. This is one of the hot knits these days at Green Planet Yarns; mine is in Lamb's Pride Bulky instead of the called for Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande. Here it is in progress, and after completion:

I also finished Rockin Sock Club January '11 socks, Social Network by Lucy Neatby. I showed them to the ladies in their SW booth, and they said it was the first completed pair they had seen. I really enjoyed making them, and they are very comfortable to wear.

I made lots of purchases at Stitches, as usual, but have already finished a Kerr Cowl (in Berrocco Borealis) and Ali's Cap (in Marion Foales 2 ply) from my new stash. The latter was sold as a kit to benefit a wildlife fund; you can see me posed with Ali MacGraw (the inspiration for the design) below.

Another FO for February was the Trekking Knitalong project, a pair of fingerless mitts. The "cable" is made with twisted stitches so it went very fast. I have not yet cast on the March project, but expect to within the week.

Our dog, Rocky, is quite elderly (we got him as an adult rescue dog a little over 16 years ago) and has lost some of his muscle mass in the past six months. The vet says he needs to wear a sweater, and loves this one I knit him a week and a half ago. He used to bite and pull off any sweater we'd try to put on him, but now he seems to look forward to having it on. This is the standard sweater from Dogs in Knits.

With the leftover yarn, I knit a hat for charity, just in time to meet my resolution deadline.

I've had a bit of startitis lately, and don't know how much is due to the yarn fumes from Stitches' market (and my new purchases) and how much is due to anticipation of the onset of spring. All of the February FOs were started and finished during the month, so I had no impact on the number of items on my WIP/UFO list. This month, I've started a sock monkey, something I've always wanted for some strange reason (maybe because Mom said no way would she let me cut up a perfectly good pair of socks to make a toy). The ears, muzzle, arms, and tail are complete, and I'm stuffing the legs/body unit as I go.

This weekend, I started a pair of socks (another Stitches West purchase). They are Lucy Neatby's Almost Saintly Socks (because they are so "holey") in Shelridge Farm's sock yarn (the variegated is a one-off). I stuffed the cuff with tissue to make the design clearer.

A later post will include a few more pictures and notes from Stitches.